Two more well written edited articles written by my students on subjects that are not in the prescribed syllabus

I need to explain why I'm posting my students' work.

For one thing , I edit what they write and put it in. Secondly, it is a reward. Their thoughts , when well expressed , need recognition on various counts.

The third thing is this:
This blog was started with the decision to make it a professional record and I hope some of my colleagues at least will join in the work of evaluating each other's blogs.

Student records can be online samples too.

The two articles I'm posting here are both individual efforts and I felt that, after my having spruced them up, they are interesting enough to make good reading for anyone who wants to visit and read my blog. The process would really become intersting if they also comment so that the students and I are benefited.

The last and most important reason is the fact that education has to move towards description and not assessment while dealing with student specimens of writing. This , as far as i am concerned , helps more than marks or grades. The criteria for such descriptions needs , of course, to be decided. Prescriptions would then come from the students themselves and not form the teacher.

Article I

Where does the road of today's youth lead?

Why is there this great need to conform in today's society? When I talk about society, I mean the life and social circle of a Teen living in Bangalore City! Of late, a person who comes to Bangalore will not be struck by its beauty, the horrendous traffic, the disparity between the poor and the rich or any of the other supposedly wonderful attractive or unattaractive qualities that Bangalore has to offer. Instead he or she can't help but be “shocked”, yes, I think that’s the mildest word possible which I can use, and shocked at the way the children of this metropolis are behaving! Drinking alcohol at 5 in the evening, doing drugs in the presence of an elder brother or with friends, watching blue films on cell phones, smoking and trying out new methods to test the limits of CLEAN fun...the list is endless. What happened to innocent gaiety? Where have Sunday picnics or an outing to a park or friendly get togethers gone? Instead, at the drop of a hat today's adolescents; i.e., the young men and women of Bangalore are quite keen to do-nothing; and I literally mean absolutely zilch. They sit about at popular coffee cafe's ( and maybe by sheer chance or by mistake they might actually order a coffee!) meeting up with friends who they have met but an hour back in school, smoking or doing hookah or trying to guzzle as many beers as they can lay their hands upon. However, the minute they catch sight of a policeman some instinct in them tells them to hastily stash their Bacardi Breezers and Bottles of Beer aside or quickly get on their bikes and go for a quick zip in case these " nosey, pesky, annoying cops" have a sudden fit of moral duty to check these teenagers "borrowed" licenses. With the influx of Western culture, Bangalore seems to have absorbed the darker side of it all. Be it the music or the fashion statements, barely there skirts and tops and garish jerseys and baggy jeans the boys and girls of today are eager to test how far they can go, physically with each other and emotionally with their parents. The minute you hit thirteen and above, it’s the norm to be seen out, late at night, wrapped around your current date, and be seen with the latest Bling i.e. your ipod, the latest cell phone, a cigarette drooping from flaccid lips and with red bloodshot eyes. With not a care in the world these young adults see no problems in trying to push the edge of reason.

What do you think of this state of affairs? I am however glad that there does exist certain people who don’t give a damn about fitting in. Sure, we all have the desire to experiment but the difference between stupidity and smartness is that the latter recognizes the need and essentiality to stop.
The road of today’s youth leads somewhere….. but where?!

by Kruthika Chittiappa

Book Review of Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

11/29/05

I can definitely say that “Memoirs Of A Geisha” has joined my list of favorites when it comes to literature. Having just completed reading the book yesterday, in the wee hours of the morning, I would like to share my experience of the book with you while it is still fresh in my mind. And believe you me, reading this book was not like the sometimes-mundane task of reading a text you are not interested in, but was truly an experience.

The book starts off with the protagonist Nitta Sayuri as a little girl, when her name was Chiyo-Chan, living in a tiny village on the coast of the Japanese island of Kyoto. She is a girl born to a family living in poverty in a tiny wind-blown house she fondly calls “tipsy-house”. The story tells us how Chiyo was never an ordinary girl, from her prominent intelligence to her startlingly rare eyes, an exquisite shade of grey-blue.
Chiyo’s mother lies in bed, continuously battling fatal bone cancer, while her emotionless father sits around the house wordlessly expressing his sorrow.
Then one day Chiyo and her sister are taken away by Mr.Tanaka, a man they mistake for a kind human being, who buys them from their father and sells them in Gion, for one to be trained as a geisha, and the other as a prostitute.
Chiyo is sent to an Okiya to be trained as a geisha because of her startling beauty, evident in her even as a child, but conditions are harsh and her outspokenness and desire to escape the Okiya lead her to be removed from training and she spends her days as a maid, abused by the resident geisha, Hatsumomo.
Everyone is unkind to her and the only act of kindness she is shown is by a man on the banks of the river who she remembers only as “the chairman”.
Every day passes with her clutching onto the meager hope that she will see him again, some day and it keeps her alive.
One day however her luck changes and Mameha, one of the city’s most prominent geishas decides to adopt Chiyo as her “younger sister” or geisha in training and then the story follows Chiyo, now Sayuri(her geisha name) as she experiences the luxurious illusion-filled world of the geisha, not without its share of emotional hardships thatshe has to endure in trying to secure the affections of “the chairman” who does not remember her as the girl he was once kind to.

In the end Sayuri is reunited with him, the only man who had truly seen her soul.

The book is written well and it is evident that a lot of research has gone into its writing because it is written so realistically that the scenes of the book almost flash before our eyes, and we are enveloped in the world of the geisha.

I would recommend this book to everyone.

by Ahalya Alvares

Exhibit Three

One gets, sometimes, rarely, from a student a piece of writing that needs almost no editing. This was one such piece. It just needed touching up. So the entire credit goes to -
Loud applause -
Ahalya Alvares.

A comparison between The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost and Edward Thomas's The Signpost.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

The Signpost by Edward Thomas

The dim sea glints chill. The white sun is shy,
And the skeleton weeds and the never-dry,
Rough, long grasses keep white with frost
At the hill-top by the finger-post;
The smoke of the traveller's-joy is puffed
Over hawthorn berry and hazel tuft.
I read the sign. Which way shall I go?
A voice says: "You would not have doubted so
At twenty." Another voice gentle with scorn
Says: "At twenty you wished you had never been born."
One hazel lost a leaf of gold
From a tuft at the tip, when the first voice told
The other he wished to know what 'twould be
To be sixty by this same post. "You shall see,"
He laughed -and I had to join his laughter -
"You shall see; but either before or after,
Whatever happens, it must befall.
A mouthful of earth to remedy all
Regrets and wishes shall be freely given;
And if there be a flaw in that heaven
'Twill be freedom to wish, and your wish may be
To be here or anywhere talking to me,
No matter what the weather, on earth,
At any age between death and birth, -
To see what day or night can be,
The sun and the frost, tha land and the sea,
Summer, Winter, Autumn, Spring, -
With a poor man of any sort, down to a king,
Standing upright out in the air
Wondering where he shall journey, O where?"

