Voices of Teachers and Teacher Educatorsncert.nic.in/publication/journals/pdf_files/Voices_Sep... · 2017-08-29 · About the publication The launch of the journal 'Voices of Teachers

Voices of Teachers and Teacher Educators

Volume III Issue 1 September 2014

Published by:

National Council for Teacher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development,Government of India, New DelhiPreparation of the publication at Vidya Bhawan Society, Udaipur.

Cover Design: Jaya Rathore and Rajesh SenLayout Design: Rajesh Sen

About the publication

The launch of the journal 'Voices of Teachers and Teacher Educators' is an initiative of

the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to highlight the vital role of

teacher education in India, as the country is poised to provide quality education to all

its children, irrespective of gender, caste, creed, religion and geographies under the

Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RtE), 2009. The large influx

of teachers necessitated under RtE represents the biggest opportunity to bring fresh

life into schools for decades to come. The challenge is to enhance the role of teachers in

shaping the social transformation India is witnessing, as well as have a long lasting

impact on the quality of education, also making it significantly more equitable. Teachers

and all those in the system need to recognize that their ownership and voices are

important and that they can and do learn not only from their own experiences but also

from each other through collective reflection and analysis. The publication attempts

to lend voice to teachers, their educators, researchers, administrators and policy makers

in the varied institutions: Schools, CRCs, BRCs, DIETs, IASEs, CTEs, SCERTs etc., and

make visible their engagement in accomplishing extraordinarily complex and diverse

tasks that they are expected to perform. Contributions are welcome both in English

and Hindi and there are plans to produce the journal in a multilingual format in the

near future.

Call for contributions

This publication is for all of us: teachers, teacher educators, administrators, researchersand policy makers. It is to provide a platform and also to build a network for ourvoices, ideas and reflections. Since the idea is to make this journal reflect all ourvoices it would only fulfill its purpose, if we contribute to it in as many ways as wecan. We look forward to all of you contributing with your experiences, questions,suggestions, perspectives as well as critical comments on different aspects of teachereducation and schooling. This could also be through comments and reflections on thecurrent issue. Your contribution could be in the form of articles, reports documents,pictures, cartoons or any other forms of presentation that can be printed. We lookforward to your inputs to make this journal truly reflective of our voices. It is proposedthat this be a quarterly publication. We would like to receive contributions for thenext issue by 31st December, 2014. We also look forward to comments and suggestionsfor improvements of the publication to make this a participative endeavor and improveits quality. These can be sent to the following:

[email protected]@gmail.com

[email protected]

Editorial Team

Dr. Janaki Rajan is Professor of Education at Jamia Millia Islamia. She was Director,State Council of Educational Research and Training, Delhi from 2000-2006. She holdsMaster's degrees in English Literature, Psychology and Education. Her research, publications,teaching and activist interests lie in the areas of gender, inclusive education, curriculum andcultural studies, women and child rights.

Hriday Kant Dewan is Education Advisor, Vidya Bhawan Society, Udaipur, Rajasthan. Hehas a Ph.D. in Physics from Delhi University. He is involved in strengthening SCERTs andDIETs, textbook development, teacher and teacher educator training and research anddissemination in education.

Dr. Manish Jain is Assistant Professor, School of Education Studies, Dr. BR AmbedkarUniversity, Delhi (AUD). He has previously taught at Tata Institute of Social SciencesMumbai and has been a school teacher for a decade. A recipient of Shastri Indo-CanadianDoctoral Studies Fellowship and CSDS doctoral fellowship, he has been part of textbookdevelopment teams at SCERT Delhi and NCERT. His research interests and publications areat the intersections of history, sociology and politics of education and also include educationpolicies, comparative education, gender and social science education.

Editorial Assistant: Preeti Misra, Vidya Bhawan Education Resource Centre, Udaipur,Rajasthan.

Publication Coordinator: Ms. Anamika Singh, Ministry of Human Resource Development,Government of India.

Contributors

Rishabh Kumar Mishra, Ph.D. Student, CIE, Department of Education, University of Delhi

Arooshi Thakur, Student, M.Ed (Elementary Education), DES, Jamia Millia Islamia, N. Delhi.

Karen Haydock, Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education / TIFR, VN Purav Marg,Mankhurd, Mumbai 400088

Kranti Patil, Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education / TIFR, VN Purav Marg, Mankhurd,Mumbai 400088

Yashodhara Kaneria,Vidya Bhawan Education Resource Centre, Udaipur, Rajasthan

Swarnlata Shah, Assistant Professor, Mata Sundari College, Delhi University

Rajni Dwivedi,Vidya Bhawan Education Resource Centre, Udaipur, Rajasthan

S.A. Moin, Director, Directorate of Education, SCERT, Mahendroo, Patna

Illustrations and Photographs

Prashant Soni, Vidya Bhawan Education Resource Centre, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Contents

Editorial

Section I: Inside the classrooms - Experiences of teachers, trainees

and teacher educators

1. Lkkekftd foKku dh d{kk esa lh[kuk&lh[kkuk

Rishabh Kumar Mishra 1

2. Reflections: Reviewing the teaching learning process in

teacher education institution

Arooshi Thakur 12

Section II: From practitioners, researchers, policy makers

3. An Analysis of the Treatment of Evolution by Natural

Selection in NCERT Textbooks

Karen Haydock and Kranti Patil 20

4. Role of Libraries in Nurturing Early Readers

Swarnlata Sah 39

5. Children�s Literature � review of a speech by Krishna Kumar

Yashodhara Kaneria 42

6. About the D.El.Ed. Program in ODL mode in Bihar

S.A. Moin 45

Section III: Schools: Ambience, Management, innovations

7. Workings of a School Management Committee :

A Case Study from Assam

Rajni Dwivedi 51

Editorial

We are back after a long break with a new issue of Voices of teacher and teacher educators (VTTE). This

is the first issue for the year 2014. VTTE strives to bring not just the latest topics in school education and

teacher education to the fore but also more importantly give a platform for practitioners to share their

experiences in a manner that is accessible to all.

We have tried to maintain our tradition of bringing out a bilingual publication. The current issue features

articles in both Hindi and English focusing on a variety of issues.

In the first article in the current issue, Rishabh Mishra deals with the changing perspectives on social

science teaching and its implications given the teachers in the schools today. In her article, Arooshi

Thakur tries to understand what it means to be a reflective teacher and to what extent and ways it is

possible for a DIET teacher educator to inculcate relfection in her students within the boundaries imposed

by syllabus and curriculum. Karen Haydock�s and Kranti Patil�s article discusses the treatment of evolution

in NCERT�s biology and science textbooks. The merits and drawbacks of the treatment are analyzed and

suggestions for improvement are also put forth. The article explores the kinds of experiences that can be

introduced in lower grades that can eventually lead to proper development of this concept.

In the section on school management, we have an article by Rajni Dwivedi where she has tried to look at

the understanding and implementation of RTE on the ground level, taking the example of a school SMC.

The article brings forth the rules pertaining to SMC in the RTE, how states interpret these rules and

ultimately the reality of SMC in school by taking a case study in Assam.

The next two articles deal with the importance of reading. In her review, Yashodhara Kaneria examines

summarizes views on reading, children�s literature, role of textbooks in schools and the challenges to be

surmounted by literature. Swarnlata too discusses the importance of reading and libraries for young

readers. She also shares her experiences of working on a course on �Capacity Building of Library

Educators�. She has tried to broaden the role of the librarian, not merely as the preserver of the books in

the library, but as a library educator.

