Making the Mammoth Dance

I would like to initiate this blog of mine with the famous saying “Where there is a will there is a way”.  Men have always wondered that can elephants dance, and has doubted that it may not be possible because of the sheer size that the animal possesses. If I were to equate Tamilnadu with an elephant I feel that the existing humankind would get all convictions wrong. Traditional beliefs have been shattered and Tamilnadu has demonstrated that size does not matter it’s the execution that is important, the mindset that is critical and even mountains can be moved men.  Before speaking about the person who has moved the mountain let me demonstrate a fantastic example of what change Tamilnadu has brought in the field of education through two revolutionary methods.  A) ABL-Activity Based Learning B) ALM-Active Learning Methodology. Both the methods are totally child centric methods, unlike the teacher centric methods observed in the schools. The methods encourage experimentation and improve learning through methods of demonstration.

Most of the observations that i have done in my career were pre announced which gave an opportunity for the subjects to actually modify their behaviour during the course of observation. At Coimbatore I had an opportunity to visit one of the schools in Coimbatore to observe as to how learning is taking place in the government aided schools and the most important of all our team’s visit was not pre-announced.  I enter a classroom and i am surprised that the children are not at all moved by my presence. Children carry out the task they are doing, unlike the traditional classrooms which definitely respond to the visitors and the children get distracted, here is a classroom which is not at all moved by our presence. Reason Activity based learning, it’s true that a child learns better when he is actively involved rather than passive learning.  A clear demonstration of a child centred learning rather than teacher oriented learning.  Let me list what has made me an ardent supporter of ABL and i believe that my readers would definitely agree with me:

a)    Interaction is the way and not instruction – ABL has shown that what the children interact with the teacher there is not instruction during the course of classroom transaction. The teacher does not instruct the child, the child learns the concepts by the way of exploration. A paradigm shift in is observed in the history of teaching in India especially in state run school. The child happily carries out the task without any instruction from the teacher.

b)   Joyful learning a reality – I always wondered that is there any school in India where i can see the children happy and joyfully learning it seemed a distant dream to me until i visited this school. Children smiling across the classroom, joyful learning taking place across and every single child are smiling. There is no fear and as i believe that where the mind is without fear the learning is enormous.  ABL has brought joy and happiness which our traditional and rote methods failed to do for decades

c)    In built assessment system – The beauty of ABL is the, in-built assessment there is no life taking stress on the child. The system is designed in a fashion that the child progresses the ladder only when the concepts are mastered. The child does not feel pressurised to perform, but instead the focus is on mastering the concepts. A child is not graded with other children but his comparison is with himself. The assessment is so beautifully constructed that the child moves on to the next level only after mastering the concepts at the present level

d)   Teacher is motivated – There is more reason to cheer and its because the centrifugal force of the teaching community “the teacher” is happy. The teacher comes forward and interacts with the child, there is probing, questioning and responding. I can see the joy on the teachers face, for a second i forgot that it was a government aided school, such is the power of ABL. The teacher happily says that ABL has definitely altered the way the children learn and this learning methodology should be adopted by each and every school in India.

Change is in adapting the new and doing away with the old. Its often said that change comes from the helm and to what I have seen I can definitely give the credit to one man at the helm. It would be no exaggeration if I call this man a revolutionary. You can see passion in his eyes and hear the passion when he speaks about education. I had an opportunity to meet various civil servants during my career but seldom i have met a person of this stature, a civil servant by occupation whose humbleness and humility are earth touching. Let me introduce the man who is trying to bring the education revolution in India. Meet Sri Vijay Kumar an IAS officer 1985 batch and former Director of SSA responsible for making the elephant dance. 

Speak to him and you would come to know why he speaks proudly of the change, “go to any of the 40,000 schools in Tamilnadu you will see joyful learning taking place. Mark the word he says “jofyful learning”.

