ELANGO'S RESPONSE TO WYTIWYG

Hello Sir,
It is a very good article and I am very pleased to see some one trying to bell the cat. Most of the teachers can't think beyond the compartments. It becomes worse when you talk about religion. There were couple of teachers who used to provoke 'Christian' students in literature classes. One pious christian friend of mine went with tears to Dr. John Sahayam. He pleaded that professor should not shake the beliefs and he should not take up atheistic subjects in the class room. Professor who happens to be a christian preacher himself laughed for couple of minutes and said that literature or any education should destroy your belief. Professor John Shekar used to teach D.H.Lawrence where some of of the christian students preferred to escape to chapel. There were rebellious characters all around when I was a student. When you look at the percentage of rural students who have come out of the tradition, it is amazing that AC has done a tremendous job.
The present day students have more strain from both the parents and the teachers to be responsible for the 'money' they have paid. Many of the students think that college doesn't have a life anything apart from academics. Ever since self finance colleges have come, we see students who are more self conscious and don't value anything that the campus offers. Today both teachers and students don't identify themselves with social causes. It is very safe for them to watch in a detached manner.We miss those campus characters who use to sit around that Bodhi tree. A moral attack has made the species extinct.
Specialization of subjects is another evil. I won't even call it as education. I prefer to call it as a training. There were optional subjects which have made deviation of careers for people. In US, today everybody is talking about multi-specialization. More than that, people are talking about integral approach to life.Ever since C.P. Snow scholars like Ken Wilber and other modern thinkers are talking about more of an integral approach to education. Only an integral approach will be able to explain the objective and philosophy of education. Prof Vasanthan told me once that B.A honours degrees of early days was more inclusive. People who could take up those degrees were master of all sciences and arts. People who have basic comprehension,logic and language can specialize in any subject. It gives more freedom for the students. Many of the teachers talk about their M.Phil or P.hd thesis as the beginning and end of education. It is a very sad scenario. However, many of the teachers today are not equipped to face the modern day student. Now , it is only a control game. Religion and state do the same as teachers do.
Regards
Elango.K