Mugg It Up!

"Mug it up"-Our educational system's ultimate motto. Millions of students follow this motto with infallible faith. All trying to progress and reach the title of the ultimate mugger. I myself was part of this- Mug Till You Die - system. Though my passing was rather peaceful, I have certain resentments. Some things could have been changed, some rules bent, some policies could have been made more malleable which could have made my journey through this period not only interesting and exiting but also more productive. We all could be living quite different lives. We could have been doing things that we truly WANT and not the things that have been thrown to us as scrap. We could have unleashed our true potential. We could have reached goals that we now deem unassailable. We could have, we should have, we did not. But, we still can.

By now you must have realized that I am going to propose a change in the educational system. But first I must justify my cause. Our system stresses on word to word definitions, theories, dates and names rather than ideas, experiments and free thinking. They continue teaching us age old discarded ideas with unrelenting diligence rather than bringing us up to date with its present applications and helping us understand its impact. Perhaps, the biggest flaw is that they consider Extra-Curricular activities as Extra-Curricular activities. Our system has trampled the free mind and proliferated the Muggers. It forces the students into pools of books and subjects that may mean nothing to them. What would a Artist make use of Biology or Mathematics? What would a Doctor make do of History? But, still I am not that against the teaching of all such subjects as I am on their complete ignorance on the importance of "extra-curricular" as I believe time spent on acquiring any time of knowledge is not a lost cause. Also their entire idea of literally putting up boards of "NO TRESPASSING" and "BEWARE OF FAILURE" for field experiments is also a major flaw that nobody seems to correct. How can we ever understand the practical applications if we never see it made and worked in practical life? Our system may argue "Students who are truly interested would do it all by themselves..." Well, my dear educational system, is your aim to provide education at all levels to all children for practical life or is it to just teach the truly interested students? And have you considered the possibility that some students might be interested in fields that you do not provide any assistance in? And isnt it our country's idea to give education to all students in all walks of life? If you still stand steadfast to your views then I suggest you change your name from Educational System to Muggers World.

Now for my proposed changes. I am not saying that this SHOULD be the change, rather this COULD be the change is my view. Someday, I'd like to see the reforms of educational system kept up on the net just like like an open source software with the source code available to everyone so that everyone can make a contribution in the required change.

• Languages, Mathematics and Sciences should remain mandatory till grade 8 for they give us an idea of what we want to be in the mainstream world. We can pursue the subject of our interest and finally choose our career.
• An extra subject should be added from grade 1 in the mainstream studies covering Arts including Music, Drama, Creative Writing etc. It should be made as important as the mainstream subject. The students in their first 4 years should be given a basic understanding of the arts and from grade 5 they should make a choice.
• Sports should also be mandatory at least 3 times a week. And all students must be encouraged. Students who can make a choice early choice of which sports they want to play should be allowed to do so and for those who cant all help should be provided. We must work assiduously to maintain the physical well being of all students.
• After 8th students should be allowed to choose the subjects of their choice from ninth. These can include anything from Economics to Physics, History to Biology etc. The students should take up a minimum load of 5 subjects and maximum load of 7 subjects. The students themselves should decide the load of their studies for their interests. All kinds of counseling should be given to help the children to choose their subjects.
• A student should also be allowed to change the subjects until a certain time period.
  
• Math and English should still be made a mandatory till 10th. The other 4 subjects can be chosen by the student. For example, a student aspiring to do in the Scientific field(By now th student must at least have an idea of what field he must take-Science, Commerce, Art, Athletics) he should select Biology, Physics and Chemistry as minimum load. Its the same thing that we select in 11th but I personally think this choice should be given to us much earlier on.
  
• If a student is diligent and has clear goals he can choose more specific subjects. For example, if a student wants to be a Geologist he can choose Geology, Physics and Chemistry or any alternate subject that would help him in his goal. This focus on subjects will prove to be very helpful.
  

• To make choices simple it should be given in this form to students:

1. Science: Physics, Chemistry and Subject Of Your Choice
2. Commerce: Business Studies, Economics and Subject Of Your Choice
3. Arts: All Subjects Your Choice
4. Athletics: Two subjects of their choice as safety net and one subject devoted to Sports

• The student according to his choice can pursue the subjects he loves the things he likes and prosper as he should.
• The student should still continue to have weekly once arts classes and sports sessions but it should not be now considered as a mandatory subject. If the student wants to still continue he/she can do that too by taking it up as an extra subject in his course.
• In Grade 11, the student must be given a deeper choice. If a student wants to be a doctor he can take up Physics, Chemistry and Biology. The student should now be allowed to drop Mathematics and English. The student can also opt to continue any subject he likes. But the maximum should not exceed 5.
  
• The school should help the students make the choice of subjects, career and hobbies from 1st Grade itself. The school should guide the students in the right path. And the right path is the path of interest and aspirations of the students.
  
