Contradictions when seen first hand, bring with it a feeling of inner turmoil. More so when it is in one single day! Having had ended the previous day on a hopeful note, I prepared myself to going into a community to meet a kid. But I was yet to figure out what I wanted to bring back.
Under constructed on the outside, and delicately detailed on the inside. Tiles, TV, cooler, furniture, almost everything that a middle class well to do family can have, was here in the apparently poverty ridden community. Greeted by excited kids, I could not help but wonder about the situations that lead to such ostensible lives. While we were settling down in our buses to return, a few kids aged not more than thirteen years started misbehaving with the girls sitting inside. Shell shocked at the sheer audacity and confused about how to react to tiny kids acting like absolute hooligans, she shut the window. This incited an entire volley of stones, gravel and garbage being hurled at us, by children who could hardly think beyond cartoons! Grossly disturbed, I urged myself to go deeper into the issue.
Education in our country has been providing information but not empowering the people. Almost all the successful people are where they are because of the 'dis-education' that they have had. There is no direct change that can be found due to education and this probably diminishes it's value greatly in the minds of people. Also, this makes you apprehensive about the educated (empowered to be precise) class, their 'manipulations and tricks', leading to unconscious hatred towards them.
After the disturbing incident, there was absolutely no hope for things to get better. That was until the inauguration ceremony. Kids from different schools performed in front of five hundred odd audience who were left speechless. One group put up a singing and dance show where one guy dances while a group sings. Live dance for live music, how many times have you come across that? Next there were kids who could make leading journalists blush with their oratory skills. Speaking on topics like global warming, Indo-China border, the kids made us stand up on our feet to acknowledge their talent and confidence.
As I head back to my bed very eagerly, I believe I have seen two extremes of the same thing, education. On one side, the disabling shackles and on the other, an enabling and empowering freedom. I think I have found what I want to pass on to my students. The ability to learn and empower themselves. Because when I leave, I want to be sure that the future of this country is not adversely dependent on certain things and that they will find their ways to ensure that regardless of any obstacle, let alone the absence of a good teacher!
With every new read its getting better n better.. keep going.
ReplyDeleteYou've got a way with words! very well written :)
ReplyDeleteHope every day has a new learning.