tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post1925363769864062635..comments2024-03-27T13:09:26.512+05:30Comments on E=mc^2: English will emancipate the downtrodden in IndiaSujaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16539694685428659940noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-18427655120491591472008-02-08T20:02:00.000+05:302008-02-08T20:02:00.000+05:30Well written article!COWell written article!<BR/><BR/>COAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-65986372929808305212008-02-08T19:08:00.000+05:302008-02-08T19:08:00.000+05:30Oh, cmon leave the kids alone, there is already so...Oh, cmon leave the kids alone, there is already so much pressure on them.<BR/><BR/>:: You're not anyone to make kids learn according to your whims & fancies....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-23071595130730266562008-02-08T18:35:00.000+05:302008-02-08T18:35:00.000+05:30Its amazing that there are people in this comments...Its amazing that there are people in this comments section typing away in English yet not accepting the obvious. English is here to stay and our primary government schools need to be equipped with a staff who are proficient in the language themselves. Right now the state of our governmnent schools are appalling. Many children are unable to read and write(regional languages as well as English) even upto standard six or seven, yet they are passed every year to show a good result. <BR/>I had visited some government schools as part of a programme conducted by our college and I was shocked by the state of affairs there. Most of the children (around 60 per class) were talking and making a racket and the only class teacher there looked disinterested and indifferent. Practically no learning was going on and as these children were most likely first generation learners I don't think much(or for that matter any) learning was going on at home. It should be made mandatory that all the children of Ministers shoud study at government schools. Only then will they be interested in improving the state of our government schools.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-68530588544114090042008-02-08T08:34:00.000+05:302008-02-08T08:34:00.000+05:30Sujai,I fully agree with your view on making Engli...Sujai,<BR/>I fully agree with your view on making English as primary language. Political parties ensure that their sons & daughters are studying in English schools but prevent such opportunities for common man. Countries like Singapore has ensured that medium of instruction is English and at the same time protected regional languages like Tamil, Malay & chinese.Abhihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14827630407874287191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-72208971956185986532008-02-08T07:44:00.000+05:302008-02-08T07:44:00.000+05:30Once again, false pride on fake identities is mess...Once again, false pride on fake identities is messing the perception of Indians on the reality around them and what the future holds. It is English and will be English. <BR/><BR/>I myself was educated in an English medium school and I feel immensely fortunate. I feel sorry for people who struggle to speak English. They have to suffer such a complex in this world. It is evident in their demeanour. <BR/><BR/>Although my mother tongue has taken a severe beating, I intend to learn that separately and speak well. I also intend to pick up a foreign language too. But such intentions are more out of love and nostalgia than anything else. I do not expect these languages to be of any real value in surviving in the world. <BR/><BR/><BR/>~ VinodAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-40092342827533638432008-02-08T01:46:00.000+05:302008-02-08T01:46:00.000+05:30Nishtha:Good for you that you went to Hindi medium...Nishtha:<BR/><BR/>Good for you that you went to Hindi medium school. <BR/><BR/>Good for you that your kid goes to a Spanish medium school - while living in Mexico.<BR/><BR/>What about kids living in South India?<BR/><BR/>What about their opportunities? <BR/><BR/>Even the day-to-day business in a government organization runs in English. Every well-to-do officer in the government sends his kid to English-medium schools. So why different set of schools for the downtrodden?Sujaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16539694685428659940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-26953560493380610612008-02-08T01:40:00.000+05:302008-02-08T01:40:00.000+05:30Nishtha:No clean water for those who do not speak ...Nishtha:<BR/><BR/><I>No clean water for those who do not speak English. Wow! You amaze me with your logic.</I><BR/><BR/>I do not say that. <BR/><BR/>You got it all wrong. I am not saying that you give water to people based on their English proficiency. <BR/><BR/>What happened in the last fifty years? Why is economic progress not trickling down to the masses down there? <BR/><BR/>Should we wait for it trickle down? Or do we bring them up closer so that they avail the opportunities?<BR/><BR/>Why is it important to study subjects like Sciences, Economics, Geographies, Mathematics in one's regional languages? <BR/><BR/>How many PhDs in India do we see from people who study in their regional languages? and compare it with those who study in English?<BR/><BR/>Look at economic status in each government department, and see who are doing well off, and ask what was the medium of instruction?<BR/><BR/>Go to Infosys and see how many of them have medium of instruction as English?<BR/><BR/>Look around each town. Who are the ones who eventually prosper? Where are the opportunities? <BR/><BR/>Why is that even the poor people who want to send their kids to schools try hard to send them to english-medium schools?