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IMPORTANCE OF POST LITERACY AND CONTINUING EDUCATION

    The idea of a Learning Society was first forward by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in its famous report, titled “Learning to be “. According to these report, a learning society is one in which all agencies of a society are educational providers; not just those primary responsibility is education. Similarly all citizens should be engaged in learning, taking full advantage of the opportunities provided by the learning society. True to these words, Kerala has always been a learning society. The educational and social reforms of Maharajas, the relentless efforts of Christian missionaries, the educational pursuits of Nair Service Society, the contribution of Sree Narayan Movement and a galaxy of social reforms laid a strong educational base in Kerala.

        India has very rich and long history of education: education which has been passed on from one generation to the next of thousands of years in various fields of knowledge. People passed on skills along with the rigor of knowledge and human values. It was an integrated kind of an education.
      The concept of continuing education, post literacy or lifelong learning has been embedded in almost all traditional philosophies. Continuing education is seen as going far beyond what is already practiced, particularly in the developed countries such as upgrading with refresher training, retraining and conversion or promotion courses for adults. It should open up opportunities for learning for all, for many different purposes.
      Education should enable people to develop awareness of themselves and their environment and encourage them to play their social roles and work in the community. It should help keep pace with the development of new knowledge of today particularly in the domain of information and communication technology. It should help acquire new skills to face global competitiveness. Therefore, continuing education, post literacy or lifelong learning will soon become a reality for all people. Lifelong learning means learning throughout life. It is not confined to childhood or youth but takes place in mature adulthood as well as in older age. This is a major change from traditional approaches to education and learning.

ADULT EDUCATION

             Adult education is a powerful auxiliary and an essential incentive to primary education. The concept of adult education has brought a new hope for adults who could not get opportunity of receiving education during their school years. Through various programmes and techniques of social education, the illiterate farmers in the fields, laborers in the factories and others can be acquainted with the latest developments taking place in their on fields and thus they can be made happier and useful citizens who would understand their rights and duties given to them in the constitution of free India.
       Adult education is very much needed to change the various facets of the life of our adults. It is essential so that the masses may be trained in various habits to enable them to lead a happier life. Literacy will provide them opportunities of reading and writing and will liberate them from the chains of ignorance. Adult education will bring them in close contact with their community and country’s cultural heritage.
      Adult, continuing education and post literacy is one of the prestigious programmes of University Grants Commission. In American and European Universities, this programme enjoys much importance while in Indian Universities; it is struggling to survive within the University system.
     In India the unique style of interpretation of Adult education is Adult Literacy (3Rs). We are focusing on Total Literacy, Residual Literacy, post literacy, continuing education etc. The scope of Adult education is unlimited. In India at the beginning, the priority was given to adult literacy and it is the time for ‘Mission for Continuing education’. Adult education is a vibrant, fueled by expanding demand and interest with broad range of possibilities in both public and private sector.
        In Academic Adult Education, being ‘adult’ does not refer to age, but rather the mode of study and the objective of the students.  Adult education within universities is an open non-formal system of education which is aiming at complementing and supplementing the requirement of students and community and contributing to the principles of Lifelong learning.

POST LITERACY

Post literacy or post literacy education is a concept used in Adult education programs aimed at recently illiterate or ‘neo-literate’ adults and communities. Unlike continuing education or further education, which covers secondary or vocational topics for adult learners, post literacy programs provide skills which might otherwise be provided in primary education settings. Post literacy education are programmes  which aim to maintain and enhance basic literacy, numeracy and problem solving skills, giving individuals sufficient general basic work skills enabling them to function effectively in their societies. Post literacy programmes are designed for adults who want to strengthen their literacy skills. They may be immigrants, slum-dwellers or elderly rural poor.

                 Jana Shikshan Nilayam (JSN) or People’s Centre of Learning was conceived and introduced in 1988 as an innovative institutionalized framework for post literacy with a view to arresting the unfortunate and recurring phenomenon of relapse of neo-literates into literacy on the one hand and for promotion of a learning society on the other. A set of comprehensive guidelines on location of JSN, selection, training and placement of Prerak, procurement of materials and the modality of conducting the plethora of activities in the JSN were also issued to State Government and other agencies interested in setting up the  JSNs. National Literacy Mission is also a technology mission in as it seeks to harness the finding of scientific and technological research to improved the pace and quality of the programme  and to create a better teaching- learning environment. 
OBJECTIVES OF POST LITERACY
The major objectives of the post literacy programme are:
®                Organize activities for the sustenance of basic literacy and awareness among the neo-literates;
®                Ensure retention of literacy skills and up gradation of skills, especially of women;
®                Create an atmosphere for the application of the skills acquired by them;
®                Supply reading materials for neo-literates;
®                Continue literacy classes for drop-outs and those who were not covered by the total literacy campaign;
®                Promote the developmental activities;
®                Take up non-formal education scheme for the dropouts from schools. FUNCTIONS OF POST-LITERACY
Some major functions of post-literacy programmes include the following:
a) TO CONSOLIDATE BASIC LITERACY SKILLS
A literate who has just completed a basic literacy course is not guaranteed retention of that skill. As for any other skill it could become diffuse and fade out in time unless it is systematically strengthened. A well-designed post-literacy programme may be able to save the situation. With material designed to suit the interests of the target group, post-literacy skill should be able to reinforce and consolidate basic literacy skills both cognitively and affectively.
b) TO MAKE LIFE-LONG LEARNING POSSIBLE
                  Post-literacy is a bridge towards autonomous learning. To reach the stage of autonomous learning means to be within the grasp of being a life-long learner.
                  Post-literacy programmes develop reading habits while at the same time enhance writing and numeracy skill. Without post-literacy programmes, or their equivalent, a learning society cannot materialize since the neo and semi-literates will not be motivated to go beyond basic literacy skills. Post-literacy programmes provide a second opportunity for the disadvantaged to become life-long learners.
                   A keen student within a post-literacy programme has wide options from which to choose further education. Such a student can either enroll in an equivalency programme and so have the chance to enter the formal system again, or he or she can go to other types of continuing education such as vocationally-oriented income-generating programmes or others. In this sense, post-literacy programmes are liberating forces which provide the opportunity for participants to continue to learn throughout life.
c) TO ENHANCE UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIETY AND COMMUNITY
                            Effective communication fosters understanding and promotes ties in the community.  Humankind is gregarious by nature. Being gregarious we must have the skill to communicate to others and to listen effectively. Effective communication, including listening, requires certain skills. These skills can be acquired through training. Communication training programmes can be designed and made available to every interested individual.  Communication skills, therefore, should be a central part of any post-literacy programme. They should be carefully developed to enhance understanding of society and of the community.
d) TO DIFFUSE TECHNOLOGY AND INCREASE VOCATIONAL SKILL
Appropriate technology transforms the development of any country. Post-literacy programmes can be an effective instrument to transfer required technologies to disadvantaged groups and to change a listless «observer» into a productive energetic member of the labor force. The most successful post-literacy programmes are associated with the work force.   The advanced skills of reading, writing and numerically required for autonomous learning are developed loped in association with the functional knowledge needed by participants to be maximally efficient as employees. The significance of such an approach for the overall upgrading of technology and for improvement in individual and commercial efficiency is self-evident. This type of approach makes a major contribution to the economic well-being of individuals and of the nation as a whole.
e) TO MOTIVATES INSPIRE AND INSTILL HOPE TOWARDS IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE
Drop-outs, disadvantaged groups and low-income earners have a feeling of hopelessness. For them the future is bleak. Their children are unlikely to have a meaningful place in society. Survival is by chance. Motivation to improve and the will to excel in life is marginal if not zero.  Feelings of helplessness and the sense of alienation can be overcome. Making such people realize that each and everyone has the same unharnessed potential and that everybody is capable of attaining the best in life, will motivate them to excel in whatever field they decide to undertake. This is possible because a post-literacy programme is an educational activity. Being educational it is an effective tool to affect changes in attitudes and behavior towards life. Post-literacy cultivates, develops, strengthens and stimulates the power of the target group.
MAJOR AGENCIES IN KERALA
The major agencies engaged in the field are
KERALA SASTRA SAHITYA PARISHAD:
The Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) is a scientific, cultural organization, promoted to popularize science among ordinary people. It was established in 1957. It organizes classes, lectures, science clubs, science corners, science fair, and adult literacy classes and so on. KSSP led the total literacy campaign of Ernakulum district and Akshara Keralam Project of the state.
Panchayat Resource Mapping Campaign of KSSP has mobilized very large number of citizens. The field level resource mobilization led to Kerala Total Literacy Campaign and later to the People’s Planning Campaign. It has published more than 100 books to cater to the needs of different sections of the community. This includes children’s literature, social science, popular science, life history and references. In addition the KSSP has published research reports on current issues of Kerala. Today KSSP provides resource support to other states for their literacy campaigns, continuing education programmes, resource mapping, and popularization of science, local survey, and micro planning and so on.
MITRANIKETAN:
Mitraniketan is a non-governmental organization dedicated to non-formal education programme. It is a rural community centre open to all individuals and families irrespective of race, colour, creed or nationality and provides motivation to better their lives and to serve the common men. Mitraniketan has also started adult literacy centers in villages.  Programmes of non-formal education are organized for propagating functional literacy, family planning and childcare and health education. Training programmes have been organized targeting farmers, women children and out of school children. Mitraniketan has started a rural technology centre where, rural technology is intended to be promoted.
QUILON SOCIAL SERVICE SOCIETY:
Quilon Social Service Society (QSSS) is functioning as a registered voluntary organization for social action in Quilon Diocese from 1960 onwards. The society’s aim was to start one comprehensive non-formal education centre attached to each of its local units and also to have all the three stages of adult education viz. literacy, post-literacy and continuing education. QSSS launched a new scheme for converting adult education centers as centers for helping the very poor families of the localities, to involve themselves in development oriented self-help programmes.
LITERACY FORUM:
Its major objectives are
·                     to give professional advice and provide leadership in matters concerning adult/non-formal/continuing education, literacy work and extension in the state;
·                     to carry out evaluation and reach on adult/non-formal education;
·                     to provide a common forum for all interested in adult education and literacy program                         
CONTINUING EDUCATION
The idea of a ‘Learning Society’ was first put forward by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in its famous report (1972), titled ‘Learning to be’. According to this report, a learning society is one in which all agencies of a society are educational providers; not just those whose primary responsibility is education. Similarly, all citizens should be engaged in learning, taking full advantage of the opportunities provided by the learning society.   True to these words, Kerala has always been a learning society. The educational and social reforms of Maharajas, the relentless efforts of Christian missionaries, the educational pursuits of Nair Service Society, the contribution of Sree Narayan Movement and a galaxy of social reforms laid a strong educational base in Kerala. The socio-political movements, freedom struggle and trade union movements have played a very significant role in creating a suitable environment for people’s participation. Excellent network of rural libraries, better transport and communication facilities, people’s perception towards education, social mobility, political commitments are some major factors which provided a conducive climate for the people to learn.
OBJECTIVES OF CONTINUING EDUCATION
The main objectives of Continuing Education programme are;
·                     To create a Learning Society through Life Long Education.
·                     To equip the adults with practical knowledge & problem solving skills to reform the society.
·                     To bring about fundamental, social, economic and cultural changes in society.
PROGRAMMES OF CONTINUING EDUCATION CENTRE
1) Equivalency Programmes Designed as an alternative education programme equivalent to existing formal, general or vocational education
2. Income -generating programmes:  Where the participants acquire or upgrade their vocational skills and take up income –generating activities.
3) Quality of life improvement programmes: This aims to equip learners and the community with essential knowledge, attitude, values and skills to raise their standard of living.
4) Individual interest promotion programmes:  to provide opportunities for learners to participate and learn about their individually chosen social, cultural, spiritual, health, physical and artistic interests. 
POST LITERACY AS PART OF CONTINUING EDUCATION
              Post-literacy is a part of the continuing education process. Post-literacy programmes are designed to strengthen the literacy skills so that the learner can follow meaningfully other opportunities offered by other continuing education programmes. The diagram below clearly shows the role of post-literacy in the education process.
The central column of the diagram (Figure 2.1) shows how educational programmes can be planned and sequenced by an individual throughout life. The programme can be formal, or non-formal in nature. Any educational activity after childhood is considered as continuing education. The target group may be semi-literates, neo-literates or autonomous learners.
ATLP for continuing education offers six programmes. Post-literacy therefore is one of the integrated continuing education programmes. Other types include Income-Generating Programmes, Quality of Life Improvement prorgammes, Equivalency Programmes, Individual Interest programmes (see ATLP-CE volume I). All six programmes are functional. All involve functional knowledge. The functional knowledge is used as a delivery technique with the
Objective of making learning is relevant to living and working. However there is a major difference between post -literacy and other programmes. The basic difference is that in the case of post-literacy programmes, the advocator must stress rehabilitation activities. This is because it is possible for neo-literates and semi-literates to regress to even complete illiteracy. This is less possible in other programmes, especially among equivalency learners.