• In this way a student can be trained in specific ways. Suppose you want to be go into the movie business. You take up arts in 9th grade. You select Dramatics, Literature/Creative Writing, Basics For Motion Picture Making/Photography etc. If intelligent you can take up an extra subject of Finance or Event Management. In 11th imagine you decide to be a Director you can take up Intermediate For Motion Picture Making and take other similar subjects. In this subjects you learn may include from Screenwriting and Directing through to Cinematography and Editing. So you learn what you need. Of course its your second subject can be your Safety Net. You can choose Literature. Of course instead of Literature you can choose Psychology, Fashion Designing etc. It depends on what you want your safety net to be.

• So you see you can choose your own subjects depending on what you want to do and what you want to be and what you want to achieve.
• All subjects must have field projects no matter what. There should be at least field projects per subject per year and should be included in marking scheme.
  
• And interactive learning should be encouraged. New technologies and techniques must be used.
  
• The teachers must be supervised from time to time.
• The schools infrastructure must be closely maintained.
• All the small courses like Religion, Moral etc should be allowed to continue.
  

Now, this is all I could think of at moment. From time to time I shall try to improve this blog. To bring it to a more organized format. For this is a subject close to my heart. I believe that the children if allowed to mold themselves the world will see a boom in novelty.There will be new creations, innovativeness, new technologies and unbelievable works of arts.

Free thinking, practical applications, personal interests with basic knowledge should be the base of an education system. This system will not only give responsible citizens but also more productive and much more happier citizens who love their work. The people who love their work obviously do better.

I do not know how many of you approve of this proposed system. I know that my writing this is not going to change anything now. But maybe someday a person in position may be able to change the system. Maybe that person is you. I know, far-fetched. But I cant help it. I am an ardent optimist. But still Impossible is Nothing...

F.E.A.R

No, no I am not going to write about the ever popular first person shooting game. Instead I am going to write about the very idea that has gripped the world since the dawn of civilization and has relentlessly stuck to our very hearts-FEAR.

"Be scared, be very scared." "Fear is your only salvation." Directly or indirectly these are the types of byline which have been etched into our minds since time forever. At first by nature, now by people themselves. Politicians, scientists, governments, religious leaders, you and me are all fear mongers. Our trade of fear is perhaps the most successful business ever!

Some of you may scorn and think-I am not scared. But before coming to any conclusion consider this that even the most bravest have fear-the fear of loosing courage. It is an inevitable emotion that will come to everyones mind in a lifetime. As a matter of fact it comes into our hearts numerous times in numerous occasions. But have you considered that some people use fear to control and suppress others? You may think and say-Yeah, sure. There are the Taliban, the criminals, the terrorists, tyrants and all such hideous anti social elements. But have you considered a more closer target, in a more subtle environment perpetrated by a more familiar face? You dont need to look further-face your mirror.

Let me explain. Humans at the beginning had nothing in their mind but to survive and proliferate. Their fears were confined to the ones that nature had bestowed upon them, fears like predators, lack of food and water, lack of shelter etc. It was a simple world. As soon as the first bouts of civilization started springing up new fears also started rising. How to maintain this organization, how to prevent catastrophes etc etc. Just as soon as civilization started rules and laws came into place. And as soon as rules and laws came onto place crime took its rightful place.

Crime. An age old practice which is in all sense an age old fear proprietor. We are all scared of criminals, murders, rapists etc etc. These people though a minority of 0.5% of worlds population have incessantly scared the rest of 95.5%. Why I ask is there such fear from such a minority? The first thing is we ourselves are scared to take any action, to get "involved". That I consider is the primary reason. Fear Lets Fear Rampage. The second I believe is the over exaggerated propaganda crime has received. The media, the leaders etc etc have spread it to the common man. And from one common man to another this fear spreads picking momentum as it moves from one mouth to another. Its just like an avalanche-ice displacing more ice-bringing only cold fear to all.

But have you considered that this fear might be used to control us? Yes, control. To keep out minds occupied. To prevents thoughts of revolution and rebellion. Now, now do not think that I am talking about the militants who take up violence, but of course in some cases even that point can be valid. But I am talking about free thinking and the rebellion of the mind and the intellect.
Consider this, when is the last time you remember when there was no "global threat"? When was the last time you on the news channel and you heard "Hey, no problem in the world today!"
I am not naive enough to hope that there can be no problem in the world. But I have definitely noticed that some problems have been blown out of the picture. Its like one world fear replaces another.

