In June, 2018 I finished assisting on a course on Public Finance for master degree students at my home institution - National Law School. Time spent on delivering this course has been a useful opportunity to observe higher education learning and teaching. This post is to gather key takeaways from this engagement. Moreover, it seems … Continue reading A term as Teaching Assistant
Tag: teaching
It is not what you think is wrong with ‘education in India’
Writing this in a haste, with an urge to put down what I feel about this piece that Scroll published a few hours back about a government school teacher who was mobbed by his students and urged to not leave, when he was transferred from the school. The students and teacher are visibly moved and emotional … Continue reading It is not what you think is wrong with ‘education in India’
Teachers and schools
Giri is on a super long tour. And this is what he writes back - If you ask Madhulika what makes her such a fine teacher, she will just shrug and say, ‘I am not doing anything special.’ On observing her, one notices a teacher of some skill, who ensures every child is engaged. http://www.firstpost.com/living/ordinary-women-extraordinary-stories-these-teachers-in-rural-indias-schools-are-real-life-heroes-4290209.htmlMakes … Continue reading Teachers and schools
Reading Foucault & thinking college activism
This has been in the making for several years now - trying to identify the causal chain from ideas to action, especially since the first reading of Foucault. The ongoing trouble in colleges and universities of Delhi presents a case to reflect upon this causal chain. There comes a phase in student life when encounters … Continue reading Reading Foucault & thinking college activism
Learning with Tanzanite Group
Today, we close our sociology classes for the academic year. The group of kids (13-14 year old) with whom I have shared classroom time over the year were introduced to ideas of society, groups, norms and rules, sociological perspectives and institutions in a society. This was meant to be an introductory course. In two sessions … Continue reading Learning with Tanzanite Group
Understanding Children & Feeling Naked
Last week in school, two incidents forced me to think about what does one really know about a child's mind. A better question would be to ask what do we know about a child through his years of growing up, until an acceptable, complying adult is formed out of her by years of joint work … Continue reading Understanding Children & Feeling Naked
Observations from parent-teacher meeting
Last week at Poorna, we had parent-teacher meeting (PTM) spanning over two days. I was looking forward to this since the current academic year began. I wanted to see and get to know the parents of the kids I was spending time with in sociology classes. At Poorna these meetings have an unhurried and informal … Continue reading Observations from parent-teacher meeting
Teaching – Year 3
This isn't how it was supposed to be! Two years of teaching sociology and economics to senior secondary students was to end this year. The students have graduated and most of them are looking forward to the university now. I thought I have had enough of those everyday realizations of my ineffectiveness in classroom and … Continue reading Teaching – Year 3
What is alternative education?
A few weeks back, a university professor in course of a conversation asked what "alternative education" means. She hazarded a guess - that it is about educating those who are differently-able. I figured she was hard at work making sense of the word "alternative" beginning with the typical process of ascribing "mainstream" or perhaps "normal" … Continue reading What is alternative education?
Subject knowledge of teachers
There is a rare corner in the Indian media (print and broadcast) where concerns about various aspects of education system in India are being pursued. This space, I am glad to see, has a significant presence of researchers and academicians from the university I attended. Over the past year, these articles have aided my work … Continue reading Subject knowledge of teachers
Contested Realities 