Study for?

 I came across the following passage in the Biographical Memoirs of Don Bosco (BM, XVII, 356)... quite direct and true: 

Don Bosco considered teaching catechism so much the core of his mission, that in one of his dreams the best way the devils could think of for destroying the congregation was to make the Salesians study for the sake of learning and attaining fame.  Then they would give up the festive oratories, teaching catechism and educating poor youth.  This would cut the congregation at its roots and destroy it. 

Once again, a radical challenge to stay committed to the poor, the young!  And of course, the warning about the real purpose of our study: For you (young people), I study...! 

Tuition classes

I am for tuition classes... but for those who need additional assistance, because in the limited class hours or school time, the students are not able to comprehend everything.  And I think, the school itself should arrange these tuition classes - if at all they must.  Because as a thumb rule, tuition classes are an open self-proclamation (by the school, its teachers, its management...) that it is incapable of teaching within the allocated time (school hours).  

That said, I'm totally against tuition classes or extra classes for the brighter kids or those parents who wish to see that their children have the additional edge over their kids classmates or contemporaries.  And I'm all the more against, tuition for such a group or individuals, being offered by the school itself!!! 

Reasons: 

1. Such an arrangement is a declaration of discrimination, in favour of the already gifted and / those who can afford. As a person involved in deciding for such arrangements, I ask myself, why should only a section of students be given this extra help; why not all?  
2. It is also an acknowledgement that as a school, we are incompetent or unwilling to take the extra measure (which is very very minimal) to offer the students a little more than what is prescribed. In other words, we do not want to strain ourselves or give our very best to our wards. 
3. Every school is offering such additional classes or tutoring sessions is certainly no reason why we should follow the crowd. The same applies to the argument that even parents are asking for it.
4. Another minor, but still important reason... why coop the children inside the classroom all day long?  
   
   
   
   
   

Extra classes or tuition centres

The notion of extra classes or tuition centres during school days is something that has been in vogue for quite sometime now.  In earlier days, when I was still in school, only those who were really incapable of following the class room sessions and those who could afford would go for tuition. Or it was the notorious who wouldn't pay attention in class or those finding it really difficult to comprehend what was taught in a class, who would be told to attend the extra classes.  

Then came an era when only the brighter students started taking tuition classes.  Those who needed the basic push or additional help to understand the portion, still went to tuition, but to a different place or with a different teacher.  The latter and the former were not at the same place or in one tuition room.  The former went to tuition to increase their marks in the final exam.  The latter went to score passing marks.  Of course, the goal was and still remains, of scoring marks.  The aim never was, and still isn't, to become more educated!!! 

The right question

 Teaching someone is always a learning experience... that has always been my personal and profound experience. Perhaps that is also the reason I love teaching... I learn! 

Helping someone navigate the ocean of the world web, I found myself repeatedly asking them the question, what is it that you are looking for?  Without a clear and definitive answer to the question, I knew no progress would be possible.  And everytime I asked the person that question, I found it echoing back to me!!!  What is it that I'm looking for??  The more I tried to explain the necessity of being definite and clear about the purpose of one's exploration, the more I felt I'm telling myself!  

Writing

Academic writing, I've come to accept (and give in to), is painful!!  It is so devoid of feelings and passion, that it feels nothing!!  Yet is a mental torture - for the one writing (at least for me) and for the one reading!  

I've realised that's the only way forward. I don't see any other way out of completing my studies.  So far, I wrote what gripped me, what I truly felt was significant.  It was much much more than mere words for a dissertation.  It had to have a personal relevance to me, if it had to find a place in my text.  But I guess, that does not count for much.  To be academically accepted and approved, it ought to be complicated, incomprehensible to anyone outside the academia, and most importantly I've got to stop getting personally involved, in the sense of seeking meaning, something special for myself!  Just the head and not the heart! 

And what am I writing about?? Language and meaning!! 

Intuition and reason

In the tussle between the rational mind and the intuitive mind, it is the former that often wins - not because that is better than the latter, but because it is most often sought after and respected.  The intuitive mind, is not negated, but not sufficiently respected!  Intuition does not follow the logic and pattern of the rational thought.  Neither are proofs for an intuition, often considered rational.  Left to defend its own ideas, the intuitive mind does not argue.  It feels!  That's where it 'loses' to the 'thinking' mind!  This is the case not just in academia, but  in life as a whole!  However, intuition is not a substitute to reason; but it surely does complement it!  

Coming from Albert Einstein, there has to be some truth in this observation!  

Philosophy and wisdom

If philosophy is the love or study of wisdom, then by that logic philosophers should be the most wise people on earth.  Now that statement can be treated more as a joke than a reality!  Why the lacuna between study of wisdom and being wise? 