Let me give you an example, in the 1800's and 1900's the world was in a conquest for more colonies, more riches, more resources. There was fear of poverty, disease, famine-understandable. But then came World War I and II. And the fear was changed
to war, bombs, soldiers etc. Entire races were scared of other races. Countries scared of other countries. People in all were subjected. In some places their rights forfeited. In some cases their very thoughts stripped away. In this fear many people were made to unimaginable things. Soldiers shot their fellow men, pillaged and committed hideous crimes out of fear of being punished for treason, the civilians out of fear either rebutted or just got subjugated, the leaders either pushed on or surrendered. Free thinking was brought to a stand still. Dictators and tyrants ran rampant.To subdue radical ideas influential people, books etc were destroyed. This is the ultimate destruction of rights and free thinking.

After the World War, the world saw another war-The Cold War. This continued till 1991. And this was the ultimate Fear War. For there was no war but only a Fear Of War between US and the Soviet. In this environment the leaders were able to govern as they likes on both fronts. The people who could have come with radical ideas kept their minds occupied by who's going to bomb who? You may think-but this only deals with US and Soviet, what about the rest? You must understand that even though the World War had finished several subsidiary wars were going on. This fear of war is perhaps the best example I could give of the effect of fear. This period saw a rise of weapons of unimaginable capability of annihilation. This fear of war still grips us in the form of terrorism

In between, I'd also like to mention a war which has long been in discussion in world affairs-The Environmental War. It is true pollution has increased. It is true that there is an impact on the planet. But you will be surprised to find out there is no profound impact as such. Temperature might be increasing in one place but it decreases in others. Sea levels are not rising. We have no means of proving that there is a global impact of all the oddities we do. But then, why is there such a scare? On what basis did "The Day After Tomorrow" show the imminent end of the world? Well, my dear friends this is the best example I can give for the effect of media propaganda. By constantly etching it into our mind - GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS POLAR ICE CAP MELTING SEA LEVEL RISING NEW ICE AGE RAPID ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES TSUNAMI EARTHQUAKE FLOODS. These words are constantly echoed by the media and provides fear a base in our hearts. Again our minds are pushed in the darkness of fear and our potentials curtailed by unnecessary worries. It is interesting to note that all major causes of fear are also major political issues.

Terrorism, war, environmental pollution, religious fanaticism etc are not only the major fear factors that has a global impact but are the major political issues in the world. It is interesting to see that each time any of these factors are propagated we see a new political tide. Whenever there is a major change in the events surrounding these factors there is also a major political change or crisis. Isnt it just convenient?

After belittling fear so much I in the end have to give it due credit for helping us in our survival. Yes, helping us in our survival. Because without fear there will be chaos, for the very nature of humans is volatile. We, if not controlled will surely wreak more destruction than a million hydrogen bombs. For many people it is the fear of punishment that keeps them out of the criminal activities. The fear of "What would the neighbors say?" that keeps us from committing hideous crimes. The fear of war and death that leads to diplomatic pacts. The fear of natures wrath that keeps out environmental exploits in check. The fear of god that makes us lead a pious life. For, without these measures of control the society we know will cease to exist. It can be rightly said FEAR is a necessary evil.

I conclude this blog by mentioning about the fear that we should truly try to conquer, the one that will allow our minds to wander free, that will allow our creativity to flow, the one that will allow us to bestow our gifts to the world, the one that will liberate us from the darkness and bring us to light. This is our personal fear. This can be of many types and varies from people to people. It can be anything from the fear of failure to fear of death. I do not want to elaborate into the types of fear as such as it is of personal nature. All I can say is to rise above these fears and face them with courage. Never take counsel of your fears.

Brave New World

Finally we have entered into the new year. The world itself has seen many changes in the past year. The Lebanon-Israel war, N.Korea and Iran's nuclear interests, the abysmal Iraq war and its "Rethinking", the democrats took control of US, US immigration reforms, the Katrina frauds, the stock frauds, the end of Enron frauds, the Darfur Genocide, Zidane's Headbutt, Italy's victory, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes get married and have kids(Seriously, the things people consider as news!), the cartoon chaos that rocked the Muslim world, the changing of media landscape and to top it all up the Death Of The Dictator-Saddam Hussein.

These are just the news that rocked the world. There a million gazillion things that happened to you and me and the people in general that changed ours and their lives. It was a staggering year and it has come to an end. As we enter the beginning of 2007 my only hope is that we learn from our mistakes and move on. I am going to write about something that has forever changed our landscape-The Rise Of Internet and Globalization.

Now every person can become a journalist, a rock star, an actor, a play write, an author, almost anything under the sun. Though you cant show off your talents in the mainstream level but still there are millions of eyes watching you! You can post your views for the world to see in blogs, you can post your own song and maintain a fan database in myspace.com, you can post your videos in youtube.com, you can write and publish your book even in paperback and hardcover and sell it independently, you can sell almost anything from your underwear to your house through the internet. You are the king of your own world ruling from your living room.