Both “The Signpost” by Edward Thomas and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost are

fascinating poems with a similar undercurrent or theme running through them.

Both poems talk about life as a journey, and one that is fraught with decisions,

alternatives and choices, but both take a different stand on the impact that these decisions ultimately have on our lives.

The poem “the signpost” starts off with a beautiful description of the background where the poet is walking and it tells us of Thomas’ surroundings, which are bleak and almost lifeless. “The dim sea glints chill” evokes an image of a dull cool mass of water, masking its many mysteries and wonders and simply lying on its bed, comatose.

The phrase “the white sun is shy” also invokes a bleak image as the reader imagines a sun, pale in its whiteness, fixed idly in the middle of the sky, yet trying its best to hide from the world behind the façade of clouds.

“The road not taken” however, does not start with much description, but is more straightforward and simply begins with Frost addressing his theme of life’s decisions in the form of two diverging paths.

Both poems express the poets’ confusion and puzzlement over which path to take in life. In “The Signpost” Thomas says “I read the sign. Which way shall I go?”

And in The Road Not Taken, Frost says “

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood”

However, the similarity ends here as both poets take different stands on these paths of life.

Frost says that both paths look good to him and it would be easy for him to choose either, but he chooses the one less traveled, less trodden upon, although the first road too would have been an equally good experience. This can be seen in the lines “

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear”

Thomas on the other hand takes a different view as he says “I read the sign. Which way shall I go? A voice says: you would not have doubted so at twenty. Another voice gentle with scorn says: At twenty you wished you had never been born.”

Thomas sees the paths as confusing too, but says that no matter which path he takes, he knows he will have some sense of regret, and a sense that the past or future is always better than the path he has taken in the present.

In this way, the poets’ views are almost starkly contrasting. Frost sees the choices life throws at us as a positive experience, one that he cherishes, and he accepts that other paths and decisions are all equal, thereby dismissing the idea of regret at having taken one path and not the other, Thomas, on the other hand, adopts a more melancholy attitude where he says no matter what path you take, the grass will always look much greener on the other side.

The contrast between their views continues as the poems flow on, as Frost goes on to explain that although both paths were attractive and excellent, the decision he made about his life or the path he chose to travel has affected his life profoundly, and intensely in a positive sense, and has changed his destiny completely.

We can see this in the lines “

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.”

Thomas’ viewpoint differs entirely from this, as it seems he sees life- changing decisions we make almost futile because ultimately they lead to the same outcome. The final and inevitable swipe of the sword slays us all- and that is death. In his own words “whatever happens it must befall”. Thomas speaks with a mood of resigned sadness which borders on emptiness and his joie de vivre is lost in the fact that he sees life as being chock full of regrets and wishes, like those timeless moments where we reflect on our lives and say to ourselves-“What if…” Thomas says in his poem “regrets and wishes shall be freely given”

He even says that no matter what path we tread, we are still essentially fated to the same destiny and will all, no matter how rich, poor, intelligent or ignorant, be affected by the same things such as the seasons, death and birth. This is seen in the lines “No matter what the weather, on earth,
At any age between death and birth, -
To see what day or night can be,
The sun and the frost, the land and the sea,
Summer, Winter, Autumn, Spring, -
With a poor man of any sort, down to a king.”

It is because of this disparity in their very philosophioes of life that both poems, although talking about the same subject, end on two very different notes. Frost ends with an attitude of resolution, understanding of his choices, and gratefulness that he was able to make a decision that so enriched and made up the very essence of his life when he says”

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.”

Thomas however ends on a confused note, where he is left in the spiraling web of his own negative thoughts and is left questioning the very decisions he made in his own life, which have left him unfulfilled, still searching for the ever-hidden truth he is unable to uncover and we see this in the way he ends his poem, with the stark question “Wondering where he shall journey, O where?” The question mark at the end is a clear indicator of his irresolute take on life.

Comments, if you please?

Assessment

The criteria must be clear.

But what if it isnt clear to the student even if it is to the teacher? Can group grades be turned into individual grades? Is it good to be someone who stirs up a hornet's nest wherever one goes? I facilitate well for adults but the challenge is to do it for eleventh graders in General English. How to achieve evenness and excellence?

Different needs and levels. Assessment is not the issue but development is.

More of the Same

Floating through Fantasy
Taara Manian, Jalasaya Federoff and Tara Fernandes



Fantasy is a genre of art that uses magic as a primary element in plot, characterization, theme and setting. Fantasy films deal with the visual representation of magic and the powers of the imagination.

One of the fantasy movies that we have looked at is “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”. This is the first part of J.R.R.Tolkien’s and Peter Jackson’s famous trilogies.

For those of you haven’t seen the movie, its story starts off with the spotlight on an ancient Ring thought to be lost for centuries being re-discovered, and through a strange twist of fate being given to a small Hobbit named Frodo.When Gandalf the Wizard discovers that the Ring is in fact the One Ring of the Dark Lord Sauron, Frodo must make an epic quest to the Cracks of Doom in order to destroy it! However he does not go alone. Gandalf, Legolas the Elf, Gimli the Dwarf, Aragorn the heir to the throne of Gondor, Boromir and his three Hobbit friends Merry, Pippin and Samwise Gamgee join him. Through mountains, snow, darkness, forests, rivers and plains, facing evil and danger at every turn, the Fellowship of the Ring must go. Their quest to destroy the One Ring is the only hope for Middle Earth. If they fail the Dark Lord will reign!

Credits

Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring
Directed by Peter Jackson
Screenplay: Fran Walsh & Peter Jackson
Director of Photography : Andrew Lesnie
Film editing : John Gilbert
Score: Howard Shore
Year of Release: 2001
Some of the actors: Frodo : Elijah Wood Galadriel: Cate Blanchett
Legolas: Orlando Bloom Arwen: Liv Tyler
Aragorn: Viggo Mortenson Gandalf:Ian Mckellan
Pippin : Billy Boyd
Sam Gamgee : Sean Austin

The film won 4 Oscars and got 81 nominations, which we think it rightly deserved for its excellent direction, camera work, acting, music score and editing. Seeing as it was adapted from such a lengthy novel, we think that the script has also been reasonably well done.

Another movie that we have decided to look at is the first movie in the Harry Potter series, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” because it makes for contrast and comparison with Lotr 1.

The plot goes thus: Harry Potter has had to lead a hard life, what with losing his parents when just a child and having to live with his mean Uncle Vernon, his Aunt Petunia and their obnoxious son Dudley. On his eleventh birthday, Harry finds out that he’s a wizard and is invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Once there, he learns that his parents were a wizard and a witch who actually died saving him from the evil Lord Voldemort, and that although he was just a baby, he escaped the evil Lord’s wrath with just a scar on his forehead. (Picture of Harry with scar)
He strikes up a friendship with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger and together they go about discovering the many secrets and mysteries that envelop the magical school. Their quest for the philosopher’s stone leads them through many obstacles including keeping up in everyday school life, a bewitched Quidditch (a magical sport) match, coming face to face with Fluffy, the three-headed monster dog, and battling the Dark Lord, Voldemort.