The last article in this issue written by S.A. Moin describes SCERT Patna�s experience in meeting the

expectations of RTE 2009 regarding training of in-service, untrained teachers. Several states in India are

struggling to train teachers without taking them out of the school. Most of them have realized the potential

of open and distance learning in this regard. Each state has tailor made their program to suit their

requirements. The article describes the steps taken by Bihar in conceptualizing this program and how

they are implementing it. The role played by mentors and resource persons is also discussed.

Whether in evolution of reflective teachers or in effective capacity building of in-service teachers, the

importance of a good teacher educator is increasingly being realized. Professional development of teacher

educators is one aspect that is now being examined and steps are being taken at both the state and central

level for this. The next issue of VTTE will focus on this topic. We welcome your views and articles. Please

send them at the following ids:

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]


1

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2

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3

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4

f'k{kdksa ds bl izdkj ds fopkjksa ls izdV gksrk gSfd ;s f'k{kd lkekftd foKku fo"k; dks bldsu, Kkuehekalh; vkSj f'k{kk'kkL=h; <k¡ps esaavkRelkr ugha dj ik jgs gSaA f'k{kdks us viusvH;kl }kjk f'k{k.k dk ,d iSVuZ fodflr djfy;k gSA bl iSVuZ dh xgjkbZ dk vkHkkl uokpkjds izfr f'k{kdksa dh mnklhurk esa fn[krk gSA ,dvU; rF; tks f'k{kdksa ds fopkjksa ls Li"V gksrk gSfd os Ldwyh thou vkSj vuqHkoksa dks vkusokyso`gRrj thou dh rS;kjh ls tksM+dj ns[krs gSaAbl izdkj ds fopkj fo|kFkhZ dh Lora= psruk dksudkjrs gSa vkSj ,sls f'k{kk'kkL=h; fo'oklksa dkstUe nsrs gSa tks Kku ds LFkkUrj.k }kjk fo|kFkhZdks ifjiDo djus dks f'k{kk dk y{; ekurs gSaAblh ds lekUrj f'k{kdksa us fo|kfFkZ;ksa dhlkekftd&lkaLd`frd&vkfFkZd i`"BHkwfe dks Hkhmudh rFkkdfFkr vlQyrk ls tksM+dj ns[kk gSaAmuds vuqlkj Nk= orZeku dh lkekftd izfØ;kvksadks le>us esa l{ke ugha gSA budh ;g HkhekU;rk gS fd ;g iqLrd fo|kfFkZ;ksa dh {kerkvkasdks c<+k&p<+kdj djds ns[krh gSA fo|kfFkZ;ksa dsizfr f'k{kdksa ds ;s fopkj] ghurk izfr#i^ ¼Deficit

Model½ ds vuqlj.k djrs gaSA ^ghurk izfr#i^f'k{kk'kkL=h; izfØ;kvksa esa fo|kfFkZ;ksa dh vlQyrkdks muds lkekftd& lkaLd`frd ifjos'k lstksM+dj ns[krk gS vkSj f'k{kk'kkL=h; izfØ;kvksadsk fo'ys"k.k ds nk,js ls ckgj j[krk gSA ;gk¡iz'u mBrk gS fd f'k{kdksa esa bl izdkj ds fopkjksadh ekSt+nwxh vkSj Lohdk;Zrk dk D;k dkj.k gS\bldk ,d lEHkkfor dkj.k f'k{kd dk [kqn dklekthdj.k gSA ,d O;fDr ds :i esa f'k{kd]vius oxZ cks/k ds izHkko esa] lqfo/kkvksa ls oafprcPpksa dks Ldwyh Kku ds lh[kus dh lEHkkouk lsghu ekurs gSaA ,d vU; dkj.k mudh is'ksojn`f"V esa Hkh ns[kk tk ldrk gS] tgk¡ fo|kfFkZ;ksa dhlQyrk dk iSekuk ijh{kk ds lekt'kkL= ls x<+k

tkrk gSA ijh{kk dk lekt'kkL=] l/kh gqbZlS)kfUrd vkSj ekU; Hkk"kk esa fyf[kr mRrj dsvk/kkj ij lQyrk dks izekf.kr djrk gSA osfo|kFkhZ tks ys[ku vkSj izLrqrhdj.k dh ijh{kkRedrS;kjh dh dyk esa vis{kkd`r fuiq.k ugha gS vkSjftUgsa blds fy, lksn~ns'; enn Hkh ugha fey ikjgh gS] LokHkkfod gh gS f'k{kd dh n`f"V lsvlQy gSaA

f'k{kdkssa dh bl izdkj dh ekU;rk dh O;k[;k tcf'k{kk ds uolekt'kkL=h; n`f"Vdks.k ls djrs gSa]rks Li"V gksrk gS fd tc d{kkxr vH;kl esafo|kfFkZ;ksa ds vuqHkoksa vkSj fopkjksa dks LFkku ughafeyrk rc d{kkxr izfØ;k ,dfn'kh] ,djl vkSjvf/kuk;doknh cu tkrh gSA ;gh fLFkfr vkxspydj f'k{kdksa ds bl fo'okl dks etcwr djrhgS fd xjhc^ vkSj fuEu rcds ls vkus okys cPpslh[kus ds fy, vko';d rFkkdfFkr lkaLd`frdiw¡th ls ghu gksrs gSaA ftu f'k{kdksa ds fopkjksa dkÅij mYys[k fd;k x;k gS os Hkh vius fo|kfFkZ;ksadks lh[kus dh lEHkkouk ls ghu ekurs gSA muds;g fopkj f'k{kk'kkL=h; izfØ;kvksa ds oxhZ; pfj=dk izek.k gSA f'k{kd vkSj fo|kFkhZ dh lkekftdi`"BHkwfe esa varj ds dkj.k gh f'k{kd ds fy,fo|kFkhZ ml ^vU; lewg^ dk lnL; gS ftldsikl lkaLd`frd iw¡th dk vHkko gSA blds lkFk ghf'k{kd ,d O;Ld ds :i esa fo|kFkhZ dks ^vcks/kêku jgk gS vkSj ftls ^lqcks/k^ cukus dk ek/;ef'k{kk gSA ,d Nk= ds :i esa f'k{kd us ^Kku^]vkSj mlds mi;ksx }kjk lQyrk dh tksvkSifuosf'kd Nfo dks vius psruk dk fgLlkcuk;k gS mlds gh Qzse ls og gS lh[kus&lh[kkusdh izfØ;k dh foospuk dj jgk gSA f'k{kd vkSjfo|kFkhZ ds chp nwjh dk izHkko mudh vUr%fØ;kdh izd`fr dks Hkh r; djrk gksxk tgk¡ ,d^ftEesnkj^ f'k{kd] vcks/k^ fo|kFkhZ dks vius lk¡psesa <kyus dk iz;kl djrk gksxkA bl iwjh izfØ;k


5

esa fo|kFkhZ ds vuqHkoks xSj egRoiw.kZ vkSj ewY;ghugks tkrs gSA

ghurk dk fodYi% lgHkkfxrk] laokn vkSjLo dk cks/k

bl i`"BHkwfe esa ;g loky LokHkkfod gS fd fdlizdkj ls fo|kfFkZ;ksa ds vuqHkoksa ]lÙkk o lkekftdpsruk dks Lkkekftd foKku dh d{kk es alh[kus&lh[kkus dk fgLlk cuk;k tk,A bls gheq[; iz'u ekurs gq, ftu f'k{kdksa dh ppkZ dkÅij mYys[k fd;k gS muesa ls gh ,d f'k{kd dhd{kk esa eSaus i<+k;kA viuh f'k{kk'kkL=h; uhfr;ksads fy, eSaus lh[kus ds fuekZ.koknh mikxe dksvk/kkj cuk;kA lh[kus dk lkekftd fuekZ.koknhmikxe Kku fuekZ.k dks ,d lkekftd&lkaLdfrdizfØ;k ekurk gS tks ,d fof'k"V ifjos'k esaLFkkfir gksrh gS vkSj ifjos'k] mlds lnL;ksa rFkkmidj.kksa esa forfjr gksrh gS ¼okW;xkLdh] 1987]yso vkSj osUtj] 1991½A bl mikxe dh vk/kkjHkwrfo'ks"krk,¡ fuEufyf[kr gSa&

