We have been subscribing to the Times of India for the past 2 years. The writing is not very good and often I'm left wondering what the point of the article is as the most salient points are missing. Prasad used to subscribe to the Economic Times which offers more quality writing however, I found it very dull and hardly ever read it. Recently, we started subscribing to the Mint which is also a financial newspaper but it has some engaging human interest articles and their editorial section is quite thought provoking. It is well written and the Mint Lounge on Saturday is the best part of the newspaper. Now if you only subscribe to the Mint, you will be exposed to more quality writing but you will miss out on all the masala and you're somewhat removed from what's going on in India as the Times reflects the "Indian culture". So we read and subscribe to both and I guess we don't have to fight for the newspaper in the mornings as there is plenty to go around.
This brings me to the quality of English that is spoken and written in India. There is a plethora of Indian English authors but most seem to write like Chetan Bhagat, there is nothing wrong with his writing but he's no Jane Austen. I understand that it is not everyone's first language and I should give them a break. My problem is that the schools don't know how to teach English. Even S & R's school struggles to teach the children in an organized fashion. It frustrates me to no end to see them hand out homework and not instruct the children how to structure the writing assignment. I have been talking to the teachers, some listen and some don't. This coming year, I'll be joining the PAC (Parent Action Committee) to see if I can make a difference. The positive aspect is that the school is willing to listen but unlike the US public schools which place so much emphasis on English writing and reading in the first few years, India is still figuring out how to teach the subject. It's no surprise I suppose but I was hoping that at an international school, they could set an example but even they struggle with it.
3 comments:
Mythili,
Friends in B'lore have mentioned that the quality of teaching in the newer schools is vastly inferior to that of the older convent schools - these are my high school classmates, who now have children in the school system there. Apparently it isn't just English; Social Studies is also suffering - looks like all the new schools preder to focus on math and science!
Hi Mythili,
You have hit the nail on the head. There are many different components to language arts - literature, grammar, writing, reading comprehension and critical analysis. I think the classes I remember taking as a child (ICSE boards so cannot speak for the others), emphasized grammar, reading comprehension and to an extent very simple essay writing.
We had no mandatory reading requirements (4 books per year hardly counts in my opinion), no exposure really to different writing forms or discussion of various writing styles, no book analysis etc etc.
thanks to your note, it brought back the reasons that made India a hard choice in terms of a long term move.
Maith I suspect the convent schools may be better but that is a small percentage of the schools that are out there and they are not very popular among the foreign returned except among the Christians. Also I think they are very strict and I couldn't imagine sending my kids there.
Teju, S&R's school is trying to cover all the various aspects of language arts but they are new to it and are still struggling with how best to teach it. The structure is missing and perhaps I still need to come to terms with the IB methodology of teaching.
Post a Comment