“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone ( American name)

Credits:
J.K Rowling –the novel
Steven Kloves – the screenplay
Released on November 16th, 2001.
Directed by Chris Columbus
Main Actors
Harry Potter: Daniel Radcliffe
Hermione Granger: Emma Watson
Ron Weasley: Rupert Grint
Albus Dumbledore: Richard Harris
Professor Quirrell: Ian Hart
Hagrid: Robbie Coltrane
Snape: Alan Rickman
Camera: John Seale
Music: John Williams

The main question that we are dealing with in discussing these two films are whether they encourage in young viewers escapism and a lopsided view of life that makes one unfit for life or whether they are in fact a help in dealing with reality. We have interviewed people of different age groups and have therefore got a variety of answers.

One view that was prevalent in all the answers was that fantasy did encourage escapism. However, the differences that arose in the views were as to whether this was beneficial or harmful to the viewer. Most believed that fantasy encouraged the individual to flee the harsh realities of today’s world by making them bury themselves in realms of imagination. They viewed this as a negative quality.

When we think of fantasy movies, one of the first things that come to mind is the clear distinction shown between good and evil. For example, in LOTR, the fellowship is “good” whereas Sauron, Saruman the White, the Nazgul and the Orcs are “bad”. And in Harry Potter, the three children and Dumbledore are always good and Voldemort is the evil one. Both movies either have many fights or culminate in one important fight at the end, in which good prevails. Many critics dislike this aspect of fantasy as they think it too unrealistic, as nothing in our world is as clearly black and white. They feel that if these ideas are taken into the real world, they might result in disappointment or embarrassment for the individual.

To this, we have two responses. One is that not all the characters in these two movies are easy to place into the two categories, good and evil. Boromir is a man from Gondor, who lets his weakness for power get the better of him and although he is a part of the fellowship, he tries to steal the ring from Frodo. At the time we think him bad, but later he dies an honorable and valiant death so he is redeemed in the audience’s mind. In Harry Potter, Professor Quirrell is a teacher at Hogwarts who tries to help Voldemort return to power. Although we condemn his cowardly actions in helping evil, we can’t help feeling sorry for him initially, as he is timid and pathetic with his stutter. These two characters are just among a few that go to prove that not everything in fantasy is as clear-cut as we would like it to be. The second response would be that perhaps it’s okay for people to want to escape to a land where there is a definite good and bad and not just a gray area. It is a world where it is possible to live by your morals and ideals without having to make compromises in every situation.

Many said that fantasy awakened the child in them and allowed their minds to wander back to days of childhood innocence and wonder.
One said, “Heaven knows we need something like this to counter the horror of today’s world.”
Others stressed the help that fantasy films gave them in helping deal with the real world. They talked about the many issues that exist in our present world that are discussed freely in the worlds of fantasy.
Tolkein, especially, deals in many parallels.
The Lord of the Rings was written in the thirties, when events in our world were leading up to the Second World War. The Dark Lord could be seen as a prototype for Hitler, and Middle Earth , threatened Europe. Tolkein speaks against Fascism by portraying Sauron as he does, as an evil, ruthless dictator, wishing to conquer the world.
The longing for peace that the Hobbits have shows a love for the philosophy of Pacifism which is not divorced from courage or heroic qualities like loyalty. The hobbits represent many of the people of the world in the thirties who fought Hitler’s armies.
The deep love and respect for nature that is often depicted in the movie was in tune with the environmental movement of his time. This is an issue that we can relate to today, as well. Another universal issue that is addressed in the movie is the importance of fellowship. Although the members of the fellowship are from different races, and animosity is high between many of them, for example, the dwarves and the elves, issues of race are cast away as they work together for a greater good, the saving of Middle Earth. The fact that Aragorn, a man from Gondor, and Arwen, an elf from Rivendell are in love, and that Gimli the Dwarf and Legolas the Elf actually strike up a close friendship give the viewers hope that there might someday be more co-operation between different races in our human world.

In Harry Potter too, there are elements of racism that are discussed, as Hermione is a “Mudblood” and not a pureblood like the other students at Hogwarts. There are other forms of discrimination that are also shown, such as the contrast between the rich and the poor –through Ron Weasley and Harry Potter, yet Ron is willing to do anything for Harry as when he sacrifices himself in the chess game . Hermione too later gives up her earlier values of “Books and cleverness. There are more important things- friendship.” They leave their differences behind and enter a world where petty issues such as money and identity do not matter because friendship matters much more.

It may be argued that viewers feel inferior to fantasy characters as the latter have supernatural powers. However, one idea that is clear in both the films is that of the small and insignificant person being able to change the course of the world. In the first Harry Potter movie, and in the following HP movies, in the end, the children have been let down by the adult world and have set out to combat evil alone. The viewers are able to relate with the hero better, thus. When Harry walks into the vault at the end , the music builds up and the way down is shot from Harry’s point of view, which makes it seem to the viewers that it is their own adventure and that they are the hero. Through fantasy, the common individual can have his own adventure.

In the case of the Lord of the Rings, the hero is an unlikely character- the little Hobbit , Frodo Baggins, whose life changes drastically from a peaceful, existence in the Shire, to saving the world from the evil Sauron. Gandalf’s words on this have a very important impact on us – that even the smallest person may change the course of the world, and have a part to play in the destiny of all. (clip of Gandalf saying the words). .

Some miscellaneous views that were expressed were that fantasy movies are good because they encourage viewers to see a more mystical side to reality, which definitely makes it more interesting.
Some viewers criticize fantasy writers for coming up with extremely wild ideas. But we believe these seemingly wild ideas are all based on our world (as shown above).
“Fantasy tales are today’s parables.” (Weis, Margaret)
Sometimes we see so much evil and pain all around us, that we slowly get immune to it. fantasy presents the problems of today in a different world, making them more apparent to us. For example, some find fire-breathing dragons too horrific, but are they not less terrible than napalm bombs? “Wars that ravage cities, refugees, starving children and dictatorships are all present in our world. “ (Weis, M)

We do not deny the fact that fantasy encourages escapism from the real world in some instances. What we do argue with is the common assumption that fantasy deals with unreal issues , emotions and ideals, because what has essentially been done is that the fantasy writers have simply taken the burning issues of today, and put them in another context, to allow the viewer to understand the problems in their own social systems. We would like to encourage people to watch more fantasy because apart from being incredibly fun and entertaining, it deals with mature ideas and issues that will actually help you deal with real life!

Coming to the main question as to whether the influence and power of film is waning in the present world because of competition from other forms of new media, we would say yes. Our answer is based on the study we have made of fantasy films.

