What is Spreading Literacy???

Is it teaching them ABC? Is it teaching them English? What is it? And how does one go about doing that when in reality there may not always be a conducive classroom setting, and parents literate enough to understand unconventional ways of teaching?

And what about those who have grown older, are illiterate, but still have a desire to learn deep down, which openly they’d refuse, as they know how difficult it is to cope up, seeing the whole journey as an audience from ABC to chemistry equations.. An audience I call them, as they travel what presumably must be irritating, boring, and too much work because all they seem to be doing, is mug up.

There are kids, believe it or not, who are in their 9th and 10th in eng medium school but have no clue what “A” sounds like, and how to read a single sentence in English and make sense out of it. Thanks to which, no matter how strong their grasping power and intelligence must be, it remains untapped to its full potential- either they get bored, or overwhelmed.. among other things.

What’s the solution?

So far, I guess it’s giving up of this silly pressure of teaching them to pass- for teachers that is. The teachers too have deadline and credibility and statistical improvement pressures. And the schools have their own.

So who is going to stand up regardless of being judged and under pressure and do the right thing, and whether 1st std or 12th, actually teach and inculcate a want and a desire to learn, understand and study?

An appeal- to one and all- as all are teachers and students in life, of life-- take that stand, and make a difference, whenever, wherever you can.. whenever you see some one your heart responds to, as only if this one had this and that one had that, just go ahead :-)
Its probably going to be worth it. Ask that person, that kid. You’ll get the truth, rather than listening to my or anyone else’s presumptions or theoretical predictions and forecasts.

:-) give!

"What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare?"

As W. H. Davies proposes
"What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?"

I got a big reminder today of the value and importance of this simple exercise at the right time; which is a personal interpretation of Davies' poem 'Leisure', that -a little honest introspection aimed at listening to one's inner self, and with some courage on time, can go a long way in helping heal and avoiding future entanglement of things in life- What is living with only 'doing'?

There seems to be a necessity to re-evaluate our priorities and values from time to time. At times such a simple sounding activity, can prove to be a solution to excessive stress and heartache in life. What I've come to find, is we either fail to do it or delay it too much- the continuing of pushing the unsolved 'dirt' under the carpet- till it gets unbearable, and a lot harder to solve.. OR.. we do it, but without the discipline it requires, ending in harsh, rigid or sorry judgments. Which in turn would very well hinder our coming out of the 'mess'.

IN SIMPLE WORDS, the value a person has for something, some action, today, may differ from what it was yesterday.. Judging the past with today's values may then very well lead to askewed conclusions. Taking a step back from the daily doings and goings, from time-to-time, and asking ourselves how we really feel, can only aide in heightening our experience of living and avoiding things from getting overly complicated. Having said that, I'd also like to add, that an incomplete or a harsh introspection equally can waste much beneficial time and energy, sometimes even years!

~~~
K.

P.S.
The poem by W.H.Davies, if you'd like to read:
http://moinul.wordpress.com/2009/07/25/leisure-by-w-h-davies/