I think the chasm lies in the fact that most philosophers get embroiled with logic, arguments, reasoning and reading, it is purely at the intellectual level.  In life, these hardly make an impact.  When these do not percolate my convictions, principles, values and day-to-day decisions of life, how would it make impact others, leave along the society at large?  Wisdom comes from letting these ideas and theories being worked out in real life, with real people and relations. Not merely in the abstract world of ideas and thoughts.  In that sense, I still hold that my Mum is a more wise person than I, in spite of my years of study of philosophy!

I agree that reading and thinking and philosophising helps.  But wisdom comes from living life, not merely reading about life or thinking about life.  We become wise engaging with real life-situations and people - the more challenging and complex these are, the better the possibility of we growing wise.  Reading and thinking and engaging in an intellectual debate (however intense) are safe bets - not life-altering.  Real life situations and the challenges they throw up, demand radical decisions and careful consideration.  That's the route to wisdom. 

Mindless reading

Of late I've begun to realize that first time reading does not really lay out the meaning of what I'm reading.  Worse if it is a dense philosophical text.  Not that I haven't read it properly or that the text is totally new.  Just that after doing the reading, nothing sticks to the mind. 

I'd attribute this flaw in reading to our daily recital of morning prayers! Over the years, praying those psalms and canticles, without paying any attention to what those words mean has now turned into a kind of habit which applies to all and any reading - mindless reading!  On the other hand, the scripture passages in the same morning prayers are the basis of my meditation.  So somehow, they evoke thought and reflection - eve if at times they are not read by me, but by someone else.  Even this very thought came to my mind, while 'reading - mindlessly - the prayers' a couple of days ago!

So there is some hope! Not all is lost! 

Motivation inertia

During a training programme at the university today, I was surprised to hear something the presenter was talking about: action before motivation. 

I always thought and believed that to perform an action, one needs to be motivated.  The quality of effort is directly proportional to the level of motivation.  But this speaker, speaking in the context of tackling procrastination, was saying that one needs to start doing an action and draw motivation from that to continue!  This inverse logic was a bit confusing.  But given that I am waiting for motivation to start writing something, ends up with me still waiting, I thought there would be some truth in what he is saying.  At the same time, I also know from experience that once in the momentum, work just flows.  Writing just happens, when I've begun.  The whole problem is the start! 

So how does one get started at all, if one is least motivated to do it?  For now, all I can tell myself is to 'write 200 words'; in contrast, to 'finish my PhD'! 

Easier said than done!  

Documentation: Ayodhya issue as case

The article appearing on The Times of India online edition about the historical record of Ayodhya as a place of worship offers a reading which should be the basis on which any rational decision should be arrived at, with regard to issues whenever in dispute.  However, we often resort to every means other than checking records.  Primarily because we don't have records!! 

The article also makes interesting reading... how we come to know of Indian history from people who were not from India!  The article does well to explicitly state:

The British officials of the period demonstrated the opposite of the well-known Indian disregard for documentation. 

The article spells out how worship at Ayodhya was a joint-worship of Hindus and Muslims... peacefully and in perfect harmony... till 1857!  Besides the religious - or call it politicized religious - issue what makes interesting reading is the historical data provided.  And who recorded that data!

I think we Indians have a sort of allergy to put pen to paper!  We prefer the verbal testimony and that is how we think history should be recorded!  We really didn't learn very well from Valmiki, the first author, poet of the Ramayana.  If only we inherited his keen sense of recording history, in black and white, we would have had a better chance at being more 'educated'.  The same Valmiki is also credited with teaching the children of Rama and Sita the verbal song of the Ramayana.  Thus blessing us with both the verbal and written history record.  So later if there is any discrepancy between the two, the point of departure can well be traced and reasons for the same known - if people after Valmiki did what Valmiki did!  Even if they did not, at least we have the original document for further and future reference.  

School education system

We had dining with us for the last week a couple of French teachers from France.  They were here with a group of French students on an exchange programme.  Tonight at table, they were sharing the experience of their students at our Salesian school here in Chertsey.  They (the students) always exited the classroom at the end of the day, eyes wide open and jaws hitting the floor!

That they attributed the ambiance and the whole attitude of the English school education system.  The French school education system is highly teacher-centric and regimented.  The system expects every student to fit in.  In contrast the English school education helps each child seeks and build on his or her own unique difference.  The pressure is not to blend in but bloom out!  So the emphasis is always on the child discovering his or her own potential and seeking ways to enhance it.

They made a very interesting observation regarding the school uniform. In France, school children mostly do not have a school uniform - but the education system is too formal and rigid.  In England, most schools insist on a precise school uniform - and that they found, furthers their growth in differentiating one another on the basis of their individuality. 

That confirms why most children here love going to school.  I've hardly seen any child cry or drag his or her feet on the way to school.  The only other place I've seen such joy on the faces of children going to school is in Shillong.  All the other places, the joy is only while returning from school!  

