To be happy
With every lesson learnt I find myself closer to happiness and fullfillment. For in that instance when I am truly happy, I will have taken my final breath.
With every lesson learnt I find myself closer to happiness and fullfillment. For in that instance when I am truly happy, I will have taken my final breath.
There is no stone upon that hill I will not turn,
No star in the sky that I will not wish upon,
No song in the jukebox that I will not sing,
No bee in the hive that I will not reveal to,
No shame or sacrifice that I will not bear,
No feat that I will not overcome,
To protect our silent oath.
For all the demons that dwell,
And the mighty monarchs that stand,
Can hold no fist or iron clad weapon,
To the breadth of my enterprise.
No statues or threatening brass will find my name,
But in your heart of hearts is where I lay my plate,
And there I will lay until our final breath.
The Indian Educational System is a by-product of British Colonial rule that has little changed with the course of time. While the British themselves have moved on to a more robust system, we Indians have been content with the old system, making the occasional cosmetic tweak to add ticks to our political checklists.
Year on year, India produces hundreds of thousands of graduates, most of them Engineers and IT specialists. Yet, at the same time, a study in 2008 by the University of Southern California found that India was among those at the bottom of the table when it came to real innovation. Countries at the top of the table include Norway and Japan; the sum of their populations being merely 11.4% of the population of India.
Clearly, our educational system has a lot to answer for!
While several strides have been made in recent years to make educational free for children up to the age of 14, and improving education for girls, little impact has been seen apart from an insignificant reduction in literacy rates. In addition, government schools are grossly underfunded, understaffed and unable to meet educational challenges facing India in the 21st century. We need to expand our definition of what it means to be educated in order to compete in a globalized world.
Does the Indian Educational System face several challenges? No, we're beyond challenges at this point. It's broken. The only way to fix it is to come up with a viable alternative.
Enter, Project Higgins (PH). PH is an online resource and platform that controls, what we call, the Open Curriculum. Open Curriculum caters to several subjects at the primary and secondary level, that students may choose from. They each have a core level, and several optional add-ons for advanced learning. The add-ons are open-sourced, meaning, any teacher, or authority on a subject from around the country (possibly, the world) with access to PH, may create add-ons or modify existing add-ons at defined intervals. Optional subjects also include sports, music, arts and other non-standard subjects for the pursuit of those interested.
It doesn't end there, Open Curriculum also prescribes methods for teaching, and how to deal with regressive students, or students with learning and other disorders. It gives teachers the tools they need to deal with unexpected outcomes in the class room and gives them forums where they may discuss unique issues facing their respective classrooms.
PH is multi-layered and constantly evolving. However, to realise this alternate form of education, it is important that we lay the groundwork before we begin. To do that, we need help, and lots of it. If you like what you've read so far and would like to know more, volunteer here: http://bit.ly/volunteer4higgins
We believe in better. Join us.
In May and June the Gods shall fray,
For none shall bloom nor care to sway,
Minutes stop and await her passing,
In hoardes they hoarde, quickly amassing,
None have heard nor spoken words,
The fruit of reason, cut in thirds,
But all at once, she rises to speak,
The air goes thick and men grow weak,
"Give me your heart and your grain!"
And just like that, nothing remained.
A pawn falls. The Chief Minister of Karnataka, B.S. Yeddyurappa was forced to quit today - a day after Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde submitted his 25,228 page report on illegal mining in the state to the government.
The report isn't available to the public yet, except through the RTI. Waiting to dissect a copy, eagerly.
Looks like I didn't have to wait that long. The Deccan Herrald managed to get a copy through the RTI, however, noticibly missing are large parts of the report on the Lokayukta's investigations and annexures. What's been made public are only recommendations made in lieu of their findings. Still waiting for the full report to be made public. This is awfully reminicent of a Wikileaks style phased disclosure.
I've attached a copy of the release below. If it doesn't render, or takes too long, you might want to simply click the download link below it (it's over 400 pages).
