The Red Chair and English...?

Wow, I have not only expected this kind of article and the way of expression from someone who himself came from the same faculty of thinking but also placing these kind of questions. Simply wonderful! We are, indeed, progressing! Thank you Mr. Sam George alias Dharumi.

His writings can be found and to get enlightened please travel on this link http://sixth-finger.blogspot.com/2006/05/12-mother-tongue-raj-legacy_12.html . However, if someone is hesitant to travel on that; here are some of the hightlights from his own pad which I am placing here to get you motivated to go there...

...Hence there has to be a gap between learning in one's own mother tongue and in a foreign language. Especially this is very much so in lower classes, say, till the end of schooling. So a student can acquire more knowledge faster if he does his studies in his own mother tongue and his comprehension and mastery over the subject would be much better. What he has to do in addition is to learn one another language, English and he will have definitely enough energy to do well in one more language since his learning process of other subjects through his own mother tongue would be considerably and comparatively easier than being through English. Our schooling focuses on quantity and not on quality. Loads and loads of information are fed to the students not worrying how much is being grasped, absorbed and assimilated by the students. This leads to rote learning. The cognitive levels of understanding, comprehension,analysis and appreciation are left out from our schooling system...

Having read that I completely put myself in that frame as to what the professor is talking about. Since, I have been there and felt what he has seen the struggle in youths. So here I am sharing and confessing some of my view points on that crucial issue.

We as a nation with a strong lingual richness and background we should believe in autonomy. And encourage our children to pursue their learning skills in our own mother tongue as long as they wish; providing opportunities and necessary encouragement for the effort, as an incentive to that, offering jobs in all sectors.

Anyway, here it goes my feedback to Sam's musings...

Hi sam,

You maynot believe what I am going to say but it is a piece of truth. I have been thinking about all along since the day I switched my medium of learning from Tamil to English at my Higher Secondary level to College.

I felt that pinch in me. Why all at a sudden I should go through this nerve breaking hardship, switching to a language where I am less familiar with. In other case, my another brother happened to fail in a few classes. In spite, of his first rank at YMCA school (+2) and won a gold medal there, where he studied in Tamil medium.

When he joined for his higher studies with MCC, he was very much threatned and discouraged for not being able to grasp the essence of the very subject he very much loved to pursue. The consequence of it, he quit it in the mid-term. It was unfinished.

So I understand what do you exactly mean. In my case, I self-taught pretty much in every aspect of it. I am proud of myself where I am today with What I know of. Yet, still I am learning in a hard way.

That fake illusion should be unveiled from both the parent and kids alike, for that case even our very government and the society in whole. Thinking that if we do speak in english we are being treated like a king and get a special treatment etc.,

It is a sheer shame and ignorance in our side.

You see the Japanese and Chinese are very competent in terms of new invention and technology because they value their mother tongue and learn the fundamental principles of complex issue where they can shine with it later on in their future.

It is not the case with us. However, I see the hope at the end of the tunnel. When the mojarity of the population get more education and awareness of their own, they will be grounded and appreciate what for who they are.

And that is my hope. Right now what is going on is just a mere ignorance, mimicking with a copy-cat attitude.

I am going to publish this same feedback as a separate essay in my blog. With your article in the front line! I need it very much please understand me.

Good piece very much needed at this era, where we are today!

Another one of the good thoughts from your side ;-)

P.S: Perhaps if the teacher him/herself in the first place is taught and trained really good, they might resolve the problem too, I suppose. Since, they can find some other alternative and creative way to teach the fundamentals of a language to the kids. Govt. funded schools are the worst in that case!!

Orani