Formation and knowledge

Reading this particular article on Aeon about walking and applying the philosophy of Gilbert Ryle to it, I was wondering if this can be applied to the whole process of formation and that particular phase of intellectual formation too.

Just a handful of us formators back in the province believe that a student discerning his vocation to priestly or religious life ought to have a rather meaningful and sensible intellectual capacity.  Lacking in which he or she will make things and life miserable for others and themselves - the exact opposite of what ministry seeks to do in service of the people! Most formators feel that intellectual capacity should not be a major factor to be considered when deciding whether a person continues being a religious or priest or not. 

Ryle seems to suggest that if self-teaching is activated, that would suffice for improving a skill. 

We can think about Ryle’s view as a middle way between the just-do-it view and intellectualism. Intellectualism claims that skilled action requires thought, and gives a picture of thought as deliberate, conscious internal activity. The just-do-it view observes that it is not plausible that skill requires this kind of conscious thinking, and concludes that thought is the enemy of skill. Ryle agrees with the just-do-it view that conscious thought is not a requirement of skill, but offers an alternative view of thinking as engaged problem solving, claiming that this kind of thought is a requirement of skilled action.

If I'm reading it right, Ryle would say that just because is a person is kind and considerate, does exempt him or her from engaging in a very intellectual exercise of thinking. Nonetheless, to actually continue being kind and considerate and develop it as a skill rather than blindly repeat certain kind actions and utterances, a particular kind of thought is essential. 

One need not be an expert in oceanography to be a priest or religious but if one is not competent to reflect on ones own ministry and willing to make sufficient effort to learn from it, even if already 'good' at it, then one certainly is not worthy of becoming a priest or religious. Openness and humility to learn, require a certain kind of thinking to actualize and bear fruit.  

Reading sentence

Came across the following article this morning:  A judge 'sentencing' a bunch of kids with a 'reading list' rather than a normal custodial sentence.

Graffiti punished by reading

The sentence I gave was harsher than what they would normally have received. Normally it would just be probation which would mean checking in with a probation officer once a month and maybe a few hours of community service and writing a letter to say sorry. Here they had to write 12 assignments and a 3,500-word essay on racial hatred and symbols in the context of what they'd done… It was a lot of work. (Alejandra Rueda, the judge, who drew up the list of 35 books). 

Children learn fast.  And depending on what they are taught, they become that!  Teach them to share and care, to value life and respect everyone, they become exactly that.  And teaching does not mean a classroom mode of lecture.  It is about helping them learn and form convictions for life.

And here's a list of the 12 (of the 35) books the teenagers were told to read and write about, one per month:

1. Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe
2. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou
3. The Tortilla Curtain - T C Boyle
4. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. 12 Years a Slave - Solomon Northup
7. The Crucible - Arthur Miller
8. Cry the Beloved Country - Alan Paton
9. My Name is Asher Lev - Chaim Potok
10. Exodus - Leon Uris
11. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
12. Night - Elie Wiesel

Feel a bit guilty and ashamed to state that I've read only 2 of these!  

Why philosophy?

By way of specialisation, every course designed at the higher education level is meant for a particular profession.  So if one is studying computer science, one intends to become a computer specialist.  One studying physics, a sort of scientist.  One studying history, goes into library sciences, archiving, writing, perhaps even into teaching.  It is more evident in arts: a music student gets into the music industry; one studying media, gets into that particular stream of work.  Generally!  Though no rule that one should choose a career only based on what one has studied!  

However, I think philosophy is the only subject or course, that is undertaken by students for no particular single profession.  Of those who opt for philosophy, just a handful of them enter into academia.  The rest, what do they do?  Or why do people study philosophy?  No one undertakes a philosophy course to become a philosopher - certainly not most!  

Perhaps the answer to this lies in the fact that philosophy is a discipline rather than a content-based course.  It actually enables one to evaluate, explore and enact what is most relevant, not just about concepts and texts but in life as well.  As such, philosophy assists any and every field of work or profession.  That can actually be the greatest strength - and also the worst quality - one can acquire studying philosophy.  

Priests and religious who have this 'compulsory' study of philosophy, indeed are greatly privileged.  But unfortunately are the worst prepared or ready for it, by way of willingness. And thereby the ones who make the least use of it. 

Diversifying syllabus

One of the presenters at the Symposium on Diversifying curriculum in the multi-cultural context of the UK, spoke of their department's attempt to understand that there are nuances in this endeavour.  She pointed out that to

• democritize - to go beyond the elite
• diversity - go beyond the white
• decentralize - go beyond the Western
• decolonize - involve local experience and have a multi-dimensional approach, or in the least be critical of prevailing popular sources

It was interesting to note that, in the context of teaching history, she stated that doing one does not automatically mean doing all the other too!

