What Indian schools can learn from the U.S. model is that creativity starts in the classroom.
Addressing high school students in India and
the United States can shed valuable insights into the culture of the respective
nations. In July 2015, I had the opportunity to address about 150 high school
students (Class 12) in an Indian city, following a similar opportunity in April
in the U.S. with about 150 Grade 12 students. It was fascinating to observe how
16-17 year-olds interacted with their teachers and principals. Both schools
were in Tier-2 cities of democratic nations catering to middle and upper-middle
income segments of the population. I spoke about “Career lessons for the
millennial generation”.
In the Indian school, the moment I walked
into the room I was transported to the time when I was a high school student
more than three decades ago. The boys were all seated on one side and the girls
on the other with a broad aisle in between. My one-hour presentation evoked no
questions. Perhaps they felt intimidated by the Principal and the teachers, who
were seated in the front row. Despite prodding from me and the Principal, there
was no response. The good news was that they were paying rapt attention to what
I was saying (or pretending to!), and none of them had cell phones. The
Principal asked me what the teachers should do to promote classroom
discussions. I suggested group exercises and calling upon students to respond
to questions.
I have fond memories of my high school
mathematics teacher. He did not spare any student when he put up those calculus
or trigonometry problems on the blackboard. Every student was expected to call
out the next step in the equation as he went around the room. That was the only
class where we were not afraid of our peers making fun of us. As a result, all
the 42 girls and boys from my high school class emerged with sound mathematics
skills.
Now compare and contrast my India
presentation with that to 150 students in the U.S. A large proportion of 12th
graders suffer from a malady called “senioritis”. Since U.S. colleges evaluate
a student’s performance only until the end of 11th grade, most students,
however diligent and hardworking they may have been in the past, put very
little effort in their final year. Since many also drive their own cars to
school they come and go as they please. Although schools have a strict
attendance policy, 12th graders are always one up on the administrators when it
comes to excuses for being absent. Still, 80 per cent of the class attended my
presentation.
I had barely spoken for a few minutes when
one student raised his hand. He asked me, “May I be excused to go to the
bathroom please?” He knew he did not have to seek permission to go but he got
the response he wanted — when all his 149 peers laughed, a few even thumped the
desk. The teachers and the Principal were seated towards the front and did not
even turn back. Many students were also furtively texting on their cell phones
although it was against school policy. In the U.S., students are allowed to
bring their cell phones as long as they are switched off when classes are in
session.
About 30 minutes into my presentation,
students started asking me questions and some were even challenging me. The
next 30 minutes were lively since students focus better when the presenter is
put in a spot. After the presentation, a few came to talk to me while the rest
dispersed, now all of them active on their cell phones. One of the students was
sporting a lampshade on his head and I was told he was doing that as a mark of
protest against some rule or the other.
I have concluded that east or west, we need
to salute the schoolteachers for their patience and dedication to students. In
both nations, teachers have to increasingly deal with helicopter parents, given
the shrinking size of families in the middle-income segments of the population.
Parents are constantly challenging teachers on issues including curriculum and
college placements in both nations.
What U.S. schools can learn from Indian
schools is that deference to authority and discipline does pay off. Students
are more focused in India and there is pressure to learn from teachers,
families and peers. What Indian schools can learn from the U.S. model is that
creativity starts in the classroom. Students should be encouraged to
participate in classroom activities, and perhaps even challenge and question
teachers without fear of retribution.
My biggest takeaway from this experience is
that a good balance of creativity and structure, a willingness to challenge yet
respect for authority, will produce a superior student.
Source | http://www.independent.co.uk/
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