Thursday, 4 September 2014
Tuesday, 2 September 2014
Dreams for my son
My little boy just turned 8 months old. If the last 8 months were any indicator I am sure that in no time he will be on the bus going to school! While I am truly looking forward to the benefits of his growing up in the United States I also worry about him missing out on what I had growing up in India. While I am excited about him growing up to be confident and independent I worry if he will respect the wisdom of age and experience. While I am sure he will be an effective communicator, I wonder if he will be able to solve Math problems in his head. While I know that he will have all the possible options that anyone can ever have while growing up in a developed country I shudder to think of him growing up without the fire in his belly and determination to succeed no matter what!
Well, you may say, no one forced him to study in the United States, if it is so worrisome, or is it? I don't know why I worry. But more importantly I don't know why I have to chose one or the other - why can't I have it all? Why can't my son have the best of both worlds, in fact why can't he have the best of all the world? Why Can't he?
Sunday, 11 May 2014
Is it ever cool to drop out of school?
Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs...the list of illustrious names continues... the new big name is Tumblr CEO, David Karp. All these guys did not complete their education, but went on to not just become billionaires, but to change the world.
It is a great talking point, when discussed in the context of poor public education or super smart whiz kids, but the discussion should end right there. As many and as exceptional as they may seem, these folks are outliers with streaks of genius and good luck.
The school system, with all its imperfections still is absolutely necessary not just for an education, but for preparing the next generation of citizens.
Wednesday, 7 May 2014
Use of Technology keeps students engaged
The internet era students find it rather hard to sit still in class and listen to long monotonous lectures. For teachers,as if the increased administrative demands of testing and formative assessments are not hard enough to keep up with, keeping students engaged and interested has become a task of its own.
In this situation, technology is the two edged sword that can come to a teacher's rescue. It not only helps teachers with record keeping, keeping track of assessments and conducting research, but when employed rightly, it can also help keep students engaged and interested.
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