Sainath. 1996. Everybody Loves a Good Drought: Stories from India’s Poorest Districts. New Delhi: Penguin. ISBN: 9780140259841 This is the Way We Go to School: Getting Educated in Rural India (pp. 47-68) Published in 1996, Sainath’s book captures stories from India’s poorest district. This section on education, presents three stories that represent the diverse settings in which education…
It is a little weird to ask this question because we tend to take schooling, and therefore teaching, as a given. We do not sit and wonder about whether it is necessary at all. In a teacher education programme, this is even more so. Everyone in the department is a teacher- a student teacher, a…
This article is inspired by my experiences of observing teaching processes in secondary school classrooms. Over a period of years I have observed the general tendency for teacher educators to repeatedly emphasise not relying on the textbook in the classroom. In sharp contrast lies the somewhat archaic method of teaching by reading and underlining text…
If there is anything that teachers hate the most, I think it is assessment. Correction work is the most difficult to manage. It is endless, it is repetitive, and it is so boring! On top of that, not only am I giving the same comments year after year, to countless students, I am also writing…
I am again writing on a holiday. It is a bit disappointing that we continue to work on holidays, and yet, it seems so natural. My attempts at keeping work and personal life separate have gone for a toss. A few years ago I made a strong decision to not make work calls to people…
It is a little disturbing that this is my first day of writing on this blog. I would have preferred a happier reflection. It is the middle of the day and it is not like the work is over. I still have a ton of work left for the day…. both academic and administrative. Balancing…
Ranjan, A. 2011. On Terrorism: Illusion and Reality. Lucknow: Rahul Foundation. pp.35. ISBN: 978-81-906415-6-2. The essay elaborates on an understanding of terrorism with special focus on comparing it to people’s revolution. The emphasis is on tracing the history of people’s movements and comparing them to what are labelled as “terrorist movements”.It makes an important distinction…
It Ends With UsColleen Hoover2016Atriapp. 376 This book is a romantic fictional tale of aspiring young adults and their attempts at finding the balance between work and love. In the midst of all this, they somehow grow up and find themselves living adult lives. The book is fairly fast paced, a quick read and it…
EducatedTara Westover2018Random Housepp. 352 The book is an autobiography and focuses on Tara’s life when she grew up in a conservative Mormon family and neighbourhood. There have been other influences in her life, perhaps why she has been able to shake her constraining part. The descriptions are vivid and many times, disturbing. I did sometimes…
Shakuni: Paason ka MaharathiAshutosh Nadkar2019Juggernautpp. 239(audiobook Storytel production 2021) The story of Shakuni is well known as part of the great war between the Kuru brothers, in Mahabharat. Portrayed as the villain in almost all versions of Mahabharata, Shakuni’s tale has been narrated from his voice in this book. Nadkar’s version is a retelling of…