CONCLUSION

             Kerala is the first state in the country to declare total literacy, which is mainly to effective launching and implementation of various programmers. Kerala was recognized with the successful completion literacy campaign. It was also a pioneer in post literacy prorgammes as it started continuing education programme on its own initiative.
              Post literacy is a process of continuing education. Its programme and activities are designed to prevent neo-literates and semi-literates from regressing into complete literacy. Post literacy programme provide the point of take off in a continuing education system. Without it, continuing education has little meaning to neo-literates or semi-literates.
                Post literacy or continuing education is an inevitable component of the strategy of human resource development and of the goal of creating a learning society. The aim of continuing education and post literacy programme is to consolidate the basic literacy skills of reading, numeracy and problem solving, while simultaneously transforming the learner into an educated member of the community able to participate actively and productively in the nation’s development.
               In post literacy and continuing education stages, greater emphasis is placed on skill development and acquisition of new learning. For those who have acquired basic literacy skills, we need to link these skills more intricately with their lives. This can only become a reality when they learn not only to practice these skills in their day-to-day life, but also clearly understand that these skills will be of vital importance to them in order to improve the quality and the standard of their lives.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

Oh No, you too China ?

The United States believes, sometimes, that it is so unique that it exists in Planet HIP 116454b (discovered yesterday). Some of its laws and practices are completely unintelligible to other members of the species Homo Sapiens. Chief amongst them is its laws relating to guns. A lesser dramatic field is the one on taxing global incomes of Americans (and now even green card holders). This blogger railed about it in the past here.
Now it appears that the Americans are no longer alone in Planet HIP 116454b, at least in regard to the taxation law. The Chinese are also joining them there.
World over, the principle of taxing income is that you pay income tax in the country where you live and not in the country you are a citizen of. So, if you are an expatriate living in another country, you pay taxes in that country of residence. This seems reasonable. You utilise the services of the state where you live – infrastructure, police, defence, healthcare, etc etc. It is therefore only right that you pay taxes to enjoy those facilities.
America believes differently. It believes that you pay taxes where you live (it can do precious little about that) AND pay taxes in America. To control and monitor this, America has enacted the draconian FATCA, which can be considered reasonable only in Planet 116454b.
Now China is proposing to engage in the same stupidity. Actually , it appears the law was always like that in China, except that it just wasn\’t enforced. Considering that the \”law\” in China is not what is enforced by the judiciary, but what is the prevailing interpretation of the Communist Party, this in reality is a change in the law. They are going down the same path as the Americans – demanding that other countries hand over information relating to their citizens, and starting to hound them with Ramamrithamesque legislation.
It actually is quite stupid of China to be trying this. The wealthy Chinese who are emigrating abroad all want to give up their Chinese passport as fast as possible and become citizens of America or Australia or wherever. The majority of their overseas citizens who will be affected are the poor migrant workers working in Lesotho or Burkina Faso building roads or constructing buildings. If the attempt is to get at local Chinese stashing their wealth abroad (of which there are plenty), they can already do that and in any case this move is not targeted at those who are Chinese residents anyway.
A real danger is that our own home grown Ramamritham is eyeing all these moves with undisguised glee. Its probably a matter of time (next budget ?) that he will make a similar move. This blogger is least affected – he lives in India and pays his taxes here anyway. It is his overseas friends , who are readers of this blog and have retained their Indian citizenship, who must start to quake in their boots.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

The flying car

I now petition Kitty Hawk that the best place in the world to launch it first would be in Bangalore. Everybody knows that a basic version of this already exists in the wonderful city\’s roads , for after all, a two wheeler can come from all 360 degrees to dent your car even  today. But passing over that lightly, let\’s examine how and why this would be a major hit in Bangalore

Everybody who works in the world famous Ecospace building would buy it immediately. Ecospace is the world\’s first building where traffic jams are inside the building area and not outside. Average mean time currently for exiting from parking and coming to the gate is 45 mts. With a flying car, the coder will simply jump out of his office window in it and zoom away.  Similarly coders in cubby holes in every other monstrosity – Maanyata, ITPL, Bagmane in that order – are enough to ensure that Kitty Hawk\’s order book for the next 10 years is filled up.