In our opinion, the main competition that fantasy movies face is videogames. Youngsters spend hours in gaming cafes or on their PS 2’s, getting lost in the realms of fantasy. However, this is the way things go – The movie comes out. The fans go to watch it. Only then do they buy the videogames. Thus, the movie is actually promoting the sale of the games. There is some controversy concerning this opinion when games like “ Final Fantasy” are discussed. This started out as a videogame and having formed a cult following, has developed into comics, books and a hit TV serial. It has spawned countless music videos.There is talk of it being adapted into a series of movies. When this does happen, it will offer serious competition to movies like LOTR.
Comics are another form of competition. There are avid comic fans who are disappointed when the comics are turned into movies but most of them love watching their childhood heroes come to life on the silver screen.
Fantasy films have enthralled many for the last century, starting with Disney’s classic adaptations like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty etc. The latest Potter film “ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”, is as usual a big success, and the first movie of of the Narnia Chronicles series “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, adapted from the book by C.S Lewis, is all set to take the theatres by storm on December 9th. This shows that the fantasy films genre is far from dying out and is in fact only growing in popularity.

Bibliography
The movies:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,Warner Bros.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, New Line Cinema.
The books:
Tolkien, J.R.R., The Fellowship of the Ring , Harper Collins, London, 1995 rpt.
Rowling J.K. , Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Bloomsbury , England,2001.
Weis, Margaret & Hickman, Tracy. Treasures of Fantasy.

Acknowledgements:
We would like to thank Mr. Koshy, our Literature teacher, Miss Suravee Banerjee,
Madhav Chandavarkar, Mr. Federoff & Mr. Maheswaran B. for all their help.

Complete with Gaps : Unadulterated Constructivism and Facilitation

MAKE MOVIES NOT WAR

Divyashri Bhatt , Nikita Jain, Tarini Singh

In an age where people don't have the time and inclination to read history books, films are slowly becoming an excellent means of educating people. Although there has been an increase in the emergence of different types of new media, the fact remains that war films still are an immensely popular medium of entertainment and education.

Forms of media such as gaming have been gaining an increasingly strong hold over today's world of entertainment, desensitizing their viewers by making the violence and destruction seem normal and invoking sadistic appeal. Media such as these make war seem like a game where you can have control over death, they show killing to be something enjoyable and rewarding.

Glimpses of war are splattered all over news channels. When real pictures are flashed across channels, would people still watch a film that only aspires to be an accurate representation of the gory battle? We feel that the answer is 'yes'. In a film the director's point of view is put across to the audiences. Showing the war from a person's perspective gives a gripping continuity to the predicament of the war veterans. The constant interruptions of the news by advertisements and other new items takes away the real meaning of war, and leaves nothing but a piece of news to “savour” and digest. On the other hand, good war films take one amidst the battle, invoke in you what the soldiers go through, and leave you with food for thought and a pain that gripes at your insides, refusing to go away.

The 'war film' genre deals mainly with warfare or a story proceeding against the backdrop of battle being fought or civilians in the midst of times of war. The stories could be partly historic accounts or even documentary in nature.

Good war films manage to leave a deep impact on their viewers, as they consist of soul-searching, tragic consequences, the inner turmoil of the soldiers and a whole lot of sacrifices made by them. War films could often be paired with other genres such as romance, comedy, suspense and thrillers to hold the interest of the audiences.

The first ever war film to be documented was the 90 minutes ' Tearing Down the Spanish Flag' (1898). Films made in the years following the World War l tended to stress on the horror and the futility of warfare as in ‘All Quiet on the 'Western Front' (1930), or tended to just be a re-enactment of the drama of aerial combat in films like the 'Dawn Patrol' (1930), which made good action and adventure films. Other films are mainly about the bonding of soldiers in wars.

While studying war films the main questions that we were looking at was whether war shown in them sensitizes or desensitizes the viewer. The first films that came to our minds were 'Saving Private Ryan' and 'Life is Beautiful', both marvellous films in their own respect.

In Saving Private Ryan, the unsparing violence used by the director Steven Spielberg not only depicts the chaos and terror experienced by the troops but also the horrors of war at its zenith. SPR was released in United States in 1998.

Cast: Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Matt Damon, Edward Burns, Jeremy Davies.

Editor: Michael Kahn

Screenplay: Robert Rodat

Music: John Williams

Camera:

Saving Private Ryan was nominated for eleven Academy awards and won five for the best director, best film editing, best cinematographer, best sound, and best sound effects.

War is something that intrigues many generations like ours who haven't experienced it. It is a mystery and movies such as 'Saving Private Ryan' and 'Life is Beautiful' allow us a glimpse into an unknown world, with feelings and experiences that we haven't felt. A very important question involved in war films is whether they sensitize or desensitize their audiences. The fact that war films deal with hugely complex issues of human emotion requires that they be dealt with immense care. The manner in which certain war films are made may take away from these issues and make the audiences completely insensitive to what war truly is by making it seem simplistic and possibly unreal. Saving Private Ryan is a movie that is extremely realistic, maybe so much so that it seems incomprehensible.

In 1945, the Allies were on the brink of victory over the Germans and their allies. The Normandy landing was a series of landings, which occurred off the coast of France. In the movie, Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) and his troops are waiting to land on the beach and as the ramp to their boat opens, men are gunned down violently and they struggle to reach the beach.

SPR opens with a 30-minute cinematic marvel which is one of the finest half-hours ever committed to any film. This sequence showing a soldier's eye-view of the D-day invasion of Normandy is brilliant not only in the technique in which it has been shot but also the depth of the impact it generates on its viewers. It is a most brutal depiction of war. We are presented with bloody images of bodies being pierced by bullets, limbs being blown off, viscera spilling out and various other horrors of battle. As the waves crash upon the body-strewn beach the water is tinted a deep crimson.

In addition to showing the mutilation of human bodies, the director uses other methods to capture the essence of battle - chaotic camera movements, a fleeting movement of images, muted colours except for the vivid slashes of red blood that gush and trickle out of wounds and brilliant footage that captures conflict at its most vicious. You can literally smell the death in the air.

After the landing is complete we learn that three of four Ryan brothers perished in war and their mother received all three telegrams on the same day. Stirred by her grief, the Marshall sends Miller and a troop into the French countryside to find and bring home Private Ryan, (Matt Damon) her only living son.

The movie proceeds and Miller and his troops set off to find Private Ryan. In one of the scenes here, amidst the war, Caparzo, a member of the troop is asked by a father to take his daughter to the next town and in trying to do something decent he is shot. This dialogue here, although simple, has great meaning to it.

Captain Miller: Caparzo, get the kid back up there!

Private Caparzo: Captain, the decent thing to do would be to take her over to the next town.

Captain Miller: We're not here to do the decent thing, we're here to follow f***ing orders!