I am paid to bring the change, what is the use if I cannot do something for the future of the millions of children in this country. He maps the various schools in his mind; he knows his team by name. He believes in execution and he knows it’s the key, he rubbishes big talk and according to him action is the only road to change and not the talks.

I am honoured to know a person of this stature; we need more Vijaykumar’s in this country to make the education revolution a reality.

Non cooperation movement for the common wealth games

Much has been said written and spoken about the forthcoming common wealth games which leaves me with no space for writing about the same. Many of us are aware about the crises currently the country is facing and it calls for an emergency action from our top brass to save the country’s honour. Let me narrate you a metaphorical instance, before coming to the point of non-co-operation of movement as advocated by Gandhiji.

 

We know that in India violence against women is a common phenomenon. A woman in a married family daily gets beaten up by her husband. Bruised and battered she smilingly puts up a brave face to the world. The same is the case with the Indian Common Wealth Games (CWG) bruised battered by the organising committee. Bruised by the allegations of corruption, fraud, deadline tripping and much more, still India is putting up a smiling face like the timid housewife who in-spite of all the atrocities chooses to remain quite. My question to the audience is why??? Why are we quite? Why don’t we stand up and speak? Why don’t we blow the whistle? The modern Indian lady is quite strong; she can fight any battle that she chooses to. The time has come that we stand up and speak our heart out fight against the “babudom”, against the atrocities of the corrupt officials who don’t think twice before swallowing the public money.

I would like that the audience takes my advice with a pinch of salt, and not brand me as a person with anti nationalist sentiments but as a person who is voicing the sentiments of a nation with a population of a billion plus. I am sharing some of the ideas how can we get together unite and show the world, that when a billion minds co-operate the non-cooperation movement starts. It’s a game over for those who have been beguiling the common Indian masses in the face of the common wealth games. Here are some of my strategies how can we make the non-cooperation movement a successful one.

1) Mass boycotting of games – One of the best things we can do is boycott the games. Let each and every individual of the country boycott the game and not watch it on either television screens or live. Let us pledge that we will not buy the tickets which are one of the main sources of income for the organising committee. If none of us go and watch the CWG it would be a shame for the organisers who will feel cheated that nobody came to watch the games and probably they will punish themselves for doing such a shoddy job.

2) Stop corporate sponsorship – I recently read that CWG OC(organising committee) had called up for corporate sponsorships for raising funds. Let all the corporate join hands together and say that will not lend a single penny to such a committee that has been charged with embezzlement of funds in an inappropriate manner. One such welcome step has already  been taken up by the Indian railways which, has stopped a cash flow of 100 crores stating misappropriation of funds by the OC.

3) A mass non cooperation movement – The fight has begun, although we became independent in 1947 we are yet to gain freedom from corruption, bribery, red tapism and the other evils prevailing in the Government system. Let us begin a non cooperative movement by cooperating with each other. Make use of the electronic media, the internet, the mobile technology, emails and blogs and spread the word across. Let each and every Indian citizen sign an electronic petition that we shall not watch the games at any condition. Let us wish the guilty be punished and those who ate away the public money, none of them are allowed to go scot free.

The real games will begin now the politicians will now realize the wrath of the common man. The power in Unity, the power of a nation with a voice of 1 billion plus, urging to come out. The revolution will begin soon and its game over for Kalmadi and his corrupt pawns who, have broken all the rules of the game till date.

The Outliers - A Review

It all started when I was on a consultancy trip to Nellore and I had seen this book with one of the directors of our company. I borrowed this book and read a few lines and I fell in love with this book. I asked him if, I could borrow it from him and return it to him after reading. He vehemently denied it as if I had asked his daughters hand in marriage, I realised at that point of time the “Outliers” is definitely a book which will make a place in my personal collection.  

I came back from the trip and read the book completely; I became a great fan of the author Malcolm Gladwell. He is also the author of “Tipping Point” and the “Blink”. Read ahead, to find out why I recommend this interesting piece of literature to be cherished for a life time in your personal library.