Two wheeler riders of Bangalore migrating to the flying car are likely to be confused initially as they are genetically programmed only to ride on the pavement or ride on the wrong side of the road. They will need some significant retraining to take to this new vehicle. Two wheeler riders are also currently used to taking the wife and both kids along with them. It is unclear from the prototype of the flying car as to where the two kids can be placed. Perhaps they can be made to hang from the wings. There is no safety worry –  in Bangalore, even babies are trained from birth on how to hang on while on a two wheeler

The world famous cab drivers of Bangalore will be the world\’s best drivers on this car, as they have considerable practice in ducking and weaving and zooming. So the maneuvers required of a flying car come to them naturally. They will also be doing a massive public service. As they are used to constant honking, they will take this practice to the air and thereby drive off all the pigeons who currently infest every apartment building.

One of the greatest features of this car appears to be that it can instantly stop and hover in a particular spot. This will be very useful to BMTC drivers who like to stop in the middle of the road in an instant, if the fancy hits them.

There is one problem however. In Bangalore, every type of a cable – be it electricity, TV or internet cable dangles about 2 mtrs above every public space. Kitty Hawk will have to design the car such that it can take off and land passing through the 1 nanometer space available between the cables. In this they will be greatly aided by the dodging powers of the legendary cab driver of Bangalore.

We have one of the most proactive governments in the world in Bangalore. They will instantly build KR Puram, Silk Board and Graphite junctions in the air so that Bangaloreans on flying cars would not be deprived of the unique experiences to be had at the aforementioned places.  They will also ensure that enough airpockets are released into the atmosphere so that Bangaloreans will not get sick from a smooth ride – their bodies having being conditioned to the soothing effects of pot holes.

Another design suggestion for Kitty Hawk would be to provide a glass panel whereby owners can paint or affix stickers saying Bhuvaneswari , Parthiban and Rajasekhar (please note that these will be written in Kannada and therefore will require some additional lateral space)

Drivers will have to adjust their perception of tree branches. Today, the sight of a tree branch on the road means a vehicle has broken down and a twig and some leaves have been lodged in a crack to warn others of this fact. From the flying car, a branch and leaves may be safely taken to be on a living tree.

I am not sure of the impact these cars will have on the traffic cops of Bangalore. Perhaps they can climb trees and tow away the flying cars that have been parked on every branch – the ex two wheeler driver being an expert at parking his vehicle on any vacant area in any terrain.

What I am not clear is  how two drivers who have banged each other will fight. Current practice, which is almost a holy covenant is that you stop right there, get out and hurl the choicest abuse on the other guy.  You cannot move even 1 mtr from the spot (ie move to the side of the road) before fighting).  How this will be done mid air in the future scenario requires deep thought.

All in all, Kitty Hawk must simply relocate to Bangalore and start here. In any case the CEO is probably Arvindkatakshan Ramasubramaniam, who originally went from here. Welcome home, Sir !

    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

    D for Discipline, D for Democracy!

    The moment the word \’discipline\’ is mentioned in a gathering of teachers or educational functionaries (or even parents or community members), it acquires a special meaning, as in \’children have to be kept in discipline\’. Here, the quintessential role of the teacher is that of the \’shepherd\’ (with stick and all), and children are seen as unruly sheep that have no mind of their own and need \’order\’ in their lives. I hope this sounds as dated in the reading as it does in the writing!

    Perhaps this is more the case in Asian societies. Apart from most Indian states, I\’ve found myself caught in this discussion  in Bangladesh, Afghanistan, China, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos… and there\’s an amazing unity of thought across these varying geographies and cultures! Children need to be guided and taught — if their errors are not corrected as soon as the occur, it will be too late to correct them later on! (All this is said in a deep, sonorous tone to emphasize its seriousness.)

    Interestingly, these are also cultures that teach you to respect your elders (whether they have any quality other than age or not!). In short, in societies where control has a role to play, \’discipline\’ comes to mean doing the will of the powerful (because they are adult, or older or richer or occupy a \’position\’). These are also the same places where the guru or the master or the preceptor is venerated (i.e. given a status next to God herself).

    This sits a little uneasily with the clamor for greater democracy in the classroom. Active / joyful learning is now advocated in most of the countries mentioned. In India, the recently enacted Right to Education actually mandates activity-based classrooms where children will construct their own knowledge. The National Curriculum Framework 2005 makes an eloquent plea for \’democracy in the classroom\’, where collaboration and partnership with children (rather than their \’sincerity and obedience\’) will be the hallmark of quality.

    As you can guess, change is a long way coming. Despite the fact that democratic classrooms are \’Official Policy\’ backed by law, and nearly a decade and a half of yearly rounds of in-service teacher training emphasizing the virtue of active learning,  classroom teaching tends to remain teacher-directed, instruction-based, with asking questions and offering one\’s opinions being considered almost a sin on the part of children.

    When reports last came in, thus, D for Discipline was clearly winning over D for Democracy!

    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

    How to Get ISBN for Conference Proceedings

    Benefits of ISBN number

    By obtaining an ISBN you will be able to take the necessary steps to ensure that your book is widely known and to maximize its sales potential.

    The benefits of ISBN include: 

    • The ISBN is a unique international identifier for monographic publications; assigning a number replaces the handling of long bibliographic descriptive records, thereby saving time and staff costs and reducing copying errors. 
    • Correct use of the ISBN allows different product forms and editions of a book, whether printed or digital, to be clearly differentiated, ensuring that customers receive the version that they require. 
    • The ISBN facilitates compilation and updating of book-trade directories and bibliographic databases, such as catalogues of books-in-print. Information on available books can be found easily. 
    • Ordering and distribution of books is mainly executed by ISBN; this is a fast and efficient method. 
    • The ISBN is machine-readable in the form of a 13-digit EAN-13 bar code. This is fast and avoids mistakes. 
    • The ISBN is required for the running of electronic point-of-sale systems in bookshops. 
    • Many publishing and supply chain systems are based on ISBN. 
    • The accumulation of sales data is done by the ISBN. This enables the varying successes of different product forms and editions of publications to be monitored, as well as enabling comparisons between different subject areas and even different publishing houses. 
    • The national lending right in some countries is based on the ISBN. Such schemes enable authors and illustrators to receive payments proportionate to the number of times that their books are lent out by public libraries. 

    How to get an ISBN 

    You can easily get an ISBN no. for your upcoming book or conference proceedings through us

    Write a mail to editor@eduindex.org 

    Eduindex 
    (Imprint and Trademark of Edupedia Publications Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, India)

    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

    Corporate Fluff

    Lucy Kellaway of the Financial Times is one of my favourite columnists. One of her specialities is to roast companies that spew out meaningless bullshit in their communications and press releases. She even hands out annual Golden Flannel Awards for the worst corporate gobbledygook.

    She’s at her best today canning Mondelez (The Oreos to Cadbury company). The company’s marketing head quit and this is what they had to say about finding a successor

    ” Our search for a successor will focus on finding a digital-first, disruptive and innovative leader who can build on Dana’s legacy and mobilise breakthrough marketing in a rapidly changing global consumer landscape”

    Every word is a cliché and the sentence says absolutely nothing other than mouth inanities. Does it make you any wiser who they are going to hire ?

    She has , over the years, mocked at meaningless drivel, quoting such outstanding examples as these

    From Burberry – “In the wholesale channel, Burberry exited doors not aligned with brand status and invested in presentation through both enhanced assortments and dedicated, customised real estate in key doors”

    Or this from E Bay – “We are passionate about harnessing our platform to empower millions of people by levelling the playing field for them”

    Have you stopped to think about the nonsense that is shovelled each day. Infosys is doing an “orderly ramp down of about 3000 people”, ie sacking them.  Citibank was “optimising the customer footprint across geographies ” ie, er firing people. What about grandiose words for mundane things .  Speedo’s swimming cap is a “hair management solution”, another’s aluminium doors are “entrance solutions” and Siemen’s healthcare business is “Healthineers”.