This shows how brutal war really is and shows that the soldiers can't even do what is right because it is so dangerous and it puts their lives and the lives of the others in jeopardy. It is tragic because it shows these men to be vulnerable and yet heroic. The sensitivity comes from the fact that the audience feels a great deal of shock and compassion for his death, along with a great deal of respect. In the scene the gunshot is sudden, this creates the impact of how unpredictable and uncertain life is during war.

As the unit continues to advance, even though another life is lost and the men are shattered, Miller stands by his decision and strictly follows orders. Although throughout the film Miller is portrayed as strong and fearless, here he is shown in tears, devastated. Seeing him breakdown is extremely effective as it shows that even the most valiant men are weakened by death and are devastated by doing what is 'right', but wonder how right can be so wrong. As Miller cries, the audience begins to understand the complexities that surround war and how men are reduced to tears and forced to justify what is seemingly so right.

As the plot continues to unravel, the troop finds themselves with many other soldiers. They immediately start helping the wounded and during the time that they are there they have a very interesting discussion with another army official.

Lieutenant Dewindt: …Some f***ing genius had the great idea of welding a couple of steel plates onto our deck to keep the general safe from ground fire. Unfortunately, they forgot to tell me about it until we were just getting airborne. Well, that's like trying to fly a freight train. OK?.. We came down like a f***ing meteor. And that is how we ended up. And the others, they stopped easy enough OK, though, you know? We were just- we were just too damn heavy, you know? The grass was wet, downward slope and all. 22 guys dead.

Captain Miller: All that for a general?

Lieutenant Dewindt: One man.

Private Reiben: Lot of that going around."

This is a very important part in the movie, it shows the injustice that becomes part of everyday life and how they are powerless to change that, while also raising the persistent question; an idea that runs through the whole movie asking whether one man's life is worth more than another's. This sensitizes the audience by making them feel the injustice and understand a part of what they are experiencing.

Later, in the same scene, the lieutenant gives them a bag of tags, taken off dead prisoners, to check if one of the names is of Ryan. These tags seem to figure in the hundreds and the unit is going through them like poker chips while another company is walking past. Although at first it is extremely incomprehensible to us, it shows that lives were taken almost for granted, and treated as if they meant nothing. But as the audience absorbs how many tags there are in that bag and what exactly is happening, it is a shock and it creates a painful feeling as they realize that these tags represent lives lost and is as real as can be.

A common theme throughout the movie is how valuable a life is and as the movie continues this theme becomes even more evident and an answer seems about to surface.

There is nothing especially complex about the structure of SPR. The film is broken by two major battle scenes between which are alternating periods of small fights and quiet character-building moments that flesh out and give us a glimpse of the nature of the soldiers, rather different from the stereotype that we would make of them.

Every character in the film is developed into an individual whom we can connect with and grieve for if and when they die. They are shown to be ordinary men stuck in an extraordinary situation. It is no film of heroic tales; it is criticism of war interwoven with human courage and sacrifice.

Saving Private Ryan is an excellent demonstration of cinematographic skills. Filmed in documentary style with a shoulder held camera to capture the chaos. Spielberg studied photos and documentaries of the war and then re-created the settings, and the sound and the fury of war. Its accurate representation is what adds to the film's impact.

This could be labelled as one of Tom Hank's most poignant performances. His portrayal of John Miller is a mix of devotion to duty, war-fatigue, and the acceptance of reality. He is on a mission to save a single man's life, putting in peril his own and the lives of his men, which requires immense courage and faith. The film celebrates self-less acts of human decency made by its characters, despite the difficulties that discourage them from doing so. Miller is shown to be an ordinary man turned veteran, who survives the madness of war by recalling sweet memories and waiting to get back home.

Miller: Sometimes I wonder if I've changed so much, my wife is even gonna recognise me whenever it is that I get back to her, and how I'll ever be able to tell her about days like today. And Ryan. I don't know any thing about Ryan. I don't care.. he's just a name. But if, you know, if finding him so he can go home earns me the right to get back to my wife, well then, that's my mission.

The supporting cast brings out equally convincing performances. Edward Burns, Reiben uses sarcasm to hide his uncertainty about the validity of the mission. Jeremy Davies makes Upham a believable character whose horror at the sudden attack of trauma and violence is something that the audience easily relates to. Matt Damon is excellent in playing a character that is as much a symbol as an individual, and Tom Sizemore's character of Miller's faithful friend is engaging and stunning.

Saving Private Ryan is one amongst those few films that have managed to leave such a searing impact on its audience that even eight years after its release it still lingers in the minds of its viewers. It is so forceful that it throws you right amidst the battlefield. Although the film is only loosely based on a true story of Fritz Niland, who lost two of his brothers on the D-Day while a third was missing in war, and hence was taken out of combat zone, it is hard to believe these characters ars not real. Veterans of the war who saw the film say that this is the most accurate representation of the battle and what the soldiers endured that day in France.

The opening scenes in the film have been shot in the World War II Normandy American Cemetery and War memorial and many of the weapons used in the film are authentic pieces that add to making the battle look realistic.

But beyond the bloodiness of the scenes, the violence, and the expertise of technique, come knowledge and understanding. An entire generation who weren't living to see the war was made aware of D-Day and its role in history just by the power of these scenes.

Life is Beautiful is another awe-inspiring movie which sensitizes the viewer through a strong flavour of humour. The movie is unique because under the façade of humour lies a poignancy that brings tears to the eyes. Set in the Second World War, it does not aspire to paint an accurate picture of the plight of the Jews. Yet, by making a young family’s tribulation the central plot of the movie, it evokes a great deal of sympathy from its audience since they are able to relate to it on a personal level.

Credits:

Cast:

Guido Orefice Roberto Benigni

Dora Nicoletta Braschi

Giosue Orefice Giorgio Cantarini

Director Roberto Benigni

Editor Simona Paggi

Music Nicola Piovani

Camera

Script

The film is set in the 1930s. Guido, a Jewish waiter, who works for his uncle, lives in a Tuscan town. He falls deeply in love with Dora, a schoolteacher. She elopes with him on the day of her engagement to another man. Guido marries Dora who gives birth to a son, Giosue. The happily ever after story takes a serious twist when Anti-Semitism changes the lives of several Jewish families, Guido’s being one among them. They are hauled off to a concentration camp to suffer the inhumane treatment meted out to them. In spite of not being a Jew, her deep love for her husband and son makes Dora accompany them. Although she is put in a separate camp for women, Guido finds a way to communicate with her and assure her that both he and Giosue are perfectly fine. Guido, slowly but surely, hides Giosue not only from the Nazis but also from the horrors of the War. He makes the whole thing out to be a game at the end of which the winner would receive the grand prize of an army tank. Giosue, being a little boy, does not suspect even for a moment that the whole thing is as real as the birth of a child and not just a game. He follows all the rules, earning “points” for every time he successfully escapes notice. The most endearing point in the movie is the last scene where Giosue gets a ride in a tank, showing that life, a constant gamble, is truly beautiful.

Guido: What kind of place is this? It's beautiful: Pigeons fly, women fall from the sky! I'm moving here!