· Lkh[kus okyk lkekftd&lkaLdfrd xfrfof/k;ksaesa lfØ; lgHkkfxrk }kjk lkaLdfrd midj.kksadk vUr%dj.k djrs gq, Kku dk fuekZ.k djrkgSA

· og lfØ; vkSj fpUru'khy gS tks ifjos'k dh?kVukvksa dk dsoy voyksdu gh ugha djrkcfYd euu Hkh djrk gSaA

· lkekftd vUr%fØ;k] lgHkkfxrk vkSj laokndh izfØ;k Kku fuekZ.k dh esa eq[; HkwfedkfuHkkrs gSA

Li"V gS fd ;g mikxe Kku dks lwpukvksa dslaxzg.k ds :i essaa u ns[kdj Lkh[kusokys ds }kjkvFkZ fuekZ.k vkSj O;k[;k ds :i esa ns[krk gSA blizdkj ;g gesa volj nsrk gSa fd ge lh[kus dh

izfØ;k dks vo/kkj.kkvksa vkSj rF;ksa ds lap;u ds:i esa u ns[kdj fo|kfFkZ;ksa dh lgHkkfxrk }kjkvFkZ fuekZ.k dh lrr izfØ;k ds :i esa le>s¼czksQh]2002½A bl lS)kfUrd i{k dks /;ku esaj[krs gq, lkekftd vkSj jktuhfrd thou fo"k;ls pquh xbZ vo/kkj.kkvksa ds f'k{k.k ds fy,xfrfof/k;ksa dk fuekZ.k fd;k x;kA ;g /;kuj[kk x;k fd fo|kFkhZ lkekftd fo"k;ksa ds izfrtks le> ysdj fo|ky; vkrs gSa] og f'k{k.kizfØ;k ds nkSjku izfrfcfEcr gksA f'k{kd dh Hkwfedkdks ,d funsZ'kd vkSj izsjd ds :i esa ekuk x;kftldk dk;Z lh[kus ds ,sls ifjos'k dks miyC/kdjuk gS] tks d{kk esa Nk=&Nk=] Nk=&f'k{kd dschp laokn ds fy, gj lEHko volj iznku djsaAbu xfrfof/k;ksa esa fo|kfFkZ;ksa dks lgHkkfxrk¼Participation½] vUr%fØ;k ¼Interaction½]vkSjfuxksf'k,'ku ¼Negotiation½ ds ekSds miyC/k djk,x, ¼jsl]1997½A

fo'ys"k.k%

bl Hkkx esa izR;sd pquh xbZ vo/kkj.kk dhf'k{kk'kkL=h; izfØ;k dh ,d #ijs[kk izLrqr dhxbZ gS vkSj mlds lkFk izR;sd xfrfof/k ijvk/kkfjr d{kk dh izfØ;kvksa dk foLr`r fo'ys"k.kfn;k x;k gSA

fofo/krk vkSj foHksn%

bl bdkbZ dk mn~ns'; fofo/krk vkSj foHksn dhvo/kkj.kkvkss ij ppkZ djuk FkkA blds fy,djokbZ xbZ xfrfof/k dh #Ikjs[kk fuEufyf[kr gS&

· d{kk ess ,d izi= ¼gS.M vkWmV½ dk forj.kfd;k x;kA fn, x, izi= esa fo|kfFkZ;ksa dksuke] jkT;] Hkk"kk] HkksTku] R;ksgkj] os"k&Hkw"kkvkSj ?kj dh egRoiw.kZ lkaLd`frd xfrfof/k;ksadk mYys[k djus dks dgk x;kA dqN fjDr


6

{ks= Hkh NksM+k x;k Fkk tgk¡ os vius fo"k; esaegRoiw.kZ lwpuk nsus dks Lora= FksA

· tc bl izi= dks fo|kfFkZ;ksa us iwjk dj fy;krks mUgsa vius iM+kslh ls bu lwpukvksa dkslk>k djus vkSj ml ij ppkZ djus dks dgkx;kA

· blds ckn mUgsa ik¡p ds lewgksa esa foHkkftrdjds Hkjh xbZ lwpukvksa esa lekurk vkSjvlekurk [kkstus dks dgk x;kA

· izR;sd lewg us ppkZ ds ckn izLrqrhdj.kfd;kA muds fopkjksa dks ';keiV~V ij fy[kkx;kA

· bu fopkjksa ds vk/kkj ij gh d{kk ppkZ djokbZxbZA

d{kk ppkZ ds fy, tks iz'u pqus x, mudk vk/kkjfo|kfFkZ;ksa ds tokc Fks] ftldk dsUnz mu i{kksa dksigpkuuk Fkk tks fo|kfFkZ;ksa ds vuqlkkj fofo/krkds vk/kkj gSaaA blds lkFk gh bl ppkZ esa ;g Hkhle>us dk iz;kl fd;k x;k os dkSu ls vk/kkj gStks vlekurk vkSj foHksn dks c<+kok nsrs gSaA

tc fo|kfFkZ;ksa us izi== iwjk dj fy;k rks mudstokcksa dks vk/kkj cukdj lewg ppkZ djokbZ xbZAlewg ppkZ djokus dss ckn fo|kfFkZ;ksa us fofo/krkds dbZ #i igpkus& ckg~; #ikdkj esa fofo/krk¼jax] yEckbZ] eq[kkd`fr vkfn½] /keZ] tkfr] cqf)]lkekftd oxZ] ts.Mj] Hkkstu] Hkk"kk vkSj os"kHkw"kkdh fofo/krkA tc mUgsas ;g dgk x;k fd D;k ;svk/kkj gekjs lkFk jgus dh Hkkouk dks c<+kok nsrsgSa ;k ck/kk iSnk djrss gSa\ rks fo|kfFkZ;ksa us bUghavk/kkjksa dks nks oxksZa esa j[kkA igys oxZ esa {ks=]Hkk"kk] Hkkstu vkSj os"kHkw"kk dks j[kk vkSj nwljs oxZesa fo|kfFkZ;ksa us /keZ] oxZ] tkfr vkSj cqf) dksj[kkA ppkZ ds nkSjku fo|kfFkZ;ksa us crk;k fd ;sfofo/krk muds vuqHkoksa dks vkuUnnk;h cukrh gSA;g Hkh mHkjdj lkeus vk;k fd uke] ckg~;

