parents...plz ponder !

When I returned to AP in 2004, after almost 20 years of being away from my home state I was surprised to see the change in the definition of schools and colleges.
Schools and colleges are in my opinion, centres for learning. To learn and understand what is age appropriate!
God has given us all physical age to mostly match with the mental age. There are exceptions where this matching works differently by birth or due to environment. But with intent...? How else do I understand the schooling patterns in our state?

IIT coaching from class VI ! How ridiculous to think of it also!

What a child has to learn at the age of 10, he can probably learn a little more than that but not what a 15 yr old or a 16 yr old should learn, Right? And in case we push them into learning it all at the same time, what we are doing is ‘front loading’ and not developing knowledge, skills or concept of math or science.

How can a child who is learning the basics of math be trained into solving sums from arithmetic progressions or algebra? How can he simultaneously learn the basics and advanced math at the same time?

It is like asking a child to learn alphabets and paragraph writing at the same time? What kind of false beliefs are we driving into the schooling system, and for what?

I was concerned to see schools running like factories...8AM to 8PM. On enquiring, I found out that 2 to 3 hrs are spent in ‘insignificant subjects’ like Social studies, English and Hindi or Telugu and the rest of the day is spent in learning and mugging up math and science.

Mugging up math? Appalling to even think about it! You can mug up math if you are sure of the upcoming question and its challenge. And I am sure that math is an application based skill and not a repetitive pattern.

What is more disappointing is to see the half baked knowledge of parents who have no information on who makes the curriculum in the country or who prescribes the curricular priorities. They neither know what is NCERT or NCF.

All they have chosen to know is that math & sc in SSC is of better standard than CBSE. Needless to say that their information comes from ‘know it all’ neighbours, colleagues or relatives who would have a son or a daughter who is working or studying in US. Thats it, these parents need no other authentication other than the news given by the parents of that fortunate person who has been blessed with an entry into US, the land of dollar dreams.
They strongly believe that CBSE syllabus is ok till 5th or 6th but to enter into competitive arena, SSC is the only answer.

I worked in CBSE schools across the country for many years but this kind of myth that has been spread in our state about CBSE syllabus particularly in math is absolutely false.
That CBSE math is of lower standard compared to SSC is a myth that has been created (deliberately?) by vested interests or ignorance.
CBSE is supported by NCERT (National Council for Educational Research & Training) in upgrading its syllabus almost every 2 years. National curriculum Front reviews every year on the curriculum needs for Class 1 to 12.
SSC gets it inputs from SCERT (State Council).

Why would NCERT develop a curriculum which is of lower standard compared to one of the state’s syllabus? I wonder if anyone ever thought of it?
When I started digging into it further, I saw how the vested or ignorant groups have used or misused certain facts saying that there are some topics in math which are not taught in SSC but not in CBSE. May be not in 10th but all the learning objectives are covered in a 12 years of learning program.

Certain topics are covered in 11th and 12th classes because they are considered as deeper concepts of math which should be learnt by those students who choose to take math n science in +2 level. The same is covered superficially in 10th SSC math or Sc and it is interpreted as ‘not taught in CBSE’.

NCERT & CBSE have planned the teaching/learning objectives of math & Science in a graded way that by the time a student completes class 12, he/she is ready for competitive exams with sufficient knowledge.

After all a student can write the IIT or EAMCET or IIIT after 12th, certainly not after 6th or 10th !!!

Also the question papers for IIT or other national level entrance exams are not prepared by SSC or Intermediate board!

Is SSC syllabus the only way to merit in the entrance exams? Then how do students studying in other states pass them?

I hope no one is innocent enough to think that only students studying in AP are entering the thresholds of IITs!

The so called bridge course that one talks about is another falsehood. 95% of the students who clear IIT entrance exams from our state are those who have CBSE background.

Yes, EAMCET is a local entrance exam for local colleges in our state which will ask questions from local syllabus.

But the mis-belief spread all over the state is that CBSE math is of lower standard so that no one chooses anything else other than these factories which are so called schools and colleges.

Yes, there are not too many CBSE schools that offer + 1 & +2 program in our state. But that too I think is because of the sheep mentality of our people. Everybody says intermediate college with integrated coaching is better, all the sheep are ready to follow. In this blind following, I have seen many educated and well travelled adults also getting carried away with peer influence and make just the wrong choice for their beloved children.
I see colleges which are like concentration camps with thousands of assembly line products being subjected to same type of conditioning. Parents are happy that they don’t have to control their teenage children. The college is like a day care centre or prison camp where quantity time is important, quality? Questionable!


Episode Punch:
What surprises me more is the belief of parents that they know more about the educational system than the educators who are running institutions. They are ready to believe the neighbours in the ‘staircase chats or parking area chats’ than those who run schools who get first hand information from the Boards.

I am sure these Boards do not communicate directly to parents except that they publish everything on their websites...which of course I don’t expect many parents to be checking up because they have the ‘Casper, the friendly neighbor’ who devilishly gives all the wrong info!