The film begins as a comedy clearly portraying the general predicament of society. The movie, beyond a doubt, sensitizes the viewer because it has been so beautifully handled. Throughout the movie, the viewer, unlike Giosue, is completely aware of the dehumanizing monstrosity of the war. Roberto Benigni plays the part of Guido to the hilt, carefully manipulating the little Giosue into thinking that the war is a game and in order to win this game he has to follow 3 rules.

Guido: You can lose all your points for any one of three things. One: If you cry. Two: If you ask to see your mother. Three: If you're hungry and ask for a snack! Forget it!

The backbreaking work that Guido does was only a small part of the hardship compared to the trauma of separation from his dear wife. The burning fire of hope that he clung on to took him from one day to the next. The ride to the concentration camp in a truck is the turning point of the movie because this is when Guido presents the war as game to Giosue with the complete knowledge that there would be no turning back. He harbours a great fear in his mind; fear not for his life but for Dora’s and most of all Giosue’s. In the end, it is this great love for his wife that is responsible for his death. He goes in search of Dora to the women’s camp knowing full well that this could lead to discovery and sure death. To think that the only crime he committed was to be born into a Jewish family! Throughout the whole charade Guido is truly afraid but for Giosue’s sake he showed no semblance of this fear. The whole war is a game of hide and seek for Giosue and he never realizes he was actually hiding from his murderers. Yet, he shows a young boy’s enthusiasm and competitive spirit and plays right into his father’s hands by being “the best player of the game”. The most poignant scene of the movie is when Giosue has a narrow escape.

Giosue: Daddy, I cannot find any of the other kids, and a lady came telling me to take a shower.

Guido: That's a good idea. You go take a shower.
Giosué Orefice: No!
Guido: Go take a shower!
Giosué Orefice: No!

Giosué Orefice: Buttons and soap.
Guido: What?
Giosué Orefice: They turn us into buttons and soap.
Guido: Who told you that?
Giosué Orefice: An old man was crying. He said they turn us into buttons and soap. They burn us all up in ovens.

Guido: How ridiculous. They were just teasing you! There are wood ovens, but there are no people ovens. Putting people in ovens creates too much smoke.

Much before this scene, a Jewish woman in the women’s camp tells Dora that little children are killed in gas chambers on the pretext of being given showers. Roberto Benigni skillfully introduces this at the beginning of the movie so that the audience begins to experience a great fear for Giosue’s life. Giosue hated taking showers and when a German woman came into the rooms demanding that all children “take a shower”, Giosue hid under the beds. Little did he know that all children who followed her were to be exterminated in gas chambers! The simple fact that he survived by accident makes us realize how short his life was, how easily he could have died, how one of those millions of lives that the war claimed could have been his. Also, the knowledge that Giosue was the exception to the norm, one among the few little children who survived makes the movie all the more distressing. LIB is a remarkable war movie that succeeded for its extremely delicate handling of script and direction. When Guido died, the gunshot was only heard and not seen. Yet, in our heart of hearts, we know that Guido died without fulfilling his wish, to say goodbye to his dear wife. The whole idea of presenting the war as a game is unique because it hides the brutality of the war from a young boy. LIB is a movie that can sensitize the viewer all the more if he is fully aware of the unspeakable trauma suffered by the Jews. However, for those viewers who are unaware of the predicament of the Jews, the war is always prevalent in the background, clinging on the backs of the Orefice family like a parasite that refuses to budge. The whole movie, however, clings on to the silver lining in a dark, gray, monstrous cloud.

“Yet for all its wacky humor and inventive gags, Life Is Beautiful is a moving and poignant tale of one father's sacrifice to save not just his young son's life but his innocence in the face of one of the most evil acts ever perpetrated by the human race.”

-------Sean Axmaker

War films deal with the delicate issues of human psychology, and hence may fail to sensitise the viewer unless handled with care. Saving Private Ryan and Life is Beautiful are rather different as they both sensitise their viewers in two different ways. On the one hand, where Saving Private Ryan is brutal to the eye, Life is Beautiful is brutal to the mind. In spite of the fact that they deal with different aspects of war, they both show that at the end of the day it is human emotions that prevail.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

www.imdb.com/title/tt0120815/ - 54k - 29 Nov 2005

www.rzm.com/pvt.ryan/

www.sproe.com/

•movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&cf=info&id=1800019304

www.casenet.com/movie/savingprivateryan.htm

•movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/s/saving.html

•www.backintime.com/moviereviews/savingryan

www.rinkworks.com/movies/m/saving.private.ryan.1998.shtml

rodp.ridne.net/node-23215.html

www.beyondhollywood.com

•www.imdb.com/Title?0118799 - 56k - 2 Dec 2005

www.geocities.com.hollywood/studio/1327/

www.bigscreen.com/readerreview.php?movies=savingprivate ryan

www.imbp.com/title/tt0120815/quotes

www.historyinfilm.com/ryan/plot

movie-reviews.colossus.net/moviesis/saving.html

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/war_films

www.filmsite.org/wardilms.html

http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Wing/6027/

Acknowledgements:

Ms. Suravee Banerjee

Dr. A.V. Koshy

Ms. Rema Nair

Mr. Subeesh

The English Seminar

A teacher wants , naturally, to showcase his best work.
I helped seven groups of three students each to do a project on different genres of film. The project was supposed to end in a written paper and a presentation after research , team work etc. The genres were chosen by them. As was the topic film, and the films. In all twenty films were chosen.
The results ranged from spectacularly successful to dismally abysmal. According to yours truly.

I was reminded of Beckett.In Worstward Ho.

"No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better."
I love that pun in the last bit.

One must have the courage to make gigantic attempts, make gigantic mistakes.....


To come back to the beginning.

I am showcasing two of the papers written for the seminar, the best of the seven. This one's for my/the students, a reward for their hardwork.

The Essay. Remarquez s'il vous plait.

Democratizing Learning English Language and Literature in India

Horace's dictum was that poetry should “delight and instruct.” If the word 'poetry' is replaced by the word' education', nothing would be lost. Education has to delight and instruction that comes through delight stays with the instructor and the instructed. Eden, which means “delight” and Paradise, was the unlikely place where Instructor and instructed first met in the unlikely time of twilit evenings for delight and instruction, proving that Life can be Paradise when it is a constant process of education where delight and instruction revolve around each other and are one in a continuous harmony that forms a circle. The delight that mastery of anything gives leads to the desire for more instruction, till gradually the mediator of instruction recedes into the background so that the ‘active receptacle’ can become an adept and even a new mediator in his turn, if so inclined.

What should concern prospective ‘professional’ educators, teachers, facilitators and theorists is, however, not just the definitions and the points of origin or the aims of education, but the process itself. It is constantly undergoing change and therefore needs to be monitored because it is the part of education that consequently has the least light cast upon it from the detached and meta-cognitive perspective of thinkers and practitioners who critique and analyze education. No amount of attention paid to the process of education can be too little if education is to constantly improve.