Some artists got mainstream breaks through this personal propaganda like the Arctic Monkeys, they really took off from myspace.com. They had a huge fan base and were signed a record deal. Many authors got a book break through their blogs. A guy actually got a show in MTV through his videos supplied in youtube! The trend of entertainment is changing, the underdogs and the undergrounds are beginning to rise. This trend is just not confined to entertainment. Even the landscape of news reporting is changing. Young amateurs armed with nothing more than pens, notepads, digicams and recorders hunt down fabulous stories and post it up for the world to see. No more are we dependent only on CNN, BBC for our daily scoop. Actually many of the news channels have been taking news from these obscure sources! It is truly the age of individuals.

At first during the 1900's it was a world of states and colonies. Globalization had reached its heights, migration was at an all time high, trade was prosperous, industrialization was booming. It was all good until the Great War began. It brought all the development to a stand still. Thousands were killed and millions were left homeless. The Great War had brought widespread destruction. But, this was hardly anything compared to the Second World War. This war devoured 6.5 million people and leaving yet more millions in despotism. This was an epoch of chaos, its darkness engulfing the world. Everyone was affected one way or another. It took a long time for the world to recuperate. Many are still recovering from the terrible war.

After the 1950's the worlds trade, economy began to improve slightly. The landscape was again changing, it was becoming a world of companies. Now, companies were competing from all around the world. It was a race to the finish. This time saw rise of multinationals, huge industries and gargantuan economies.

This landscape again saw a major development in 1990's with the breaking of the Berlin Wall. The World was soon to become flat. Globalization was at full speed now and it was speeding up even more. China and India were rapidly becoming the new production centers of the world. The underdeveloped nations were soon going to become the hotspots of all industralization. It is interesting to see that around the same time the internet was gripping the world and plunging it deeper in the depth of globalization. It was making the world more flat. It was literally ironing the world flat!

The end of 1990's and beginning of 2000's saw yet another major upheaval. The world was becoming a battle ground of individuals from all corners of the world. These individuals were using the tools of globalization and internet to make their presence felt in the world. It was becoming a huge competitive global market where individuals could compete even with the giant multinationals.

Communication systems, transport, industries etc were undergoing rapid technological advancements. Everything was becoming faster, more efficient and much more cheaper. Such advancements allowed dislocation of raw materials, manufactured goods and services much easier. Now is the age of outsourcing, off-shoring, in-sourcing, importing, exporting, global supply chains and most importantly informing. All these activities are rapidly changing the face of the modern world. Goods and services are much cheaper and far more efficient.

Through outsourcing companies can speed up their tedious back office work by passing on the monotonous works to far off countries and get back the finished work. This not only saves time but also money. The cost of maintaining one person for such kind of work in a developed country like US is five times the cost of maintaining the same kind of person doing the same kind of work in a developing country like India. This back office work can range from software development to accounts to telemarketing. A call you make to the call center upon losing your luggage in NYC may be transferred directly to Bangalore and you are most probably talking to a young Indian girl with an improvised American accent!!!

In off-shoring you are just reducing your manufacturing costs. You are just taking your building machine to a place where labor and resources are cheaper. And we all know where the worlds building center has come up-China. Through amazing communication systems provided by internet every activity can be tracked by the main office while sitting a 1000 miles away.

Insourcing is the practice of calling in an outside company take over a part of your enterprise that isn't part of your core competency. In other you are saying "Dude, I am not good at this. Do this for me and take the cut so I can concentrate on what I am really good at." You are taking off your work load.

Global Supply Chain, now this is interesting. The satellites integrated with efficient manufacturing plants and a state of the art transport system makes global supply chain. Let me give you an example, imagine I order a Dell system. The motherboard might be from Korea, the RAM from China, the CD-Drive from Taiwan and ultimately all of it might be assembled somewhere in Vietnam and finally delivered to my doorstep in Singapore. Only a highly efficient supply system with an amazingly accurate tracking system can give such efficiency.

Informing as the name suggests brings all these innovations on a plane ground and makes it available to everyone around the world. In this media and internet are the informants. Google, Amazon, CNN, BBC etc are the big players who integrate this system intermittently into a perpetually dynamic machine constantly working towards making the world more small.

I have just briefly mentioned about the changing landscape. If you want a greater insight you can read The World Is Flat-Thomas L.Friedman. This blog is inspired from the book. I've only included things that really had more of a profound impact. The book dwells deeper into the field of globalization and current situation of economics. Its in layman's terms so no one would find it difficult. Maybe boring for some but definitely not difficult.

So my comrades welcome to 2007, to a Brave New World where with the right brains and hard work and gods grace you can match up to the world. Its the age of individuals-its YOUR time.
Rise up, take the challenge, make a difference. Its not too difficult but it aint too easy either. With a positive outlook and a prayer in your mind embark on your journey to fulfill your destiny, to live your dream, to be the person you want to be.