The art of schooling

"Sri Sri Ravishankar has a bizarre logic for privatisation of education — that students from government schools become naxalites and take to violence. Foolish though they are, such assertions prop up the falsehood that government-funded education is a ghettoised ruin, while private sector institutions uniformly make the cut. Genuine thought leadership must dwell on questions such as improving the skills of teachers in public schools."

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : The art of schooling: Contrary to the pernicious logic advanced against public education, the beneficiaries of that system work harder to overcome their social disadvantages, compared with well-to-do counterparts in private institutions. As Noam Chomsky has pointed out, elite education is oriented more towards preserving the status quo, which is antithetical to the concepts of freedom of thought, challenge and inquiry that are the core goals of education.

India's public education lacks adequate human resources and infrastructure, and it evidently needs supportive policies to achieve its potential. What it does not need is a sermon on things that it is not.

What you lose when you 'buy' an education

"The gruesome murder of a Chennai schoolteacher by her 15-year-old student should serve as a wake-up call to educators and parents to focus on what is missing in the way we approach schooling."

Every school should have a qualified counsellor who is accessible to students, teachers and parents. Value Education curricula need to be revamped to address real issues that students contend with. Programmes on anger management can be introduced so that children learn acceptable and unacceptable ways of expressing negative emotions. Teachers should be trained to identify children at risk of various psychological problems. In this digital age, schools must allot time for Media Studies, where children are taught to discern and critique the information that bombards them from various channels. The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : What you lose when you 'buy' an education:

The consumerist view of education is counterproductive as teachers feel belittled in the process and do not receive the respect that is due to them. Teaching is, indeed, a very taxing profession that is not accorded the status it deserves.

We, as a society, have embraced a very utilitarian model of education. For most Indians, the main aim of education is to get a good job that pays a lucrative salary. As a result, parents put undue pressure on their wards and teachers to obtain stellar results on examinations. Schools have also succumbed to this unidimensional perspective and advertise the number of rank holders and professional college placements. In the process, education has lost its soul.

Students have to be equipped with skills and techniques to cope with life's strains and stresses.

Murder in the classroom

"The murder of a school teacher by a 15-year-old boy in Chennai who was angry at being reprimanded for his poor performance in class has thrown up deeply disquieting questions on parenting, teaching, and social and cultural mores."

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Murder in the classroom: Many factors are at play, some of them at larger societal levels that are not easily controllable. Blaming parenting is easy, but this is no more than a way of absolving the rest of society of all responsibility.

The teacher's murder is indicative of a collective failure of society — our schools cannot remain untouched when the world outside is not peaceful, fair and just. We need also to pursue remedies at the school level itself

Co-ed's : Stressed out or Eased out...???

There is a mixture of opinion by Indian parents and general public at large...

While some believe that girls will be exposed to their sensuality too early while others believe that both boys and girls will develop a sense of comfortability in interacting with each other...

Anita Vachharajani, a children storyteller, and an anxious parent expresses her opinion...

Are co-ed's better than all-girl schools?