To all those who replied to this thread, Viz Soter, Dr. Colaco, Agnel Pinheiro, Lenny D'Souza
I am glad to note that this thread has generated a lot of discussion. Point is are we prepared to argue and listen to reason i.e. be receptive to change or are we going to be bull headed and stick to our own view point and try to score brownie points and show our skills at debate and one up man ship? There are a few misconceptions that a lot of people have. Full day school does not imply school for the whole day. No Educational planners are ever going to try even remotely to have 24 hour school as sarcastically implied by Pinheiro. Full day school in the first place implies school for extended hours more than the 5.5 hours that the school meets now. It does not imply 8.30 to 5.30 school. Without the introduction of the misnomer of full day school, many schools in Goa are already working extended hours. More over, the number of days for which the school is supposed to meet in a year in Goa is pegged down at 220 working days. You'll be surprised to note that quite a few schools fail to meet this basic criterion. In the second instance, Pinheiro makes a case for increased and better infrastructure. Good Point. However, increased infrastructure alone without the necessary effort by students and teachers is never going to translate into improved standards of education. There are other factors. To illustrate this, Einstein formulated his theory of relativity when working in a dingy patent clerk's office. What Soter and Doc have for their frame of reference when they put forward their arguments regarding school hours is a catholic, English/ Portuguese student. What about the masses of rural children who form the backbone of school education in Goa? I am not even mentioning the numbers of migrants from different states in India who also form a sizeable proportion of students in Goa and who in times to come will overtake Goan students in sheer numbers alone! Visualize a situation like this - students who come from a non-English speaking background, first generation learners, studying in an English medium school. How do you get these kids to study English and learn concepts in Science, Math, History and Geography when the comprehension of English itself is a major stumbling block? You guys want to improve standards of education. Without this basic funda, how do you proceed? The only opportunity most of these kids have to hear/ speak is in school. Once these kids get home, they put the English they have learnt in school away and then on it is Hindi, vernacular or what have you. It is only extended hours of teaching that will remedy this situation. Not all students rate as geniuses as Dr. Mashelkar. Extended school hours have proved them selves in such cases and I can cite examples. Extended hours implies things like supervised study, problem solving, tutorials, lab work (check out how this is done at present - a group of students or the whole class has the experiment demoed to them and that is the sum total of practical work), games, music, art and dance. So fundamental principles of learning by doing are sacrificed at the altar of teacher convenience? Today, teachers are not even prepared to do substitution - which the Supreme Court has in clear cut terms stated that it is a part of the teachers duties. Elsewhere in the rest of the country, students study for extended hours. The effects are of course telling. Count the number of Goan IAS, Goan IPS, IFS and other civil services. We do not even have numbers in the same proportion. And Doc, when you talk about pseudo educators so disparagingly, you are asserting, of course, that you have all the qualifications and experience to comment on school education? -- Tony de Sa. tonydesa at gmail dot com ^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v