Practice Practice and Practice - An old age adage says that "Practice makes a man perfect" quite true Gladwell has estimated that people who have become successful have had ample hours of practicing a particular skill or working in the  specialized arena for more than 10,000 hours trying to perfect that skill. He exemplifies his statement by giving across some brilliant names like Bill Gates (founder of Microsoft) Bill Joey (Co-owner Sun Micro systems) Both of them practiced writing computer codes for more than 10,000 hours invariably enabling them to become one of the finest minds in the world of computing. Phew...it’s a hell lot practice guys, so the root to become successful is to follow the ten thousand hour rule in a manner that leads to skill enhancement during that course of time. Ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness.

What goes in the making of successful people - One of the interesting points about the book is the fact that talks about the ingredients, that goes in the making of successful people.  What I mean here by ingredients is the small mischief’s that they carried out to become “Outliers”. Let me quote a few instances from the lives of great and successful people, which only a few people would be aware of.

Bill Joey (founder Sun Micro Systems) tweaked the coding system at the Ann harbor campus to gain access to the computer lab, so as to access machines longer than the stipulated allotted time.

Bill Gates and Paul Allen got kicked out from the ISI (no its not Pakistani intelligence, it stands for Information Science Inc) for stealing a bunch of passwords and crashing the system. Moreover they stole computer timing from the University of Washington to practice writing codes. (Now i understand why Bill Gates is so generous towards the University of Washington.)

The snippets here should not be taken in a negative sense as they were events in their life which led them to become successful. Obviously I am not advocating students to gain illegal access to their computer labs, but i am just making a point that even these mischiefs’s worked in their favour as the field of personal computing was at its nascent stages during that time.

Being there at the right place at the right time - The book forces the readers to think, "Am I at the right place at the right time". This question generally props up in the minds of the entrepreneurs who keep on pondering on this again and again. It is this thought that propels and drives entrepreneurs towards innovation. I emphasize this because in order to be at the helm of affairs one needs to be constantly innovate to match the expectation of the masses. It’s due to this innovation the entrepreneur gains a cutting edge over others and thus becomes the right man at the right place at the right time. 

Roots do matter – In the final chapters of the book; Malcolm focuses on the fact that a person's root plays an important role in determining the performance of people across various fields. Malcolm draws a beautiful comparison of Asian paddy farmers and the Asian students and he is of the opinion as to how both are co-related. He says that the Asian community students are quite hardworking and it’s reflected in their academic performance in international achievement tests. Ditto are the Asian paddy farmers who are well versed in the cultivation of paddy which by nature is one of the complex crops to grow. Finally he says that Asians have the ability to persistently follow a problem and they do not give up easily.

In the conclusion I would like to state a few lines of the book which I found very interesting and thought provoking -"Success is a function of persistence and doggedness and the willingness to work hard to make sense of something that most people would give up after 30 seconds".

My Verdict - Go ahead and read this book who knows there may be an OUTLIER waiting inside you to come out.

3 idiots - Idiot is no more a slang. It's a Compliment!

Disclaimer- Please watch the movie before going through the blog. The opinions expressed here are solemnly the views of the blog authors and does not necessarily relate to any person living, dead or coincidental.

Readers might be wondering that I have not written a blog since a long time after Taare Zamin Par, but frankly speaking I did not get enough ideas to pen down something concrete. My urge to write a blog was growing stronger and suddenly the movie 3 idiots propped up and thus gave me two unique ideas which I would like to take forward.

• To pursue my dream of writing and sharing thoughts with the world. (Later on take up writing as a serious business)
• To create a co-authored blog space with one of my good friend Pooja Khanna.

Introducing Pooja..

Pooja is a dynamic, dashing young lady from LSR (Lady Shri Ram) college and an ideal mix of beauty and brains. Her opinions are quite frank and honest and so I have decided to share the blog space with her. I believe readers would welcome this change and support us for our future pieces of literature that we shall pen down together.