os"kHkw"kk] [kkuiku dh vknrksa vkSj Hkk"kk ds }kjk osvU; jkT;] /keZ vkSj tkfr ds yksxksa dks igpkursgSaA ;|fi lHkh lewgksa us dgk fd ;g fofo/krkmudh vUr%fØ;k dks izHkkfor ugha djrh ysfdud{kk ppkZ ds nkSjku gh fo|kfFkZ;ksa ds cgqr lsiwokZxzg Hkh lkeus vk, tSls&^fcgkjh pkoy [kkrsgSa ]ôg xk; dk ek¡l [kkrk gS vkfnA ;s nksuksamnkgj.k crkrs gSS fd fdl izdkj ls ,d {ks=fo'ks"k ;k leqnk; fo'ks"k ds yksxksa ds izfr fo|kfFkZ;ksaesa iwokZxzg gSaA bl izdkj ds iwokZxzg lekt esaO;kIr ekU;rkvksa ls tUes gksrs gSaA fo|kFkhZ viuslkFk lekt ls xzg.k dh xbZ ,slh ekU;rkvksa dksfo|ky; rd ykrs gSaA os] lewg fo'ks"k dh thou'kSyhdks viuh n`f"V ls ns[kdj ml ij vlkekU; gksusdk BIik yxk jgs gSaA ,slk djds os fofo/krk dksfoHksn dk tkek iguk nsrs gSa vkSj bu iwokZxzgksa dkbLrseky djds dqN yksxksa dks ^vU;^ dh Js.kh esaj[kdj vius ls vyx dj nsrs gSaA ,d vkSj /;kunsus ;ksX; rF; ;g Hkh gS fd dkSu] fdl ijfVIi.kh dj jgk gSA ftl lewg dk lkekftd&vkfFkZd&lkaLdfrd ncnck gksrk gS ogh bl izdkjdh fVIif.k;ksa dk iz;ksx djrk gS vkSj lrr :ils vis{kkd`r detksj lewg dks muds igpku dsbl ^foHksnd^ i{k ls detksj gksus dk ,glkldjkrk jgrk gSA ;g mYys[kuh; gS fd ;fn d{kkppkZ dks fo|kfFkZ;ksa ds lkekftd vuqHkoksa ijvk/kkfjr u fd;k tkrk rks bl izdkj ds fo"k;tks fofo/krk dks foHksn esa cny nsrs gSa] d{kk ppkZdk fgLlk u cu ikrsA d{kk ppkZ esa bu fo"k;ksadk vkuk vkSj mu ij xgu ppkZ bu i{kikriw.kZfo'okl ds izfr iquZfpUru dk volj iznku djrkgS &

Nk% lj og fcgkjh gSA

f'k% bldk eryc fd og fcgkj jkT; dkjgus okyk gSA


7

Nk% ¼ g¡lrk gS½ gk¡ lj] og fcgkjh cksyrk gS]vkSj pkoy [kkrk gSA

f'k% ysfdu og rqEgkjk nksLr gS] pkoy [kkusvkSj fcgkjh cksyus ls D;k og rqEgkjk nksLrugha jg ik,xk\

Nk% ugha lj] ¼tksj ls½ og esjk nksLr gSA eSarks ,sls gh crk jgk FkkA

f'k% tc og rqEgkjk nksLr gS rks D;k rqEgsamlds jkT; ;k Hkk"kk dks chp esa ykuk pkfg,\

bl izfØ;k esa f'k{kd dh Hkwfedk vius fopkjksa dsvkjksi.k dh ugha gS vkSj u gh og uhfr'kkL= dkmins'kd gSA og rks [kqn dks vkSj fo|kfFkZ;ksa dksleku ry ij j[krs gq, ppkZ dks fn'kk nsrk gSvkSj fo|kfFkZ;ksa ds iwokZxzg;qDr fopkjksa dks foe'kZds dsUnz esa j[krk gSA

nwljs oxZ esa fo|kfFkZ;ksa us /keZ] oxZ] tkfr vkSj cqf)dks j[kkA bu vk/kkjksa dks nwljs oxZ esa j[kus dkdkj.k ;g fn;k x;k fd ;s vk/kkj gesa ,d nwljsls vyx djrs gSa &

^,d /keZ ds yksx nwljs /keZ ds yksxksa ds lkFkugha jgrs] /kuh xjhc ls uQjr djrs gSa

^Tkkfr ls ge vyx rks gksrs gSa ysfdu ;gfofo/krk ugha gS D;ksafd ;g gesa lkFk ughajgus nsrkA

d{kk ppkZ esa ;g mHkjdj lkeus vk;k fd mijksDrvk/kkj gesa vyx djrs gSa blfy, fofo/krk ughagSaA ;s lHkh i{k dsoy vyxko^ ds vk/kkj ugha gScfYd ;s lekt ds os i{k gSa ftuds }kjk lkekftdinkuqØe esa O;fDr dh fLFkfr r; gksrh gSA ;|fi/keZ dks foHksn ds ctk; fofo/krk dks c<+kok nsusokyk i{k ekuk tkrk gS ysfdu fo|kfFkZ;ksa dsfopkjksa ls ;g izdV gksrk gS fd os /keZ dksfofo/krk ds ,d i{k ds ctk; foHksn ds dkjd ds:i esa le> jgs gSaA bldk izek.k ,d fo|kFkhZ

dk dFku gS& esjh nknh us crk;k gS fd eksgEeMudlkbZ gksrs gSa] muesa n;k ugha gksrhA blfy, esjsikik us esjk uke bl Ldwy esa fy[kok;kÂ blhizdkj tkfr dks os Å¡ph tkfr vkSj uhph tkfr ds:i esa ifjHkkf"kr djrs gSa vkSj mls vlekurk dkvk/kkj ekurs gSa&^Å¡ph tkfr ds yksx vehj gksrsgSaA os yksx [ksrh ugha djrs] [ksrh dk dke uhphtkfr ds yksx djrs gSaA^ Li"V gS fd fo|kFkhZlkekftd ;FkkFkZ ds xokg gSaA fo|kfFkZ;ksa dsfopkj ls Li"V gksrk gS fd muds fy, fofo/krk,slh fHkUurk gS tks muds thokuqHkoksa dks lao`)djrh gS] tcfd foHksn ds #i] mUgsa ,d nwljsvyx djrss gSaA foHksn dh fo|kfFkZ;ksa dh ;gle> fdlh d{kk&ppkZ ;k vkSipkfjd Kku fuekZ.kdk ifj.kke ugha gSA ;g rks fo|kfFkZ;kas ds lkekftdKku dks"k ds l'kDr ekSt+wnxh dk izek.k gSA ;gKkudks"k vpsru dk fgLlk ugha gS cfYd psrukesa O;kIr gS vkSj nSfud O;ogkj dks fn'kk Hkh nsrkgSA izi= essa tks fjDr LFkku fn;k x;k Fkk] mlesaT;knkrj lgHkkfx;ksa us viuh tkfr vkSj oxZ dkmYys[k fd;kA blls Li"V gksrk gS fd ;s nksuksai{k muds igpku ds eq[; vo;o gSaA blh izdkjd{kk dh yM+fd;ksa us fjDr LFkku esa vius ts.Mjdk mYys[k fd;k ysfdu yM+dksa ds izi= esabldk mYys[k ugha FkkA ;g bl ckr dk |ksrdgS fd ts.Mj ds #i esa igpku yM+fd;ksa ds fy,,d egRoiw.kZ vk;ke gSA mYys[kuh; gS fdfofo/krk vkSj foHksn ij ppkZ ds nkSjku Hkkstu]os'kHkw"kk] {ks= vkSj jkT;] /keZ vkSj tkfr tSlsfo"k;ksa dks fo|kfFkZ;ksa us mHkkjk vkSj mu ij ppkZHkh gqbZ ysfdu ts.Mj dk i{k xkS.k jg x;kA ;gfLFkfr d{kk esa djokbZ xbZ xfrfof/k dh lhek dkscrkrh gSA

bl xfrfof/k ds }kjk tc cPpksa ds lkekftdvuqHkoksa dks d{kk ppkZ dk fgLlk cuk;k x;k rksmu Nk=ksa us] tks bl izdkj dh vo/kkj.kkvksa dks