Jane Sahi, in the chapter “ Correlation as a Pattern for Sustainable Growth” in her book Education & Peace, borrows from Gandhi his metaphor for education; something Gandhi took from Nature, of plants being nurtured by a loving gardener. Taking a leaf from Jane’s book, the metaphor for me concerning teaching& learning lies in the parable of the Sower and the Seed in the Gospel of Luke (ch.8:v.4-15) with three or four of its possible explications connecting it to the topic at hand.

If it is looked at as a parable about the teaching –learning process, it offers us a rich mine of pedagogical and practical possibilities. Apart from the explicit metaphors of farmer-seed-ground(singular/plural) and guru(spiritual preceptor)- gnana(wisdom) –shishya (spiritual adept){singular/plural} three other implicit metaphors are man- seed-woman, teacher-vidya-student(s) and last, but not least, the triad of <> This last reading where the parable is seen as a metaphor for inwardness wherein a mature learner should apply it to himself as a student and use it as a checklist to see if he has gone past the first three stages of learning and gone on to the fourth one, is the most exciting of the hermeneutical options available to the reader. But in practice, it is an arduous task possible only for students who have the patience and application of an archer like Ekalavya.

The interesting thing about the three metaphors I have touched upon here briefly; the primal Edenic situation, the Gandhian gardener with his cherished, well nurtured plants and the New Testament farmer and his field is that all of them speak of education indirectly but per se, in its real sense and context which is real life.

These metaphors do not use the monstrously structured approach and jargon that schools and universities adopt that has arisen out of the latter’s masses –oriented struggle to pass on education. These three metaphors overthrow the ‘banking theory of education’ that Paulo Freire strongly objected against in his memorable Pedagogy of the Oppressed and they also ‘deschool’ society as Ivan Ilyich wanted to because the context is widened to include everything around you and the teachers in these situations have to work hand in hand with the benign natural forces around them, with the full co-operation of the students.

Adam was innocent and WANTED wisdom, the plant has IN IT “a force that through the green fuse drives the flower” and the field will yield good fruit only if it is like “a good heart that has prepared itself “ for the seed. This is holistic education at its best where there is a mellifluous melting together of content, context, mediation, mediator and the mediated. It is a-contextual learning in that the mediator needs the skill, knowledge, understanding, discernment and wisdom to decipher the student’s real needs and act/react with ‘auchithya; scientifically, creating the contexts suitable for him in which he can learn.Such behaviour on the part of the mediator does not automatically ensure success, because the mediated has to also actively participate in creating the conducive atmosphere to growth in which he creates and maximizes his learning potential to its zenith. What consequently takes place is not transference from one vessel to the other but collaborative discovery – slanted and inventive.

Anita Rampal in her essay “School Science in Search of a Democratic Order?” (1997) addresses the issues of the present as a pragmatic educationist in the forefront of the battle to make education a matter of quality for the students of the rural poor in India in the twenty-first century. Her success lies in the precision with which she writes of many matters, making the essay a catch-all for an amazing number of ideas so that it easily transcends its aim as given in the title, to include facilitators of the non-scientific community like me who teach the urban rich. She ends her essay with a definition of constructivism; one of the parts of the essay that helps me tackle the question of how to adapt and apply her insights to my present world of teaching- learning.

In a nutshell, she states that science as it is taught today in the West and consequently in India, is monolithic in its definition, methodology and aim. It encourages elitism in its search for the ‘genius’ scientist rather than have the ability to make itself useful and understandable to all the members of a democracy in sharp contrast to alternate versions of science like that of Rev. Dawes’s “science of common things” that attempted to give prominence to applied sciences and took into consideration the cultural context of the labouring classes in a genuine effort to make the children of the poor into street-smart scientists. The Vigyan Shikshan Karyakram that brings to the financially and economically lower rungs of a section of Indian society the kind of pedagogy usually available only to the rich in private, international, national and public schools in urban centres, a pedagogy that is student-friendly and of modest aims and hence able to meet its requirements, besides being low-cost in its technological inputs and eco-efficient , goes against this elitist notion of pure science.

How does Ms Rampal’s essay speak to teachers who come from disciplines other than the science subjects? Her points can be reasonably replaced, for instance, by someone like me, thus:

1. English literature is taught in India as if it is the centre whereas the centres of attention should be weltliteratur, national literature and regional or local literature. The texts could be in translation. English literature would naturally come in if the medium of instruction is English but not at the expense of the considerable wealth of other literatures.
2. Englishes and the polymorphous literatures in English, still very much a necessity because of the fact that in the discourses of power and technology all exchanges are made in ‘English’, need to be taught in a student-friendly manner. Japanese texts are a good example of how English could be taught in a very different way from the methodology used in India whereby the child’s multilingual abilities are fostered creatively instead of him being forced to opt for excellence in one target language alone, whether it be the mother tongue or a national language or English or some other language.
3. The approach taken towards the teaching of language should not aim merely at theoretical, critical and analytical returns but creative, literary and vocationally useful output. Reading a poem that ends in the student writing his own ‘good’ poem should be rated, to give just one example, equal to its capable exegesis.
4. Refining the skills of painstaking reading, writing, thinking, speaking, (re-)presenting, communicating, expressing, listening , criticizing and analyzing being integral to any discipline , language teaching and literature appreciation holds a very important place in any curriculum. A more radical approach than Ms Rampal’s would be actual democratization that would include students too in choosing the syllabus and textbooks, teaching, documentation, self and peer-assessment etc.

For all this to be possible one needs to find the golden mean between the realist and the constructivist positions mentioned by Rampal. “….the realist viewpoint …perceives reality as a stable configuration of objective facts , open to the identical inspection of all. Constructivism , on the other hand, is the belief that reality is personally negotiated so that each enquirer perceives a world depending on her (or his) preconceptions and where agreement , which constitutes factual knowledge, is a specific collective negotiation, with an often limited temporal validity. “(Rampal 255). The constructivist definition given by Rampal is of course not hers, but borrowed from cognitive psychologists like Jean Piaget, but she deserves notice in that she states it succinctly.

The Realist Position.

I teach a syllabus with prescribed textbooks and a written exam the students have to take at the end of the year, by which their "performance" will be assessed. At the parent-teacher conferences and some of the staff meetings and through feedback I have received from some of the more voluble students, I have come to realise that for most parents, for the majority of (Western/national) universities and for ninety-nine percent of the students what "really" matters is grades. There is also a "vast" syllabus to "finish/off" with only limited time to do it in. Added to these issues is the cumbersome paperwork connected to the Western idea of intricate documentation which has its plus and minus points, if looked at objectively. These are my job’s constraints. I can also call them, if I so wish, factors securing/offering security to the students, teachers, parents and school managements..
As for the children themselves, while the constraints irk them they also impart a certain sense of safety to them because of their strongly felt need for a "clear" structure. Can constructivism provide the balance? One would have to give a double-edged answer; yes and no. Two schools of thought ; one that believes in subverting the system gradually and the other that thinks of just getting rid of it lock, stock and barrel and ushering in the new in a revolutionary coup d'etat are both theories that yield mixed and not entirely satisfactory results in actual application. Facilitators like me who have moved through three positions, including the traditionalist one, (keep things as they are and make them function to peak levels in efficiency-) will understand what is meant. Another school of thought, meanwhile, opines "give the students what they want". There is a mélange or a Babel in theorizing on pedagogy, nowadays!