    We ourselves mouth such fluff often – We want to touch base . We are moving forward. We are solutioning for a client. We are mitigating risks by risk management. We are at a “workshop” where somebody is droning through 200 slides and the rest are supposedly paying attention. We are tele commuting.

    How about some good old plain English for a change. Something the Queen would approve of. Declare the next week as a fluff free week. Speak in simple English. If you cannot, try Gurmukhi ! A language where fundamentally jargon and flowery language is impossible.

    A passing note to American readers. I know the English language is strange to you, but you may want to try and learn it !!

      NCC celebrates its 71st Raising Day

      The National Cadet Corps (NCC), the largest uniformed youth organisation in the world, is celebrating its 71stRaising Day today.  The celebrations began yesterdaywith Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar and DG NCC Lt Gen Rajeev Choprapaying homage to the martyrs, who made the supreme sacrifice in the service of the nation, at the National War Memorial in New Delhi. They laid wreaths on behalf of the entire NCC fraternity.The NCC Raising Day was also celebrated all over the country with the cadets participating in marches, cultural activities and social development programmes.

      During the current year, the NCC cadets have contributed immensely in relief operations carried out during floods in Maharashtra, Bihar and Kerala.The cadets also participated wholeheartedly in the Swachhta Abhiyan, Swachhta Cycle Rally, Mega Pollution Pakhwada and played a pivotal role in spreading awareness about various government initiatives like Digital Literacy, International Day of Yoga, Blood Donation Camps, Tree Plantation and immunisation programs etc.NCC girl cadets successfully summited the Mount Tenchenkhang (6,010 metres) in Sikkim and Boy cadets successfully summited MountHanumarTibba (5,982 metres) in Himachal Pradesh.

      The multifaceted activities and varied curriculum of NCC provides unique opportunities to the youth for their development.Many cadets have done the nation and the organisation proud by their remarkable achievements in the fields of sports and adventure.NCC continues its relentless efforts towards moulding theyouth into responsible citizens of the country.

      \’What We Learn Cannot Be Burnt – \’An Afghan Neo-Literate Woman

      As we work in education, it often tends to get too \’sanitized\’ – as if it is not about real people in real situations, where education has a meaning that\’s almost impossible to comprehend. Here\’s a story from Afghanistan, from a programme called Learning for Life that sought to provide initial literacy and health awareness to enable women to become CHWs (community health workers, sorely needed in the country). This story was documented in June 2005, by Judie Schiffbauer, and shared by Katy Anis.


      Each morning, six days a week, 40 year old Zeba Gul wraps a light gray shawl around her head and shoulders and leaves her family’s mud-walled compound in the Afghan village of BegToot.  She follows a path that winds through dusty alleyways and then along green fields to arrive at a two-story building constructed of unbaked brick made from mud and straw.  Inside, a set of narrow stairs leads to the Learning for Life classroom, where other women are already gathered.  Removing her shoes at the doorway, she enters and lowers herself to the mat-covered floor, tucking her long legs beneath her.  
      In December 2004, when the LfL health-based literacy program began in BegToot, wind whipped snow against the classroom windows, but on this fine summer day, the windows are open to admit a pleasant breeze.  The room looks out over groves of mulberry trees, for which the village is named.  Tall, creviced mountains rise high in the distance, still bearing traces of winter snow.
      But the 26 women in the class are not admiring the view.  Instead, each attends to Qotsia, their 21-year-old teacher, who stands beside a small blackboard at the front of the room.  One of millions of Afghans who fled the war-torn country, Qotsia grew up as a refugee in Iran, where she received 12 years of formal education.  Now she has returned to BegToot, and the women are grateful.
       Dressed and coifed in black, Qotsia begins to write with a piece of chalk.  Carefully demonstrating each stroke, she writes a word in Dari composed of several letters from the alphabet displayed on a poster on the wall.  The dark black letters on the poster are easy to see, but six months ago, no woman in the class could have named or written a single one.  Today, hands shoot up when Qotsea asks someone to spell out and then read what she has written.  One woman rises and comes forward:  k a r u m (worm).  “Very good, Pashtoon Jan!” says Qotsia.  Pashtoon Jan smiles as her fellow learners sound out the word, repeat it in unison, and write it in their notebooks:   k a r u m.  Worms are the topic of today’s lesson.  
      To the left of the blackboard, a series of drawings depicts women busy with women’s chores:  one is cleaning vegetables; one is boiling water to be stored in an earthenware jar; another is feeding a sick baby; and one is washing a child’s dirty hands.  Now the women in this Level One literacy class are going to learn how worms and a child’s dirty hands are related. 
      As one of six Community Health Workers enrolled in the class, Zeba Gul already knows a lot about worms.  Their life cycle and method of transmission were explained to her when BRAC, a REACH NGO-grantee, trained her as a CHW.  But until now, Zeba Gul has never known how to spell, read or write the names of the parasites– roundworm, tapeworm, and pinworm—that sicken so many children and adults in the village. 
      As Qotsia begins the lesson, Zeba Gul leans forward and points to a young woman sitting nearby: “That’s my daughter,” she whispers. “Because of this class, she is learning to read and write before her hair turns gray.”
      Later, the class at an end and women lingering to talk, Zeba Gul told her story.  She was born in Paghman, but she has not always lived there.  When she was sixteen, she married and moved to Kabul with her husband to live with his family. Her daughter and several other children were born in the city.
      “It was good,” says Zeba Gul.  “My husband had a small shop.  He worked hard.  In the morning, he opened the shop.  In the afternoon, he had a second job in a government building.”
      Even during the dark days of war, the family chose not to leave Afghanistan for sanctuary in Pakistan or Iran.  “We stayed,” she says, remembering their struggles with a hint of pride in her voice.  “We were hard workers, and we stayed.” 
      For a time after the Russians left, Zeba Gul thought the worst was behind them.  But peace did not last long.  “After that,” she said, “I wasn’t sure what the fighting was about; I know only that it did not stop.  So much fighting.”
      When Zeba Gul explains that both the family’s shop and home were near Damazang in Karte Seh, the room grows very quiet.  Everyone knows that Karte Seh was virtually destroyed during the civil war.  “Ay, Khoda!” the women whisper, as Zeba Gul continues her story:
      “One night, our shop was ablaze. How it burned!  And our house burned too.  Everything we had was swallowed in fire.  Oh, God.  What could we do?  We had nothing left!  So we returned to Paghman.  It was more than ten years ago.  Here, my husband is a farmer.  Thanks to Allah, he is alive.” 
      Many of her listeners have been less fortunate, and the widows nod in agreement as Zeba Gul utters her prayer of gratitude.  The women in the room have known great sorrows, but it is resilience that binds them. 
      “Now,” continues Zeba Gul, “I am a CHW.  And I am learning to read and write in this class.  See there: my daughter is also here! Faz l’Khoda–Give thanks to God.  What we learn cannot be burned.”  

      https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

      \’What We Learn Cannot Be Burnt – \’An Afghan Neo-Literate Woman

      As we work in education, it often tends to get too \’sanitized\’ – as if it is not about real people in real situations, where education has a meaning that\’s almost impossible to comprehend. Here\’s a story from Afghanistan, from a programme called Learning for Life that sought to provide initial literacy and health awareness to enable women to become CHWs (community health workers, sorely needed in the country). This story was documented in June 2005, by Judie Schiffbauer, and shared by Katy Anis.