8

le>us esa l{ke ugha Fks ¼tSlk fd vf/kdrjf'k{kdksa us lk{kkRdkj esa dgk Fkk½ fofo/krk vkSjfoHksn dh vo/kkj.kkvksa dh ;FkkFkZewyd le>izdV dhA ppkZ ds nkSjku ;g Hkh izdV gqvk oslkekftd ;FkkFkZ dh O;k[;k vius n`f"Vdks.k lsdjrs gSaA blds lkFk&lkFk mUgsa] bl izdkj dsf'k{kk'kkL=h; mikxe ds }kjk muds iwokZxzgksa dsizfr Hkh lpsr fd;k tk ldkA

xzkeh.k vFkZO;oLFkk%

xfrfof/k dh #Ikjs[kk%

fo|kfFkZ;ksa dks pkj ds lewg esa foHkkftr djdsmuds lEeq[k fuEufyf[kr dkYifud leL;k izLrqrdh xbZ vkSj mUgsa bl leL;k ds lek/kku dh;kstuk cukus ds fy, dgk x;k&

fdlkuksa us xsgw¡ dh cqokbZ flapkbZ vkfn dj nh gSAvc os Qly idus dk bUrtkj dj jgs gSaA oslHkh bl le; dk;Z djuk pkgrs gSa ysfdu xk¡oesa mUgsa jkstxkj ugha fey ik jgk gSA os viuslewg esa dk;Z djrs gq, bu xk¡o okyksa dks jkstxkjiznku djus gsrq vkfFkZd xfrfof/k dh ;kstukcuk,A bl ;kstuk dks cukrs gq, mUgsa fuEufyf[krrF;ksa dk /;ku j[kuk gS&

· bl dk;Z ls xzkeokfl;ksa dks vkfFkZd ykHkgksuk pkfg,A

· Oks lHkh xk¡o okys tks dk;Z djus ;ksX; gSa vkSjdk;Z djuk pkgrs gSa mUgsa dk;Z feysA

bu dk;ksZa ls lkekftd dY;k.k dk mn~ns'; Hkhiwjk gksuk pkfg,A xk¡o ds fodkl vkSj yksaxksa dschp lg;ksx vkSj lgdkfjrk dks c<+kok nsaA

bl xfrfof/k ds nkSjku Lkewg esa dk;Z djrs le;lgHkkfx;ksa us vius O;fDrxr fopkj O;Dr fd,]blds lkFk&lkFk mUgksaus lewg esa Hkh ppkZ dhAfo|kfFkZ;ksa dks ;kstuk dk fuekZ.k] mlds vkSfpR;

fu/kkZj.k] mldh izklafxdrk vkfn lHkh i{kksa ijfopkj djus dk volj iznku fd;k x;kA blvolj dk mi;ksx djrs gq, fo|kfFkZ;ksa us jkspd;kstuk,¡ crkbZA fdlh uss xk¡o esa esyk yxokus dklq>ko fn;k] fdlh us vpkj dk dkj[kkus yxkusdks lq>k;k] ,d lewg us lM+d cuokus dh;kstuk cukbZA ,d lewg us xk¡o esa Qly dVusds ckn vukt j[kus ds fy, xksnke cuokus dh;kstuk cukbZA ;s lHkh lq>ko muds ifjos'k lsesy j[krs gSa D;ksafd vf/kdka'k fo|kFkhZ xk¡oksa lsizokl djds vk, gSaA ftu dk;ksaZ dk Hkh fo|kfFkZ;ksauss lq>ko fn;k gS os muds vuqHko txr dkfgLlk jgsa gSaA bl izdkj ds f'k{kk'kkL=h; iz;klls muds vuqHko lh[kus&lh[kkus dh izfØ;k dkfgLlk cu x,A ;g Hkh ns[kk tk ldrk gS fdmuds lq>k, x, lek/kku iz'u esa nh xbZ dhleL;k ds izfr mudh vUrnZf"V dks O;Dr djrsgSaA mudh ;kstuk,¡ iqLrdh; mnkgj.kksa ls dghavkxs ;FkkFkZ ds lehi gSaA ;gk¡ ;g ns[kk tkldrk gS fd ftu dk;ksZa dk lq>ko lgHkkfx;ksa usfn;k gS os ogh dk;Z gS tks izk;% xk¡oksa esa fd, tkrsgSaaA tc fo|kfFkZ;ksa dks fu.kZ;drkZ dh Hkwfedk nhxbZ vkSj muds nSfud laKku dks f'k{kk'kkL= dkvax cuk;k x;k rks os LokHkkfod :i ls nh xbZlwpukvksa ls ijs tkdj ekSfyd vkSj vkykspukRedfpUru djus esa l{ke gq,A voyksdu esa ;g Hkhik;k x;k fd lewg esa dk;Z djus ds nkSjkufo|kfFkZ;ksa esa ,d nwljs dks lquus] fopkj djus]fopkj dks vkxs c<+kus] ;kstuk ds lw{e i{kkas ij/;ku nsus tSls xq.kksa ds vadqj.k vkSj vH;kl dksHkh cy feykA ;gk¡ /;ku nsus ;ksX; gS fd mUgksausdk;Z dk forj.k djrs gq, xk¡ookyksa ds ts.Mj]'kSf{kd i`"BHkwfe vkSj lkekftd Lrj vkfn dk/;ku j[kkA mnkgj.k ds fy, i<+s&fy[ks O;fDrdks eSustj /kuh O;fDr dks ekfyd dh Hkwfedk nhAblh izdkj efgykvksa dks ^vpkj cukus ] êkyk


9

cukus ] ^f[kykSus cukus* ds O;olk; esa yxk;kA;g Li"V djrk gS fd Nk= O;kolkf;d Hkwfedkds izfr lkekftd ekU;rkvksa dh #f<+;ksa dks tkursgSaa vkSj mUgksaus bu :f<+;ksa dks LohdkjksfDr Hkh nsj[kh gSA bu :f<+;ksa dh LohdkjksfDr dks iksf"krdjus ij LokHkkfod :i ls orZeku O;oLFkk dkiqumZRiknu^ ¼Reproduction½ gksxk tks fd;FkkfLFkfr dks cuk, j[kus dk ek/;e cusxkAblds foijhr] f'k{kk dh Hkwfedk fo|kfFkZ;ksa dks,slh n`f"V ls ;qDr djuk gksuk pkfg, tgk¡ osizpfyr /kkj.kk ds ikj] fofHkUu fodYiksa ds fo"k;esa lksp ldsaA blds fy, muds lEeq[k bl izdkjds iz'u Hkh j[ks x,& efgyk,¡ gh f[kykSus D;ksacuk,\ /kfud ;k lsB ds vfrfjDr O;olk; dsfy, iw¡th dk bUrtke vkSj dSls gks ldRkk gS\,sls iz'u lgHkkfx;ksa ds fopkjksa ds L=ksr dhiM+rky djus vkSj mldks iz'uokpd n`f"V lsns[kus dk volj iznku djrs gSaA bldk mnkgj.kbl izdkj ds iz'uksa ds fy, fo|kfFkZ;ksa }kjk fn,x, tokcksa esa ns[kk tk ldrk gSA efgykvksa dksftu O;olk;kaas esa layXu fn[kk;k x;k Fkk] mldsvkSfpR; ds fy, fo|kfFkZ;ksa dk rØ Fkk fd os ?kjesa jgrh gS vkSj ?kjsyw dkeksa esa dq'ky gksrh gSablfy, mUgsa vpkj cukus ] ekyk cukus ] f[kykSuscukus* tSls dke esa yxk;k x;k gSA bl izdkj dstokc izek.k gS fd fdl izdkj ls efgykvksa dks^?kjsyw dke esa dq'ky^ gksus ds :id ls :f<+c)fd;k x;k gSA nwljk iz'u iw¡thifr oxZ ds opZLodh oS/krk dks pqukSrh nsrk gSA tc ;g iz'ufo|kfFkZ;ksa ls iwNk x;k rks izkjEHk esa os dqN {k.krd ekSu jgsaA FkksM+h nsj ckn ,d fo|kFkhZ us dgkfd os ljdkj ls enn ys ysaxsaA bl ij vxykiz'u tc ;g j[kk x;k] ^rks lsB dks D;k dkefn;k tk,xk\^ bl ij tokc vk;k fd ^tks dkege djsaxsa ogh os Hkh djsaxsaA^ bl izdkj ds fopkj,d vksj :f<+c) ekU;rk dks iz'u djrs gS rks