Now i know why a face can launch a 1000 ships... believe, me this would be the second face after the Helen of Troy.

  

We recently watched 3 idiots, what a movie we both said! If there is any award for innovation in the field of movies than 3 Idiots surely deserves it. What we mean here by innovation is the theme innovation, be it Taare Zamin Par or the current one 3 idiots each of them had a meaning and message behind them. We are not sure whether the movie would smash all the box office records, in revenue collection but the earnings till date definitely point out towards that direction.

We are sharing some of our learning's from the movie, with our readers.

Encourage children to pursue their dreams - President APJ Abdul Kalam has rightly pointed out "Dream big if you want to make it big in life". Let children breathe freedom, and parents should not impose their wish on the children. Forcing academics on children and making them cognitively intelligent should not be the ultimate aim.Parents need to expose the children to a variety of experiences, so that they discover their inherent interests and strive towards them with passion. Share your child’s dreams, aspirations. Trust that he would choose his own course and provide him with a safety net. We recall a dialogue from the blockbuster movie "DDLJ" (Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge") wherein at the end Amrish Puri says "Ja beta Ja Jile Apni Zindagi". Whether it is choosing a wife or a career-life, the dialogue is applicable in both.

Concept of “Mugging” (Ratafication) is outdated – Schools and centres of learning have to promote learning by understanding rather than mechanized and rote learning. Children have to learn by understanding to survive in the real world. They need practical skills. Muggers like "Chatur" wont work. For instance the inability of the Graduates & Post Graduates to explain simple concepts is a flaw in the system. Children are not encouraged to get wisdom beyond the books. The system has to develop a mechanism to promote learning by understanding. Promote thinking, creativity, innovation among the students. Interaction and not instruction should be encouraged in schools and at all centers of learning. (The XSEED way of learning is a great example of how concepts should be taught in class. (Visit the web-link www.idiscoveri.com for more details)

Weird characters live in every campus – It’s true that characters like Prof. Viru Sahsrabuddhaev or Chatur live everywhere. Thier die-hard habits are quite close to thier heart. Trying to change them is like attempting to move a mountain. So whether it is the competitive spirit of Prof. Sahsrabuddhaev or the by-the-book approach of Chatur, attacking them directly would only get you enemies. And if you fit yourself into thier ways, you risk losing yourself. So, rather than trying to change them or changing yourself, accept both and have fun!

Pressure Pressure Everywhere - We have heard that "God is all prevalent" but Pooja and I had to rethink the statement and say "God and Pressure are all prevalent". Right from gaining admission to the KG (Kindergarten) class to gaining admission in a prestigious college there is pressure everywhere. Pressure to get in, pressure to sustain, pressure to perform and finally the pressure to get out in flying colours. And those who cannot handle the pressure they quit the race (commit suicide). Damn the pressure, somewhere this has to end. The only thing in our hands is to not get caught in it. Your success and self-esteem are not defined by how much you scored. As long as you know your strengths and refine them, you’ll do fine.

Be an Idiot – Yes, you read it right, an Idiot; because from now on, Idiot is a compliment. Let us define what it means to be an Idiot. An Idiot is someone who follows his instincts, and not the herd. He knows the high-funda stuff, but does not garble it to impress. He questions norms and authority, but does not do so to be a rebel. He accepts a challenge, but does not find a need to challenge anybody else’s worth.

All is Well - Finally when everything goes wrong and nothing seems to be going right, just say all is well and leave to God the rest. There are two approaches to come up in life one is a goal based approach and the other is the effort based. Both are equally important, although the professionl world emphasizes on goal based approach i.e. reaching targets, accomplishing deadlines, we still believe that efforts are equally important. There is no short cut to success. Work hard party harder and leave the rest to God.

There are times when our thoughts paralyze our actions. When the child in you fears consequences, the Adult in you must sober the child by saying, ‘All is Well’ and do what it takes!