      Each morning, six days a week, 40 year old Zeba Gul wraps a light gray shawl around her head and shoulders and leaves her family’s mud-walled compound in the Afghan village of BegToot.  She follows a path that winds through dusty alleyways and then along green fields to arrive at a two-story building constructed of unbaked brick made from mud and straw.  Inside, a set of narrow stairs leads to the Learning for Life classroom, where other women are already gathered.  Removing her shoes at the doorway, she enters and lowers herself to the mat-covered floor, tucking her long legs beneath her.  
      In December 2004, when the LfL health-based literacy program began in BegToot, wind whipped snow against the classroom windows, but on this fine summer day, the windows are open to admit a pleasant breeze.  The room looks out over groves of mulberry trees, for which the village is named.  Tall, creviced mountains rise high in the distance, still bearing traces of winter snow.
      But the 26 women in the class are not admiring the view.  Instead, each attends to Qotsia, their 21-year-old teacher, who stands beside a small blackboard at the front of the room.  One of millions of Afghans who fled the war-torn country, Qotsia grew up as a refugee in Iran, where she received 12 years of formal education.  Now she has returned to BegToot, and the women are grateful.
       Dressed and coifed in black, Qotsia begins to write with a piece of chalk.  Carefully demonstrating each stroke, she writes a word in Dari composed of several letters from the alphabet displayed on a poster on the wall.  The dark black letters on the poster are easy to see, but six months ago, no woman in the class could have named or written a single one.  Today, hands shoot up when Qotsea asks someone to spell out and then read what she has written.  One woman rises and comes forward:  k a r u m (worm).  “Very good, Pashtoon Jan!” says Qotsia.  Pashtoon Jan smiles as her fellow learners sound out the word, repeat it in unison, and write it in their notebooks:   k a r u m.  Worms are the topic of today’s lesson.  
      To the left of the blackboard, a series of drawings depicts women busy with women’s chores:  one is cleaning vegetables; one is boiling water to be stored in an earthenware jar; another is feeding a sick baby; and one is washing a child’s dirty hands.  Now the women in this Level One literacy class are going to learn how worms and a child’s dirty hands are related. 
      As one of six Community Health Workers enrolled in the class, Zeba Gul already knows a lot about worms.  Their life cycle and method of transmission were explained to her when BRAC, a REACH NGO-grantee, trained her as a CHW.  But until now, Zeba Gul has never known how to spell, read or write the names of the parasites– roundworm, tapeworm, and pinworm—that sicken so many children and adults in the village. 
      As Qotsia begins the lesson, Zeba Gul leans forward and points to a young woman sitting nearby: “That’s my daughter,” she whispers. “Because of this class, she is learning to read and write before her hair turns gray.”
      Later, the class at an end and women lingering to talk, Zeba Gul told her story.  She was born in Paghman, but she has not always lived there.  When she was sixteen, she married and moved to Kabul with her husband to live with his family. Her daughter and several other children were born in the city.
      “It was good,” says Zeba Gul.  “My husband had a small shop.  He worked hard.  In the morning, he opened the shop.  In the afternoon, he had a second job in a government building.”
      Even during the dark days of war, the family chose not to leave Afghanistan for sanctuary in Pakistan or Iran.  “We stayed,” she says, remembering their struggles with a hint of pride in her voice.  “We were hard workers, and we stayed.” 
      For a time after the Russians left, Zeba Gul thought the worst was behind them.  But peace did not last long.  “After that,” she said, “I wasn’t sure what the fighting was about; I know only that it did not stop.  So much fighting.”
      When Zeba Gul explains that both the family’s shop and home were near Damazang in Karte Seh, the room grows very quiet.  Everyone knows that Karte Seh was virtually destroyed during the civil war.  “Ay, Khoda!” the women whisper, as Zeba Gul continues her story:
      “One night, our shop was ablaze. How it burned!  And our house burned too.  Everything we had was swallowed in fire.  Oh, God.  What could we do?  We had nothing left!  So we returned to Paghman.  It was more than ten years ago.  Here, my husband is a farmer.  Thanks to Allah, he is alive.” 
      Many of her listeners have been less fortunate, and the widows nod in agreement as Zeba Gul utters her prayer of gratitude.  The women in the room have known great sorrows, but it is resilience that binds them. 
      “Now,” continues Zeba Gul, “I am a CHW.  And I am learning to read and write in this class.  See there: my daughter is also here! Faz l’Khoda–Give thanks to God.  What we learn cannot be burned.”  

      https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

      \’What We Learn Cannot Be Burnt – \’An Afghan Neo-Literate Woman

      As we work in education, it often tends to get too \’sanitized\’ – as if it is not about real people in real situations, where education has a meaning that\’s almost impossible to comprehend. Here\’s a story from Afghanistan, from a programme called Learning for Life that sought to provide initial literacy and health awareness to enable women to become CHWs (community health workers, sorely needed in the country). This story was documented in June 2005, by Judie Schiffbauer, and shared by Katy Anis.


      Each morning, six days a week, 40 year old Zeba Gul wraps a light gray shawl around her head and shoulders and leaves her family’s mud-walled compound in the Afghan village of BegToot.  She follows a path that winds through dusty alleyways and then along green fields to arrive at a two-story building constructed of unbaked brick made from mud and straw.  Inside, a set of narrow stairs leads to the Learning for Life classroom, where other women are already gathered.  Removing her shoes at the doorway, she enters and lowers herself to the mat-covered floor, tucking her long legs beneath her.  
      In December 2004, when the LfL health-based literacy program began in BegToot, wind whipped snow against the classroom windows, but on this fine summer day, the windows are open to admit a pleasant breeze.  The room looks out over groves of mulberry trees, for which the village is named.  Tall, creviced mountains rise high in the distance, still bearing traces of winter snow.
      But the 26 women in the class are not admiring the view.  Instead, each attends to Qotsia, their 21-year-old teacher, who stands beside a small blackboard at the front of the room.  One of millions of Afghans who fled the war-torn country, Qotsia grew up as a refugee in Iran, where she received 12 years of formal education.  Now she has returned to BegToot, and the women are grateful.
       Dressed and coifed in black, Qotsia begins to write with a piece of chalk.  Carefully demonstrating each stroke, she writes a word in Dari composed of several letters from the alphabet displayed on a poster on the wall.  The dark black letters on the poster are easy to see, but six months ago, no woman in the class could have named or written a single one.  Today, hands shoot up when Qotsea asks someone to spell out and then read what she has written.  One woman rises and comes forward:  k a r u m (worm).  “Very good, Pashtoon Jan!” says Qotsia.  Pashtoon Jan smiles as her fellow learners sound out the word, repeat it in unison, and write it in their notebooks:   k a r u m.  Worms are the topic of today’s lesson.  
      To the left of the blackboard, a series of drawings depicts women busy with women’s chores:  one is cleaning vegetables; one is boiling water to be stored in an earthenware jar; another is feeding a sick baby; and one is washing a child’s dirty hands.  Now the women in this Level One literacy class are going to learn how worms and a child’s dirty hands are related. 
      As one of six Community Health Workers enrolled in the class, Zeba Gul already knows a lot about worms.  Their life cycle and method of transmission were explained to her when BRAC, a REACH NGO-grantee, trained her as a CHW.  But until now, Zeba Gul has never known how to spell, read or write the names of the parasites– roundworm, tapeworm, and pinworm—that sicken so many children and adults in the village. 
      As Qotsia begins the lesson, Zeba Gul leans forward and points to a young woman sitting nearby: “That’s my daughter,” she whispers. “Because of this class, she is learning to read and write before her hair turns gray.”
      Later, the class at an end and women lingering to talk, Zeba Gul told her story.  She was born in Paghman, but she has not always lived there.  When she was sixteen, she married and moved to Kabul with her husband to live with his family. Her daughter and several other children were born in the city.
      “It was good,” says Zeba Gul.  “My husband had a small shop.  He worked hard.  In the morning, he opened the shop.  In the afternoon, he had a second job in a government building.”
      Even during the dark days of war, the family chose not to leave Afghanistan for sanctuary in Pakistan or Iran.  “We stayed,” she says, remembering their struggles with a hint of pride in her voice.  “We were hard workers, and we stayed.” 
      For a time after the Russians left, Zeba Gul thought the worst was behind them.  But peace did not last long.  “After that,” she said, “I wasn’t sure what the fighting was about; I know only that it did not stop.  So much fighting.”
      When Zeba Gul explains that both the family’s shop and home were near Damazang in Karte Seh, the room grows very quiet.  Everyone knows that Karte Seh was virtually destroyed during the civil war.  “Ay, Khoda!” the women whisper, as Zeba Gul continues her story:
      “One night, our shop was ablaze. How it burned!  And our house burned too.  Everything we had was swallowed in fire.  Oh, God.  What could we do?  We had nothing left!  So we returned to Paghman.  It was more than ten years ago.  Here, my husband is a farmer.  Thanks to Allah, he is alive.” 
      Many of her listeners have been less fortunate, and the widows nod in agreement as Zeba Gul utters her prayer of gratitude.  The women in the room have known great sorrows, but it is resilience that binds them. 
      “Now,” continues Zeba Gul, “I am a CHW.  And I am learning to read and write in this class.  See there: my daughter is also here! Faz l’Khoda–Give thanks to God.  What we learn cannot be burned.”  

      https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

      Work Smart, Not Hard!