The absence of a cut and dried solution is “our” strength. As long as reflection and review goes on of the entire pedagogical process and things are in a flux there will be a vibrancy to our attempts to better quality education. It will ensure that we see ourselves as learners first and foremost and as facilitators second rather than as all-knowing teachers or “edu-actors”, always keeping us on our toes.

Solutions That Raise More Questions Than Answers.

When we think of major educators and thinkers India has had in the recent past like Gandhi with his metaphor of the gardener and the plant, Nehru (the three language formula), B.R. Ambedkar (abolition of caste inequality), Rabindranath Tagore (humanism) and J. Krishnamurti (choiceless awareness) and of the democratization of education , an issue that was felt to be of the utmost importance by all the afore-mentioned giants, one also thinks of the topic at the personalized level of one's own professional practice. It seems obvious that one has to work on two fronts. One front has to be broad, group activity that would include revamping the curriculum and the syllabus including the textbooks. The other front would be narrow, considering how to apply these things at the miniscule levels of giving attention to individual students and the varied need-based groups that we call 'classes' at present.
As far as English - an international link language that is also one of the nation's own languages (our window to the world, as Nehru called it) - is concerned, its democratization in the curriculum would have to include certain new drives in the latter’s framing. The curriculum being too vast a topic to handle here, I shall concern myself more with the syllabus.
Suggestions could be listed thus: a) The students should be consulted as to what they think their needs are and then drafts can go into the written form of the syllabus being prepared.
b) The syllabus must offer freedom to the teacher to teach in more than one language if it fetches results. This applies especially to ESL . This would be an option and not a must.
c) The rewriting of textbooks that such directives would result in must be rigorously tested for quality and their ability to interest the learners.
d) Where literature is concerned, the choice of texts must include international works of repute - in translation -, works from Britain in English, works from another English like American , works from IWE, works from Indian literature and local/regional literatures – (in translation or English.)
e) Another option would be choosing short pieces making the coursework light for the students, but taking into consideration different genres and forms and including different ideologies and cultures. A syllabus like this would teach some forms/types of poetry, a short story, a personal essay , a drama - preferably, a short one-act play-, a novelette and an essay (dealing with critical theory, theory or criticism) to be taught over a period of two years. The learning objectives would be limited to sound thinking, speaking, presenting, listening, writing and ‘reading’ practices by which I mean advanced literary and semantic ‘appreciation’ skills.
f.) Assessment would be entirely revamped. While grades and marks would need to be retained, perhaps, for the sake of the "system" the emphasis would be on effective thinking skills, creativity, innovativeness, effort , presenting, listening and writing skills and attainments collectively. Critical analysis would be as important as producing creative output, with both being weighted equally. Getting published in reputed ‘journals’ would fetch extra marks.
g.) The output of another “new” language-oriented paper besides the already existing papers on language and literature would be aimed at vocational use somewhere down the line so that teaching skills like writing CV's by introducing a subject called “Functional or Communicative English” would be a must. This paper would take into account new skills like translation, medical, legal and other kinds of transcription, technical writing, business English, creative writing, media savvy presentations, news reading, copy writing, script writing, reporting for journalisms –on radio, TV, film, print, web - editing, making publisher's choices, criticism, reviewing, research and scholarship, introducing teaching at school and college levels and other job-oriented vectors of language use.
Practical Application.

The real challenge for the facilitator is in the "class". It is possible to come to an assessment of a student which is accurate and easy to help him in such a way that he doesn't slip back but true democratization would include the satisfying result that each student actually improves in his skills over the period of time that he works with you. This is the real challenge. He should not go away feeling that he was taught well but, more important, there should be a clear difference brought about in his ability to learn and do. His potential to be a 'mover' must be tapped and maximized. This is an area fraught with possibilities. I feel the answer definitely lies partly in constructivism. It also lies partly in allowing contemporaneity, by which I mean working with what the student knows of the present and is interested in, and the latest advances of technology adapted innovatively to mesh with the latest teaching techniques. This, along with the radicalization that could be brought in by ensuring greater student participation in "all" the activities the teacher considers his forte at present, is a possible solution.

An example: In my class while teaching poetry I took some students over to the computer lab and showed them a few hypertext poems and hypertext fictions and this set them thinking about the difference in the forms of poetry and fiction when it is 'written' down and 'programmed' in. They became aware, to some extent, of concepts like interactivity, hyperlinks and lexemes and consequently of the complicated changes occurring historically in the two above mentioned forms without my having had to bring in the academic jargon connected with such modifications which might have ended up confusing them, as they are only in the beginning stages where literary theory is concerned.

The democratization of English and the teaching of literature in this beautiful language has, to sum up, to concentrate primarily on the objectives of ensuring that Englishes and the “new” dialects & registers (SMS English, the influence of the keyboard and the use of icons in chat language, Manglish, Hinglish, the polyphonic jargon of literary criticism and theory in English) are encouraged as much as British English and that this is not done at the cost of other languages or of quality in the target language. Literary appreciation has to deal objectively with real-life students and actual situations in a graphic and interesting way so that true democratization takes place whereby all the students are enthused to love languages and their infinite possibilities and go away considering the learning of Language to be a " poetic experience" that ignites their love for the ‘logos’ and the ‘mythos’ of language in a teleological way, as in the Parable of the Sower and the Seed, so that the memory of it will be one of progressive instruction and mastery gained through delight as Horace wanted it to be, and as Edenic as life's first learning experiences like breast feeding.
The only peaceful war “we” facilitators need to constantly wage, therefore, is one whereby there is a ceaseless effort to keep closing the gap between our notions of perfection and our consistently and constantly evolving ways of professionalizing our teaching and facilitating practices and strategies. This has to be done while continuing to sound each other out in the process of learning from each other. This may temporarily create the meeting point between real and constructivist teaching.

A Select Bibliography
Freire, Paulo, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 1970.
http://www.english-test.net
Illich, Ivan , Deschooling Society, 1971.
Rampal, Anitha, Democracy and Education in India, Radiant Publishers, New Delhi, 1993.
Sahi, Jane , Education and Peace, Other India , 2000
The Book of Genesis, The Bible, New King James Version.
The Gospel of Luke, The Bible, NKJV.
Thomas, Dylan M, 18 Poems, 1934

Please comment if you can.