nwljh vksj u, fodYiksa dks lq>krs gSaA bldkizek.k ,d fo|kFkhZ ds bl lq>ko es ns[kk tkldrk gS& lc fdlku FkksM+k&FkksM+k iSlk feykdjHkh dke dj ldrs gSaA ckn esa Qk;ns dkscjkcj&cjkcj ck¡V nsxsaA^ bu iz'uksa dk mn~ns';^lkekU;^ izrhr gksus okys rF; dh ^vlkekU;rk^dks mtkxj djuk FkkA bl izdkj ls os foHksndvkSj vlekurk dk izlkj djus okys vH;klksa dksvkykspukRed n`f"V ls ns[kuk lh[krs gSaA lkFk ghmUgsa ijEijkxr vkSj lkekftd :i ls ekU; rFkk:f<+c) gks pqds fopkjksa ds brj lkspus dk ekSdkfn;k tk ldrk gSA ;g ekSdk gh ^vkykspukRedfpUru dks c<+kok nsrk gSA ;gh og lEHkkfor {ks=gS tgk¡ lkekftd foKku ds f'k{kk'kkL= dhHkwfedk egRoiw.kZ gks tkrh gSA

f'k{kd dh Hkwfedk%

,u0lh0,Q0 2005] ds lq>kokuq:i fy[kh iqLrdsaftl izdkj ls fo"k; lkexzh dks izLrqr djrh gSog lkekftd foKku ds f'k{kdksa ds ijEijkxr"kSyh esa cnyko dh ek¡x djrk gSA izFke [k.M esaf'k{kdksa ds O;Dr fopkj bl rF; dk izek.k gS fdos lkekftd foKku dh Kku ehekalk vkSj f'k{kk'kkL=ds cnyko dks vkRelkr ugha dj ik jgs gaSAblh fLFkfr ds leFkZu esa tkWtZ vkSj enku ¼2009½dk ekuuk gS fd lkekftd foKku f'k{kdks dsfy, ;g i;kZIr ugha gS fd muds ikl fo"k; dkKku gks] mUgsa ;g lksPkuk gksxk fd os fdl izdkjls lh[kus okys dks Kku ds lgfuekZ.k esaa lgHkkxhcuk,A blh izdkj ds fopkjksa ds vuq:i] blv/;;u esa lh[kus ds lkekftd&lkaLdfrd mikxedks f'k{kd ds }kjk viuk;k x;kA ;|fi bldsvUrxZr f'k{kk'kkL=h; izfØ;k esa f'k{kd dh izR;{kHkwfedk de n`f"Vxr gksrh gS] ysfdu lh[kus dsifjos'k ds fuekZrk] mRizsjd vkSj funsZ'kd ds #i esa


10

egrh nkf;Ro f'k{kd dk gh gSA fo"k;oLrq dkpquko] blds lkFk lh[kusokys dh layXurk]d{kk&ppkZ ds nkSjku ijLij laokn ds voljvkfn dh izd`fr dks r; djus okys vfHkdrkZ ds:Ik esa f'k{kd] Loa; dks Kku ds L=ksr^ vkSj d{kkds lRrk/kh'k^ gksus ds ca/ku ls eqDr djrk gSAikB~;Øe ds fØ;kdj.k esa f'k{kd dh dM+h dksetcwr djrs gq, ;g mikxe f'k{kd&Nk= dschp laoknghurk dh fLFkfr dks lekIr djrk gSA,d lkekftd foKku f'k{kd bl izdkj dsf'k{kk'kkL=h; mikxe }kjk] fo|kFkhZ dh lkekftdpsruk dks vf/kxe izfØ;k dk fgLlk cukrk gS]og d{kk dks ,sls foe'kZ LFky ds #i esa #ikUrfjrdjrk gS tgk¡ cgq#in'khZ vkSj cgqvk;keh lkekftd;FkkFkZ Lohd`fr^ ds ctk; foe'kZ dk fo"k; gksrkgSA foe'kZ dh ;g izfØ;k fo|kfFkZ;ks a dhvkykspukRed lk{kjrk dks lao`) djrh gSA

fu"d"kZ%

izLrqr v/;;u eaas ;g ik;k x;k fd f'k{kd }kjk]fo|kfFkZ;ksa ds lkekftd Kku dks"k dks d{kk esalh[kus lh[kkus dh izfØ;k dk vk/kkj cuk, tkusij fo|kfFkZ;ksa us fofo/krk vkSj foHksn^ tSls fo"k;ksaij vius fopkjksa dks d{kk ds lEeq[k j[kkAfo|kFkhZ] dsoy vius fopkj izfØ;k rd lhferugha jgs cfYd mUgksaus lewg ds vU; lnL;ksa dsvuqHkoksa vkSj fopkjksa dks vius vuqHko txr dkfgLlk cuk;kA d{kk esa lHkh ds fopkjksa dks egRofn;k x;k vkSj okn&izfrokn dks Lohdkj djustSls vH;klkaas esa layXurk Hkh fn[kkbZ xbZA bldk;Z ls Li"V gksrk gS fd nSfud vuqHkoksa dks]lkekftd foKku dh vo/kkj.kkvksa ds lh[kus dkvk/kkj cukdj] fo|kfFkZ;ksa dks vkykspukRed fparudjus] vius fo'okl vkSj ekU;rkvksa ij iqujkoyksdu

djus ds volj iznku fd, tk ldrs gSaA ,slkfd, tkus ls O;fDrxr Lrj ij fopkjksa ds vUrjdks lEcksf/kr djrs gq, mls lh[kus ds volj ds#i esa ns[kk tk ldrk gSA d{kk dh lkekftdlajpuk esa f'k{kd ds vf/kuk;dRo ds cnysyksdrkaf=d izfØ;k ds y{k.k ns[kus dks feykAd{kk dh ;g yksdrkaf=d lajpuk f'k{kd&Nk=]Nk=&Nk= vkSj Nk=& fo"k; lkexzh ds chp,dfn'kh vkSj lRrk vk/kkfjr lEcU/k dks cnyusdk lkeF;Z j[krh gSA ;g ik;k x;k fd fo|kfFk;ksaus Loa; dks fu.kZ;drkZ] leL;k izLrkod vkSjyksdrkaf=d foe'kZ ds lgHkkxh ds #i esa ns[kktgk¡ muds fopkjksa vkSj izfrfØ;kvksa dks iwjklEeku feykA mi;qZDr fo'ys"k.k ;g Li"V djrkgS fd lh[kus ds lkekftd&lkaLdfrd f'k{kk'kkL=h;<k¡¡ps ds vUrxZr lh[kus dh izfØ;k esa lgHkkfxrkfo|kfFkZ;ksa dks fuf"Ø; izkIrdrkZ ds ctk; lfØ;Kku fuekZrk dh Hkwfedk essa f'k{kd] vf/kxe lkexzhvkSj Lo ls fuxksf'k,'ku dk ekSdk nsrh gSa vkSj blizdkj ls muds ^Locks/k^ dks cy feyrh gSaA