      Whenever teachers are being trained, they are bombarded with the same tired old phrases. \’You are the future of the country,\’ they are told. \’There\’s a great responsibility on your shoulders; you must work very hard to fulfil this responsibility.\’ This is what we hear every time, isn\’t it? And aren\’t you fed up of listening to this over the years?
           The problem is that this is such a naive notion. As if working hard makes everything OK. No, you have to use your head! Even those whose work is seen as involving nothing but hard work, they too can do their work well only if they use their head. For instance, the labourers who unload a truck, the farmer working in the field, those who dig pits or carry head loads of debris… If they do their work without thinking and being alert, they can get hurt, face a loss, be shouted at or even fired. In the case of a teacher, therefore, this is bound to be even more crucial!
           A thinking teacher – i.e. a smart teacher – is one who greatly increases children\’s role in the classroom. And not just in keeping things clean and organized, but in the in the learning process itself. For instance, the class 4 teacher said to the children: \’You know, in this story, when the lion woke up one morning, he found that he had no hair on his head! His mane – totally gone! So guess what he did in order to get it back? Well, read the story and find out!\’
           When children started to read the story, the teacher went and sat with those who were in danger of falling behind others. After a little while she said: \’If there are any words you\’re not able to understand, circle them with your pencil. Then ask the children around you if they know.\’ When everyone had finished this, she asked groups of children to look at each other\’s circled words and see if they could find out the meaning. \’If there are still some words that you don\’t know, I\’ll tell you the meaning,\’ she said.
           You can guess what this smart teacher did next. For the entire duration that she was in her class, each child was engaged in work, was learning and helping others learn too. All this while she herself was totally relaxed!
      https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

      Did you brush your ideas today?

      A few minutes spent watching TV or flipping through a magazine would convince anyone that looking good is one of the most important objectives in society! Ads for creams of all kinds, face washes, shampoos, razors, jewelery, clothes — all evidence that we are firmly in the the midst of a \’lookist\’ age. If you don\’t \’look\’ it, you aren\’t it!

      But as we groom our bodies, it might be a good idea to groom our minds as well! Failure to do this seems to have brought about (or perpetuated) the many difficulties we find ourselves in. For instance, as our education system (with around 5.7 million teachers and close to three hundred thousand education officials) rumbles on, and we strive to bring about a major improvement, this is one barrier that keeps springing up again and again. Our thinking tools have become either so dull or limited that at every stage of the transition presents huge challenges:
      • How can each stakeholder envisage the improvement desired in their own way (i.e., have their own vision)?
      • How can all involved begin to understand / conceptualize the massive shift involved?
      • Since improvement is helped by planned rather than a random set of actions, how to help each person plan better – which implies the ability to identify what is desired, what the gaps are, conjuring up a repertoire of \’solutions\’, weighing the different options to identify the ones that fit the situation best, and knowing the difference between sequencing and prioritizing!
      And we haven\’t even come to the actual implementation yet… which involves actions such as teaching, mentoring, communicating, supervising, organizing and managing, monitoring, counselling, developing, recording and analyzing, assessing and evaluating — all tasks that require a range of thinking skills. It comes almost as a shock to realize that different actions require different ways of thinking. That before you start thinking on something you need to ask yourself – which would the best way to think here? Much like a surgeon choosing the right tool at each stage of a complex operation. In fact, that is what our situation is tending to be – of a surgeon armed with only a kitchen knife and hence limited in terms of what she can do! In fact, if you don\’t \’think\’ it, you aren\’t it!

      What can one do to begin overcoming this situation? A few suggestions to start with:

      • Make a list of all the key actions you perform
      • Identify the thinking skills or ways of thinking required (e.g. do you have to be more \’out of the box\’ and creative, or do you have to maintain a rigorous commitment to the given information and derive a logically valid inference).
      • Practice these skills
      • When undertaking new action, please choose the appropriate thinking tool you need to use
      • Finally, don\’t forget to brush your ideas! That is, do reflect on the ideas we use in the daily course of our work – have they become stale? or dusty or outdated? do we need to discard them and move on to different ideas?

      So even as we become willing participants in the \’lookist\’ age, here\’s hoping that more and more of us will also  create our own \’thinkist\’ age!
      https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

      INFORMAL EDUCATION ROLE OF DIFFERENT AGENCIES

        Education is a thought full process by which the inner powers of the individual are developed. Education is verb broad in it true sense and is not confined to school experiences. But in a narrow sense education is a well-planned process. Education may be defined as a purposive conscious or unconscious psychological, sociological, scientific and philosophical process which brings about the development of the individual to the fullest extent and also the maximum development of society in such a way that both enjoy maximum happiness and prosperity. T. Reymont has rightly remarked –“Education is that process of development in which consists the passage of human being from infancy to maturity, the process whereby he adapts himself gradually in various ways to his physical, social and spiritual environment.”
      There are three important types of education,
      EDUCATION
                                                      
      Formal      Non-formal    Informal
      Formal education is that education where according to predetermined aims and methods of teaching, definite dozes of knowledge are thrust into the mind of a child at a specific place during a set duration of time by a particular individual.
      E.g.  Schools, universities etc.
       Informal education is natural and incidental. There are no predetermined aims, curricula, methods, teachers and places where   children receive informal education:
      E.g.: Family, community, peer groups, etc.                       
      Non-formal education is in-between the formal and informal types of education. It is midway because it is partly formal and partly informal it is both intentional and incidental.
      E.g. Open school, open universities, correspondence course etc.
      Sir Godfrey Thomas has written, “The whole of environment is the instrument of man’s education in the wildest sense. But in that environment certain factors are distinguishable as more particularly concerned, the home, the school, the church, press, the vacation, public life, amusement and hobbies”. Generally, of course, the process of education continues from birth to death, but some specific institution play more important part in it. All of these institutions are the agencies of education, and they include all these factors, bases, places or institutions, which have an educative influence upon the Child. Hence, the institutions, agencies and bases of education mean the same thing, and should be interpreted as such. Here are discussing about informal education and its agencies only.