As I listened to the various points spoken about, I felt how greatly philosophy, a subject dealing with critical outlook, can help in this endeavour.  That philosophy content itself needs to be filtered through these biases, is a task not less important!

There were also proposals of how we can ask and get the students to suggest authors or ideas they wish to discuss form a small portion (perhaps the concluding part) of the lecture series.  Thus their preferences or likes of their own background or interest could resonate in the curriculum.  Another aspect was a thorough review of the sources, especially primary sources, cited as part of the reading for a particular course undertaken.

Besides the points I gathered from the symposium, I thought the aspect of a conscious and continuous process of self-awareness regarding the biases and perspectives from which I, the educator, carries out the task of teaching (and learning), forms a very fundamental aspect of this diversification.  It could be as simple as being conscious of the vocabulary that I use, the examples I quote, the authors or ideas I refer to... This personal awareness does go a long way in creating a sensitive and inclusive classroom ambiance, especially with regard to the syllabus.  

Davison building at Royal Holloway

Have been back at the university since January 8, that's when I officially commenced my doctoral research studies at Royal Holloway. The new thing at the university is the completed and operational Davison building, which houses the library of the university and a couple of other offices.  The place is a real sight to behold.  The outer structure looks a bit odd but the interior is so well designed and looks grand.  There is also a special section in the library for students like me engaged in postgraduate research (of course, no fun, there! I prefer to sit with the common regular folks! But in the silent section, not the cafeteria-library). 

With the anxiety about what next and 'whether next' behind me, am all set to plunge headlong into my studies. That singular clarity and evaporation of any doubts has been a great boon and source of motivation.  

Education

I came across the following poster today while reading something on education... It honestly has some truth about it.  Has real implications also for our formation, or more specifically, what we is taught, the attitude with which education is perceived (both by the students and teachers) and the whole purpose of education.

One stark difference I notice between students back in India and here is the perspective on education.  While most graduates in India study - if at all, one can still use the term - merely for the marks or in obedience to their parents, students in the UK do so out of their own accord and for experience and knowledge.  Hence their investment level is very high.  Not that they are all saints and bookworms.  Far from it.  But they do study and take education seriously - students and teachers alike.

Students go to college, to study!  This statement may seem odd, but is very true in the UK context.  All the more true in the case of those attending university for their post-graduation or higher courses.  

Language blues

While at UPS (our Salesian Pontifical University), I met several Indian Salesian confreres whom I knew or met over the past years... some of them almost 14 years ago.  There were others too who had heard my name but never met me (that was a great feeling!).

Am told that among the various departments operational at UPS, the psychology and communications departments are the most popular with the most number of students.  The other departments being mostly of a religious nature had many priests and religious as students.  However one common thing most of those whom I met (atleast the Indians) felt uncomfortable with was the Italian language.  That they had to learn and then almost instantly (within 3 months) start taking lessons of their specific courses in Italian was something they did not appreciate.  Some even jokingly expressed their jealously of me having "escaped" this by going to London!

From my side, I envied their 'ambiance' - the study environment with almost 2000 students in the university and about 150 priests and deacons living on the campus in 6 different communities.  Seeing others study - at least someone - is a motivation that challenges me to study too.  Apart from that, I truly feel blessed and grateful for every other "luxury" while in Chertsey!  I only prayed that I make the most of this mega-opportunity and blessing. 

Creative vs getting over with

While at Karunapuram or Kondabada, I rarely gave the students questions or themes to write assignments or papers about.  Mostly it is they who would approach me with topics they wanted to write about.

However, here I find my classmates (at least some of them) rather diffident to come up with a question or theme to write about.  Most often the professors set out a few questions from which we are to choose. Those who wish to write on topics other than those listed, need to get it approved by the professor before hand.

The reason for this 'difficulty' is because we are unable to (as of now) have a comprehensive view of the topic or issue under discussion.  Within that to pin-point one minor topic and come up with a question is therefore challenging.  My former students would come with topics because they have the papers of the past years!! The very notion of copying someone else's work just doesn't arise for my present classmates! They have tasted the thrill of thinking for oneself and thereby enjoy 'creating' stuff, rather than 'getting over' with the academic challenge. The ambiance further assists this 'creative' enterprise.

I suppose this is one of the major differences between the education system between the West and in India. Here education is geared towards helping one reflect for oneself.  In India, education is more about 'getting through'.  

Growing in knowledge

Plato has this interesting thing to say about knowledge and growing in knowledge.

Isn’t it by learning and study, which are motions, that the soul gains knowledge and is preserved and becomes a better thing? Whereas in a state of rest, that is, when it will not study or learn, it not only fails to acquire knowledge but forgets what it has already learned? [Plato, Theaetetus, 153c]

No wonder he was called wise!