fo|kFkhZ dy ds O;Ld^ gksus ds lkFk&lkFk orZekuesa Hkh] tfVy lkekftd ra= esa lfØ; jgrs gSaSA oslkekftd ;FkkFkZ dk voyksdu gh ugha djrscfYd ml ij viuh jk; Hkh j[krs gSaA lkekftdfoKku lkekftd foKku dh dsUnzh; fo"k;oLrqlekt gS] cnyko ftldh ewy izd`fr gSA ,slsfo"k; dks le>us ds fy, ,d iwoZ ifjHkkf"kr^Kku dk Hk.Mkj^ r; ugha fd;k tk ldrk gS]vkSj u gh Kku ds LFkkUrj.k^ ds }kjk :ikUrj.k^dh lEHkkouk ns[kh tk ldrh gSA blds fy,gekjk f'k{kk'kkL=h; mikxe] o`gRrj lkekftdizfØ;kvksa dk izPNUu fØ;kUuo;u vkSj iqucZyuu gksdj cfYd muds izfr vkykspukRed n`f"Viznku djus okyk gksuk pkfg,A ;g rHkh lEHko gStc fo|kfFkZ;ksa dh lkekftd psruk lkekftdfoKku ds lh[kus&lh[kkus dk vk/kkj cusA


11

lUnHkZ xzUFk lwph%

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tkWtZ] ,0 ,e0 vkSj enku] v0 ¼2009½A Vhafpax lks'kylkbUl bu LdwYlA ubZ fnYyh% lst izdk'kuA

xs] th0 ¼1997½A nh fjys'kuf'ki chVohu eYVh dYpjy,.M MseksØsfVd ,twds'kuA nh lks'ky LVMht88¼1½] i`"B 5&11

gkbu] lh0 Mh0 ¼1995½A nh VªhVesaV vkWQ ekbukVhZ bu;w0,l0 fgLVªh VsDLV cqdA nh lks'ky LVMht94¼2½] i`"B 75&80

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yso] ts� o osUtj] bZ�¼1991½ flpq,VsaM yfuZax% ysthVhesVisjhQsjy ikVhZf'kis'ku] U;w;kdZ% dSfEczt;wfuoflZVh izslA

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vksxys] Mh�] DySEi] vkj� o eSdfczMs] ch�¼2007½ fcfYMaxfyVªslht bu lks'ky LVMht] vysDtsfMª;k]oh�,�% ,lksfl,'ku QkWj lqijfotu ,.Mdjhdqye Msoyies.VA

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jsl] ts�¼1997½A ekb.M bu ,D'ku] U;w;kdZ% vkWDlQksMZ;wfuoflZVh izslA

fouscxZ] ,l� o ekfVZu] Mh�¼2001½A jhfMax ,.MjkbfVax fgLVªh] ,twds'kuy yhMjf'ki 62¼1½]i`"B 42&45A

ikØj] MCY;w0lh0 ¼2010½A lks'ky LVMht VwMs] fjlpZ,.M izSfDVlA U;w;kdZ% jVystA


12

Status-quo of the teacher and the learner�sreflections

As students of education, we often debate aboutthe role of the learner in the classroom. Is thelearner active or passive? Do learners in teachereducation programs come to the classroom withany experiences related to the field of education?What about the ability to connect theseexperiences with the activities of the class? Theseare questions that I often face. I try to answer thesefor children and for the adult learners but amunable to do so in certain terms. A lot of theseanswers vary from person to person and dependon the teacher�s assumptions regarding who getsselected in a teacher education program versuswho opts for it.

Selection in the D.Ed. program is decided on thebasis of a cut-off list which, according to the DIETteachers, is not enough to decide who should bea teacher. I support their opinion and raise aquestion : Is there a correlation between a goodteacher and the marks they secure in anexamination? Somewhere, I truly feel that the�inherent drive1� to be a teacher supersedeseverything - marks in an exam, interview etc. -and no entrance exam can ensure this drive.There is also no way by which students canknow before entering the program that they areexpected to be reflective. This raises two veryimportant questions for me, as teacher educatorin training (who is also trying to be reflective):

· Firstly, who is reflective? Is somebody born

reflective? While there might be a chance of

people being naturally reflective, one cannot

say with guarantee that reflection can�t be

developed.

· Secondly, the issue of who should be a

teacher.2

As I interacted with the teachers at the DIET, I got

a glimpse of what the teachers think or rather

believe about their students. Most teachers felt

that students at the DIET might be �hardworking�

or �intelligent�, but are not �reflective�. (I have used

single quotes to highlight the words used by the

teachers). Reflecting on this, when I look back at

my training as a student of education, I realize

that I gradually understood the concept of

reflection over four years. I certainly didn�t enter

B.El.ED3 (Bachelors of Elementary Education) as

a reflective person. I was like those many others

trying to blame everything in the education

system. It was over the course of four years that I

learnt to reflect, to find solutions and not faults.

However, this is not to say that reflection does

not have any space for critique of self or

institutions, structures, processes but it is also

important that we must also emphasize on

finding solutions to issues or problems that have

surfaced due to a critical observation, instead of

over problematizing.

Arooshi Thakur

Reflections: Reviewing the teaching learning process in teacher

education institution1

Abstract

DIETs work on pre-service and in-service education of the elementary school teachers inIndia. I am a post-graduate student in education and this paper is mainly my reflectionsabout my teaching experience at a DIET. I taught at one of the state run DIETs in Delhi as partof the two weeks internship component of the Masters of Education program. I, as an internee,felt that it was an enriching experience; at the same time I realized that there is a need toreflect and review the existing teaching practices. The article being reflective is written infirst person. The reflections have their relevance in the light of concerns to enhance thequality of teacher education programs. The article also highlights the lack of research andviews on knowing the �learner� at higher education level.


13

I tried to link my experiences with the teachers�views and realized that how this view and thethey act on it effects the students. The teacherstry to compensate by passing as muchinformation as they can to the students. In myobservations at the DIET, I saw that severalstudents feel burdened by all the informationbeing bombarded at them. During myconversations with the students, there werecomplaints of �information overload�. They saidthat they felt that there was so much to learn andthey knew nothing. One student said �Baakiteachers bhi toh aise hi naukri kar lete hain, hum bhikar lenge� - remarking on the state of teachers atschools in general and questioning the need tostudy so much as part of their teacher educationprogram.

I inquired about what they felt was theimportance of including this information4 as partof the course. They replied it was important forCTET (central teacher eligibility test) and thusgetting a job. I feel that this reply draws ourattention to a critical question: The importanceof the curriculum and its transaction at teachereducation institutes. The opinion that thestudents only find it relevant from the CTETpoint of view deserves reflection by all of us -the teacher educators at DIET, students likeme, who are going to become teachereducators and professors of education atvarious departments. This also points to asystemic overload of information at all levelsof education. There has been a generalobservation that examinations tend to assessour capacity to rote memorize and we oftenstudy to pass exams or get throughcompetitive examinations. In such cases,understanding sometimes may not be a goalfor learners or at least not as big a goal asgetting the highest marks or getting into aprestigious college. Exams like CTET alsomeans introduction of regulations onlearning of individuals. Such exams ensurethat there is no time for active learning withreflection; without the condition of

reproduction of information learnt inexaminations.

What this illustrates is that the students atthe DIET were already voicing their

reflections; they might not yet be reflective

practitioners, but they definitely had ponderedover the issue as was evident from their replies.The following section offer more opinions by thestudents.