      INFOMAL EDUCATION
      Education for no formalities are observed is known as informal type of education. In this type of education there is modification of the behavior of the learner but no conscious efforts are made for it. Whatever it is learnt here is not preplanned. It is natural and incidental. Here neither the teacher nor the learner is conscious of the process of teaching learning. In this type of education there are no pre-determined aims, no definite curriculum no well thought methods of teaching, no qualified and trained teachers and no definite place of education. Here education is received by the company of friends, relatives, community etc. whatever as education is received plays a very important and significant role in the life of educate. Informal education complements the formal education which has a particular pattern. Education of this kind has no specific time or place at which it is provided. Even the educator is not fixed. All fixed syllabi, rules, formalities are absent from it. Education of this kind in the education one receives while playing in field, talking to family members in the house, roaming around somewhere, in fact everywhere. This kind of education never comes to an end. And it teaches the individual more than he ever learns through his formal education. A child learns many things when he comes in contact with new people. He discovers many new words when he goes to new places. This education that he receives cannot be evaluated as formal education can. Format education can be evaluated by some specific techniques and the quality and quantity of education imbibed by the educate can be known. But this is not true of informal education for there is no standard or measure in its case. It also does not provide the recipient with a certificate or a degree. Informal education is gradual process, for people learn a few things after years of experience. But the things learnt in this manner prove to be more valuable than all the degrees accumulated through formal education. Informal education is more general in nature.
      CHARACTERISTICS OF INFORMAL TYPE OF EDUCATION
      1. This type of education is informal because formalities are observed here.
      2. No conscious efforts are made either by the teacher or the taught.
      3. It is in no way pre-planned activity.
      4. It is incidental.
      5. No formal goals are fixed up.
      6. No formal means are used to attain the goals.
      7. There are no fixed or appointed teachers.
      8. Here a situation might crop up where student may teach a teacher something.
      9. There is no prescribed curriculum and no time table is observed.
      10. There is none who organize this type of education.
      11. There is no fixed place for it.
      12. This type of education is never completed as there is no fixed syllabus.
      13. There are no examinations of any type.
      14. It is all a natural way of teaching –leaving.
      Example: 1. A person goes to the play ground for physical exercise and there comes across someone who tells him very good ways of utilizing leisure time.
      Example: 2. Courteous manners, gentleness etc learnt even in a marketplace in a hotel or in ones sitting room talking with others constitute informal education.
      AGENCIES OF INFORMAL EDUCATION
      The major agencies of informal education are the following.
      A) HOME OR FAMILY
      This is most true of the family, for the family makes a sizeable contribution to the child’s education, irrespective of the quality of this education. As a agency of education family should perform the following duties.
      1. PLACES OF AFFECTIONS:
      Every home fundamentally is a piece of affections especially for the younger ones. The head of the family or the elderly person in the home is a source of affection for others. They have their lovers for the younger. It is a different story that now due to disintegration of families, some youngsters have stated showing hatred for the elders. Naturally in such circumstances, there is to be decrease of affections. Through the system of education, there is need of receiving good old tradition like adoring the elders.
      2. MAKES SOCIAL:
      Every home makes the child more and more social in nature. In the home, there is interaction between the different members of the family. In the street, there is interaction with the children coming from neighboring homes. It develops the qualities of mixing with others.
      One is also able to modify one’s behavior in accordance with others in whose contact one comes. It is but natural   that children learn more from other children. So it is the peer-group that helps the child in becoming more and more social.
      3. MAKES MORALLY SOUND:
      The home teaches the child many things of morality. The child, is able to understand the importance of truth, honesty etc. All this is able to learn from the parents or the grand-parents. Besides, the company of good children also helps in this regard. Moral training is the basic function of the family.
      4. IMPARTS EDUCATION:
      The home educates the child directly or indirectly. The educated parents and other members of family who are educated are able to educate the younger’s directly. But in the case of uneducated parents, the home helps indirectly in educating them. Here education means all round developed of the child.
      5. STATISTICS ECONOMICS NEEDS:
      The home creates statistics economic needs of the child. Money is needed by the child for various activities. It is also needed for giving him right type of diet. All these facilities are provided by the parents. A good home makes earn money rightly and utilize it properly.
      “Family is a well-knit economic unit”. In a good home, the child enjoys economic security. He finds himself free from any type of economic worries. All this helps the child have a balanced personality.
      6. RECREATES:
      Recreation is also important for the proper growth and development of the child. At home, there is provision of recreation. Radio, T.V or other instruments of recreation are used in the homes. They provide the required type of recreation to the child.
      7. HELPS IN PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT:
      Parents are always careful about the health of their children. They try to provide the required type of diet. They inculcate among them the habits of cleanliness and sense of healthful living. They make the children work at the time of work and then allow them to play. Thus the home or the parents help in the proper physical growth and development of their children.
      8. HELPS IN MENTAL DEVELOPMENT:
      Full care is also taken at home for mental development of the children. Here mental development means development of mental power such as thinking, language development etc. The parents make efforts so that their children are able to use the mother tongue rightly in their expression. Intellectual development of this stage helps the children later on because their education largely depends upon it.
      9. HELPS EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
      Emotional development is very important for the proper growth and development of the child. The parents at home help a good dual in this regard. The child learns at home about emotional stability. The home develops in the child healthy and positive emotions like sympathy, affection, courage etc. Only well adjusted home environment helps in this direction.
      10. HELPS RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENT:
      Religion and religious beliefs refine the personality of a child. The basic foundation of religion and spiritual faith are laid down at home. In fact, family is the only institution where religious development of the child can be ensured. From home child learns the basic fundamentals of spirituality. From home he gets a concrete form of religion.
      India being a secular country, the duty of parents to impart religious education to the children becomes too important. Only religious environment of the family develops the duty of every home to create peaceful atmospheres in order to enable the boys and girls to drive pleasure by staying at home.
      B) SOCIETY OR COMMUNITY
      Society performs a number of educational functions which are briefly explained below;
      1. ESTABLISHES SCHOOLS:
      The society establishes the schools, maintains them and glorifies them .It educates the children and enables them to stand on their own feet. Besides, it also helps in bringing all round development of the children.
      2. MAINTAINS STANDARD OF THE SCHOOLS:
      The society helps the schools in maintaining good standards. It fixes up standards with the help of higher controlling authorities and then it verifies with the help of school, board or university whether the students have attained the desired goals or not.
      3. HELPS IN ALL ROUND DEVELOPMENT OF INDIVIDUAL:
      The society creates proper environment in the school so as to bring about different types of development of the learner-physical, moral, social, cultural, academic etc. Thus it makes the individual a fit person for the society.
      4. SETS UP AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF EDUCATION:
      It is needed at different levels of education. Then it checks their appropriateness. It also corrects them, reflexes them and redefines them if need arises there to. 
      5. PLANS NATIONAL SYSTEM OF EDUCATION:
      The society prepare national scheme of education keeping in view the needs and requirement of the people. It also tries to find out whether the system is according to the aspiration of the people.
      6. MAKE PROVISION OF SUITABLE CURRICULUM:
      The society takes the opinions of experts and makes provision of suitable curriculum where the learner should be able to grow and develop fully so as to achieve the target fixed up by the society.
      7. SUPERVISION:
      The society supervises the school and its various components with the purpose of bringing improvement in the school, teachers, students etc. Through regular supervision, it ensures proper and smooth functioning of the school. Thus it is also able to root out the ills and draw-backs of the school.
      8. APPOINT COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES:
      The society sets up commission and committees as per needs of the situations. The main purpose behind is overall improvement of the school.
      9. PRESERVES TRADITIONS AND CONVENTIONS:
      The society has its rich heritage, healthy traditions and conventions and it wants to preserve them. It does so by stabling museums art galleries. It does propagate good values through T.V, radio, News-papers, Magazines etc.
      10. ENCOURAGES RESEARCH:
      The society encourages research in various fields by supporting the financially so as to improve the teaching-learning environment of the school.
      11. CO-ORDINATE DIFFERENT AGENCIES:
      Society inters links school and home. It helps in making them realize that they can server many useful purposes. Schools exist but society makes them better and better. Home exists society tries to improve it. It provides them with guidance and thereby helps them do wonderful job for the betterment of the individuals. Surely this approach improves the home, improves the school and improves the society itself.
      12. INCULCATES MORAL AND SPIRITUAL VALUES:
      Society has in its store the cultural heritage of humanity. Moral and spiritual values are maintained by it. It tries to inculcate those values in the individuals. Honesty, sincerity, truth, simplicity of life and high thinking behaviors, hard working, fellow-feelings etc. are noble values. The society advocates and propagates these values among the masses.
      C) STATE
      State is also informal agency of education. The proper management of education is an important task of the state. Apart from school, family and society, state also educates as on as informal agency of education. People always learn something or other from the state without any definite rule, place or time. Briefly, the main duties of the state as an educational agency are given below.
      ·         Instead of taking the place of the individual or the family, the state should help in the development of both.
      ·         It is the duty of the state to establish its own schools and provide assistance to private schools.
      ·         State is responsible for the change in the form of schools according to needs.
      ·         State is to establish inter relationship among various agencies of education.
      ·         It has to establish relationship among various schools in order to avoid wastage so that higher standard of education may established.
      ·         It should prepare a list of minimum achievements for school and lay down broad guide-lines for them.
      ·         State should keep education free from local cries by allowing some local elements to participate in the process of education but subordinating them to the national system of education.
      ·         It should provide sound attitude to parents towards education.
      ·         Arrangement of free and universal education for a definite period is an important task of the state.
      ·         State is to take the responsibility of educational expenditure and   persuade other institutions for this task.
      ·         Proper arrangement of training for teachers is to be made by the       state so that the standard of education many not full.
      ·         State should give proper advice to educational institutions. State in expected to organize suitable committees and commissions for this purpose.
      ·         State should pay special attention to the security of nation’s culture.
      ·         State is expected to help inculcate feeling of duty to the nation in the minds of its citizens and it should contribute in the development of normal idea for social efficiency.
      D) PEER GROUP
      Peer in one who is equal in rank older boys and girls form groups of their peers called peer groups. As an agency, peer group seems insignificant but the hard fact in that it is a very significant one and it plays a very important role in education. In peer groups, there is better learning. Generally it is seen that what the student cannot learn from the teacher, the same thing he/she can learn easily and in a much better way in the peer group.
      CHARACTERISTICS OF PEER GROUP
      §  There is no difference between the rank and profile of the students who are in one group.
      §  They are free to take in any one of their colleagues and also vice-versa.
      §  There in element of freedom and there is no fear of any soft.
      §  They are able to give an outlet to their pent up feelings
      §  When there is no suppression of feelings, mind works without any type of compulsion.
      There is inborn type of motivation which ensures good LEARNING BY ALL IN THE GROUP.
      FUNCTIONS OF THE PEER GROUP
      1.      SOCIALIZES:
      In the peer group, everybody learns how to behave with each other and how to live well in the group and how to make their group strong. Good interaction takes place there.
      2.       MODIFICATION OF BEHAVIOR:
      Peer group helps in modifying the behavior of the individuals of the group. The simple reason being that there is free and frank. In the self created environment, everybody comes out as better individual with modified behavior.
      3.      WE- FEELING:
      We-feelings are inculcated in the individual of the peer groups. The individuals feel that they belong to one group. The feel more secured. Fellow feelings are born in them. With their togetherness, they find themselves stronger.
      4.      HELP IN ALL ROUND DEVELOPMENT:
      Unlike class room learning the peer group provides the individuals full freedom and more opportunities of mixing each other. They are able to learn together, they are able to play together. They are able to have better instruction with one another. All this helps in all round growth and development of the individuals.
      5.      TEACH THEM TO WORK INDEPENDENTLY:
      Peer groups instill in the individuals as way of life where they become self dependent.
      E) MASS MEDIA
      Media used for the masses to communicate something is known as mass media. Radio TV, Film News papers etc; serve the purpose of mass media. In our country, the chief faction of these media is informal education.
      a) FILM
      Although films have some other purpose to achieve, we can also learn something from them. Children learn many things from the films. People also listen to the message of the actors. Film can promote social welfare if they screen good stories and adopt techniques suiting the needs of society. Scientific and informative documentary films shown by other institutions are also very educative.
      b) RADIO
      In our daily life we learn something from radio programmer. We receive sufficient education from the speeches on different subjects delivered by the great scholar. Now radio program organizers sometime arrange for well planned education to be impacted to different age groups of people. Some programmers’ are especially meant for school children some for women-folk, some for teachers and so on. Sometimes, some education talk of some great person is relayed from all radio station. Radio does educate us informally.
      c) TELEVISION
      Children can use visual as well as auditory sense organs in enjoying TV programs which are not only source of recreation but also of education. TV educates us informally and sometimes TV education is more effective then school education.
      d) PRESS
      We get some new experience by reading daily news papers, weekly papers, fortnightly and monthly margarines, annual or half yearly journals and various bulletins.
      F). OTHER AGENCIES
      SPORTS:
      Children are naturally interested in games. Adults are also interested in play. By means of games and sports feelings of co-operation honesty and love are developed in children. This is also an important informal agency of education.
      LIBRARY AND READING ROOM:
      Libraries and reading rooms provide education by making available various papers, journals, magazines, great reference books and books on many subjects for reference study.
      SOCIAL EDUCATION CENTRE:
      Under community development project social education centre have been established at village and mahallas of cities we informally receive education from these centers.
      SCOUTING AND GIRL-GUIDING:
      Scouting and girl-guiding programs provide education to boys and girls respectively. Both are informal agencies of education.
      MUSEUMS:
      Only a brief reference needs to be made to museums as an informal agency of education.
      MERIT AND DEMERIT OF INFORMAL EDUCATION:
      MERITS:
      a)     There are no strains of any type on the mind of the learner.
      b)     It is a natural way of teaching learning
      c)      The learner is self-motivated in process of learning.
      d)     Most of the learnt things are situational as they are learnt in one situation o the other. So they are remembered for a long time.
      e)     In this type of education there is dependence on rote learning.
      DE-MERITS
      a)     It does not give much confidence to the learner. In spite of good knowledge, the learner may feel inferiority complete in a group of highly educated person.
      b)     Here education is received in the absence of a so called ‘guru’- the teacher. One may not learn the right things.
      c)      Whatever is expected to be learnt in the company of equal age group that is missed here? Class fellow feeling, discipline, good habits, attitudes etc. May not be acquired properly and rightly.
      CONCLUSION
      The truth is that none of the above discussed agencies is complete in itself. Each gives a certain type of education which is only a part of the whole. In reality both formal and informal agencies of education are mutually complementary and supplementary for the complete and whole some development of personality. Thus, both the agencies should co-operate in educating the child. There must be a balance of working by both the agencies for the total development of the child. No one is to be neglected as both complete the desired development.
      https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