<BR/><BR/>It is about empowerment. Give the right skills. Eventually they will find their own food and water. <BR/><BR/>Fifty years of India has not been able to provide them with that anyway.Sujaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16539694685428659940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-59091937701138951612008-02-08T01:33:00.000+05:302008-02-08T01:33:00.000+05:30I went to a Hindi medium school and my kid (2 year...I went to a Hindi medium school and my kid (2 years old) watches Dora and Diego who you may know are not English cousins. Her first word was Hola! :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-37280592580819231092008-02-08T01:29:00.000+05:302008-02-08T01:29:00.000+05:30Vivek:I will ask few simple questions:What do rura...Vivek:<BR/><BR/>I will ask few simple questions:<BR/><BR/>What do rural people, downtrodden and lower caste want? If given a choice, do they want to send their kids to a telugu-medium school or an english-medium school?<BR/><BR/>Is it our wish that they go to a telugu-medium schools or is it their wish?<BR/><BR/>Where would you send your kids? Would you send them to an regional-language-medium school or an english-medium school?Sujaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16539694685428659940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-18768281494402403782008-02-08T01:28:00.000+05:302008-02-08T01:28:00.000+05:30No clean water for those who do not speak English....No clean water for those who do not speak English. Wow! You amaze me with your logic.<BR/><BR/>How would a person who speaks in the local language be worse than a person who speaks in English when it comes to the access to water?<BR/><BR/><I> What was the medium of instruction when you attended school? </I><BR/><BR/>It was Hindi and I am proud of it.<BR/><BR/><I> What is the medium of instruction at schools where you send your kids? </I><BR/><BR/>It is primarily Spanish since I live in Mexico City and I really think Spanish is a very good language for the downtrodden because it has such rich literature for a population which had been at the bottom of the society.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-68496838703261693962008-02-08T01:24:00.000+05:302008-02-08T01:24:00.000+05:30I have to disagree with you here. In past few gene...I have to disagree with you here. In past few generations we have created an army of hodge-podge educated people. They can read and write in English, but cannot speak it. And they can speak their regional language but cannot read or write it.<BR/><BR/>The point here is that speaking and reading/writing are two very different skills. You may be a postgraduate in English with a felicty for written English that surpasses native English speakers, yet you may find yourself at a loss for words in spoken language. At the same time, you may be very good in speaking your regional language, but may have tremendous difficulty in reading/writing it unless you have studied it in a structured manner.<BR/><BR/>The net effect is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find people who can do all three - read, write and speak - either of the language properly. Sure they have an advantage in job market, but not sure if this semi-literacy is going to do any good in the long run.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-4907063737926950882008-02-08T01:13:00.000+05:302008-02-08T01:13:00.000+05:30Global oneness and nishtha:I have two quick questi...Global oneness and nishtha:<BR/><BR/>I have two quick questions: <BR/>What was the medium of instruction when you attended school?<BR/><BR/>What is the medium of instruction at schools where you send your kids?Sujaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16539694685428659940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-87047627657729156862008-02-08T01:06:00.000+05:302008-02-08T01:06:00.000+05:30Nishtha:Let's first feed some food and provide som...Nishtha:<BR/><I>Let's first feed some food and provide some pure drinking water to the downtrodden before pushing English down their throats.</I><BR/><BR/>And how do you propose you are going to feed them and give pure drinking water? <BR/><BR/>Give it to them a freebies every year, and year on year? <BR/><BR/>Or give them the necessary tools so that they can go and buy that food and water for themselves?<BR/><BR/>You want to bring food and water to the poor while they continue to be poor, and I want to bring up the poor from their poverty so that they can go to the food and water!<BR/><BR/>;-)Sujaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16539694685428659940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-79624139449856193702008-02-08T00:59:00.000+05:302008-02-08T00:59:00.000+05:30Let's first feed some food and provide some pure d...Let's first feed some food and provide some pure drinking water to the downtrodden before pushing English down their throats.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-60206171498115905662008-02-08T00:55:00.000+05:302008-02-08T00:55:00.000+05:30The future of internet is not English only. Englis...The future of internet is not English only. English was the past. Local languages is the future. Mandarin would be the primary language of content. The distribution of all content would look like a "long tail" with English, Mandarin and Spanish at the top followed by a very very long tail of local languages.<BR/><BR/>Internet enables all these local languages and we should push ourselves into the future instead of pulling ourselves to the colonial past. Let's stop driving looking at the rear view mirror. Look ahead!<BR/><BR/>Use <A HREF="http://www.dotsub.com/" REL="nofollow">dotsub</A> [an open-source subtitling tool] to translate and create regional language subtitles for english videos.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-39901855243518266362008-02-08T00:40:00.000+05:302008-02-08T00:40:00.000+05:30There should be three languages taught in our prim...There should be three languages taught in our primary schools - English, Hindi and a Regional Language. Kids are like sponges, they learn languages so fast.<BR/><BR/>Learning other foreign languages like Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, Japanese and German should also be encouraged in our schools. Particularly, Mandarin would be a must-have skill for our development in the future.<BR/><BR/>China and Japan are good examples of how a local "common" base language helps in the development of a nation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com