      Deflation: a curse or a boon ?

      Stock markets tumbled last Monday. Investors claimed they were worried by two things – Deflation and the possibility (yet again) of a Greek exit from the Euro. Even Rajalakshmi, she who is sitting in front of CNBC doing day trading, claimed to be concerned about deflation. Assuming that she can spell it, this is pure stuff and nonsense.
      Deflation refers to a sustained trend of falling prices. When this happens, demand tends to fall as people expect prices to reduce further and postpone purchases. Falling demand leads to unemployment, lower wages and therefore still lower demand and prices. When this is sustained over a period of time , economic growth collapses , much like what Japan has experienced over decades.
      But to consider the current circumstances as deflation and therefore hammer down stock prices is incomprehensible to this blogger. Yes, price indices have been falling in recent months, but that is solely on account of one factor – the price of oil. The dramatic drop in the price of oil is actually largely a good thing as this blogger blogged about only a week or so ago. Maybe it needn\’t have dropped so soon and so fast, but a sustained drop in oil prices is actually great for the economy. The massive transfer of wealth that has happened from all over the world to the sheikhs in the Middle East and to Russia has hardly made the world a better place.
      There is no reason to believe that economic growth is going to suffer in any sector, other than oil. The US economy is actually doing quite well. Europe may continue to be stagnating, but almost every other region in the world is seeing an upturn. China\’s growth may be slowing down, but it is still at levels which every other country in the world would give an arm and a leg to achieve. India is at least looking positive even if it does not have much result to show for as yet.
      Armchair analysts who plot consumer price indices and proclaim that when it declines there is deflation are deluding themselves. Price reduction brought on by innovation, productivity, technology and cost reduction are actually great for any economy. Witness the IT and consumer electronics industry where prices fall all the time and demand booms. The current bout of price index falls is because of cost reduction – reduction in the cost of oil. My good blogger friends who are filling up their gas guzzlers in the US are feeling pleasantly surprised. My good friend was so surprised filling 5732 gallons into his tank, that he even blogged about it. There is a bit more in the pockets of most citizens of the world, except those of the oil exporting and mismanaged countries (read Venezuela, Iran, Russia).  Not one of those good citizens gives a rat\’s ass to fears of deflation.
      When equity markets fall again and when they mention deflation scares, that\’s the time to invest.
      https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

      Corporate Fluff

      Lucy Kellaway of the Financial Times is one of my favourite columnists. One of her specialities is to roast companies that spew out meaningless bullshit in their communications and press releases. She even hands out annual Golden Flannel Awards for the worst corporate gobbledygook.

      She\’s at her best today canning Mondelez (The Oreos to Cadbury company). The company\’s marketing head quit and this is what they had to say about finding a successor

      \” Our search for a successor will focus on finding a digital-first, disruptive and innovative leader who can build on Dana’s legacy and mobilise breakthrough marketing in a rapidly changing global consumer landscape\”

      Every word is a cliché and the sentence says absolutely nothing other than mouth inanities. Does it make you any wiser who they are going to hire ?

      She has , over the years, mocked at meaningless drivel, quoting such outstanding examples as these

      From Burberry – \”In the wholesale channel, Burberry exited doors not aligned with brand status and invested in presentation through both enhanced assortments and dedicated, customised real estate in key doors\”

      Or this from E Bay – \”We are passionate about harnessing our platform to empower millions of people by levelling the playing field for them\”

      Have you stopped to think about the nonsense that is shovelled each day. Infosys is doing an \”orderly ramp down of about 3000 people\”, ie sacking them.  Citibank was \”optimising the customer footprint across geographies \” ie, er firing people. What about grandiose words for mundane things .  Speedo\’s swimming cap is a \”hair management solution\”, another\’s aluminium doors are \”entrance solutions\” and Siemen\’s healthcare business is \”Healthineers\”.

      We ourselves mouth such fluff often – We want to touch base . We are moving forward. We are solutioning for a client. We are mitigating risks by risk management. We are at a \”workshop\” where somebody is droning through 200 slides and the rest are supposedly paying attention. We are tele commuting.

      How about some good old plain English for a change. Something the Queen would approve of. Declare the next week as a fluff free week. Speak in simple English. If you cannot, try Gurmukhi ! A language where fundamentally jargon and flowery language is impossible.

      A passing note to American readers. I know the English language is strange to you, but you may want to try and learn it !!

        https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1