Does noting down mean I learn more?

In their regular classes, the students seemed quietand obsessed with their notebooks in which theyjotted down notes. I happened to observe one ofthe classes of the regular faculty. I found the lookson the students� faces quite intriguing. Theyseemed serious and in a hurry to not miss even aword of what the teacher said. The questions werelimited to the topic being taught and the classeswould not entertain questions other than thecontent as those would �disturb the class�. Theteacher was in a privileged position as she kneweverything (in the words of the students). Thestudents on the other hand were quite enamouredwith the little notebooks/diaries that the teacherscarried. The notebook might look little but hadall the notes that were to be dictated. And, moreimportantly, notes that were important to passthe examinations.


14

Once while walking through the corridors I sawthat all classes had respective teachers dictatingnotes to students. While, it is true that teachersmust give a brief outline of what they will do inthe class, but spoon-feeding the students, I feel,makes them believe that they are incompetent. Iwas happy, although surprised, when in my classa few of the students exclaimed, �We are not inschool. We will note down what we find new orimportant.� This to me is a sign of reflection, anindication of understanding one�s strengths andweaknesses. And, while I was teaching, they didtake down notes at different points, in accordancewith what they knew and what they wanted toknow.

I am aware that I cannot compare myself withthe regular faculty as I believe that they haveseveral other responsibilities and might beprofessionally answerable to a higher authorityregarding the students� performance. On theother hand, I was an intern, still trying tounderstand the complexities of the institution.Therefore, while it could be easy for me to criticizethe teacher acting like an instructor who justtransmits knowledge, I must also look at theaspect of teacher�s accountability. There is a fixedcurriculum, time and examination pattern.Eventually, the teacher�s ability will be decidedon the basis of her/his student�s performance inthe exams. Kumar (2005) remarks that the teacherin a school has no choice, but to succumb to thispressure. The legacy seem to be continuing in theTeacher Education Institutes.

Is there a way out?

So, how does one cope with this predicament? Insuch a scenario, it�s important for the teacher towork on ways to promote student�s autonomy.One such way is the assignments that teachersgive. One interesting assignment given tostudents was to make a model on a mathematicstopic. Students made interesting models like �geo-boards� built from leftover wood and nails.Assignments like these where there is no onecorrect answer help the learner to play an activerole in her/his learning. According to me, one ofthe fundamental purposes of education is toimpart the learner with skills that help her/himwith learning about issues or subject areaswithout the guidance of a teacher.

When the teacher is open to several and differentideas, it helps lessen the gap between the teacherand the learner. This, to me is a perfect exampleof how the rhetoric of the teacher as more superiorand more privileged being can be reduced, bygiving credit to the students. I must mention ateacher at the DIET who actually acknowledgedinnovative models made by the students. Theteacher also appreciated students� ideas even ifthey were not executed too well. I feel that thiskind of acceptance of students� work andconfidence in the students must be encouragedin the classrooms during curriculumtransactions, which currently just involvesteachers dictating notes and students franticallynoting each and every word of it.

The teaching practices and the adult learner

Sarangapani (2003) found out in the school sheresearched that schooling usually equateslearning with rote-memorization and thusteachers present lessons to suit this purpose.There is no scope for the questions which asksfor critical analysis by the students. The youngstudents in her study adhered to this system;however, at the DIET even the adult learnerinitially seems to be aligning to the status ofpassive learner and rote memorization. But thiswas not the case always as the students ininteraction with me questioned the legitimacy ofthese practices.

While describing a learner, the word studentstrikes most of us. The student who sits on thebench, looking at the teacher to �learn�, �gainknowledge�, and who �listens�, very diligently towhatever is said in the class. To me, in aclassroom, every individual is a learner, whichincludes the teacher. While discussing issues ineducation, whatever topic it may be, the teachercan discuss only her/his point of view and oneor two other points of view, possibly. But, in aclass of many students, there can be so manymore perspectives than what the teacher canimagine. Thus, in every classroom situation,ideally we all learn, irrespective of who is a teacherand who is a student.

As an adult learner, we are exposed to a muchlarger scheme of experiences - at home, while

traveling or in the metro/bus etc. A learner uses


15

these experiences to make sense of what happensin the class, especially in the field of education.Recent work on �Andragogy� indicates that weneed to acknowledge the experience of adultlearner. To quote Reischmann (2004) who citesKrajinc (1989) on Andragogy:

...�the art and science of helping adults learnand the study of adult education theory,processes, and technology to that end�.

Sharing my experience, one of the most interestingclasses in M.Ed was when we comparedShakespeare�s sonnets in English with rubaai5 inUrdu. It was a beautiful class where I, whostudied English and students who knew Urdu,discussed the structure of two genres of poems.Such instances unfortunately are rare in classes.We are so restricted by our boundaries that welose the opportunity to enrich ourselves aslearners; for which we need to forget who isteacher and who is a student. However as NCFTEstates, All theory courses will need to beinterdisciplinary in structure and have field-basedunits of study. (p 32)

The boundaries of disciplines were firm at theDIET as well. Students at the DIET were studyingabout teaching aids in both science and socialscience classes. Both the papers, pedagogy ofscience and pedagogy of social science talk aboutsimilar teaching aids - posters, charts,PowerPoint presentations etc. Now, as a learner,a few things would interest me. For example, isthere a difference between preparation of �chart�(mainly used to display certain information,drawing, model etc in the class) as teaching aidthat I study under pedagogy of science and thechart I study under pedagogy of social science?The difference could be in terms of their utilityand appropriateness or effectiveness to teachcontent in different subjects etc. but are therefeatures of �chart� as teaching aid that areessential to know. Another example is of globeand its various types. These were essentiallytaught under social sciences but can I not use theglobe to study scientific concepts like the Earthbeing round? Can I not use maps to understand2-D images of 3-D objects in mathematics? Alearner must be given ample opportunity to raisequestions like these and also discuss them. Thisis an example of an adult learner engaging withinformation and finding answer about a concept

as a teacher. A teacher�s reflection about conceptsis essential to explain the same to the students oras I said earlier to engage in similar exercise ofexploring a concept with their students.Reflections are about social as well as knowledge

issues. As a teacher of �pedagogy of languages�, Iwould feel really enriched to be a part of adiscussion on teaching aids for different subjectareas or teaching aids across curricular areas.

The concept of learner outside and inside theclassroom is relevant here. Students in DIETs are,on an average 18-20 year old. They have usedteaching aids as students and as student-teachers in formal settings like a school orinformal settings like private tuitions, withsiblings etc. Their experiences outside theclassroom give shape to what they share andlearn inside the classroom.

One essential difference between learning outsidethe classroom and inside the classroom is that ofthe amount of learning. Although, one cannotquantify something as abstract and as intangibleas learning, but I feel that the learning inside theclassroom can be substantiated by the learningoutside the classroom. This will be true onlyunder one condition - when a �discussion� andnot mere parroting and copying of facts happensin the class. When I share what I learnt outsidethe classroom with my classmates, we all move


16

from our one experience to a collective experience.Unfortunately, this was not the situation in theDIET where I went and the curriculum did notdemand students to use their experience as therewas no learning space (mostly in the classroomsI observed) to do the same. Reflections are criticalto good teacher education program. To quote:

�Pedagogical knowledge has to constantly undergoadaptation to meet the needs of diverse contextsthrough critical reflection by the teacher on his/herpractices� teaching, evaluating and so on.� NCFTE(2009 p. 14)

And further on page 15 in the same document:�Teacher education should provide opportunity totrainees for reflection and independent study withoutpacking the training schedule with teacher-directedactivities only.�

In the spirit of the arguments above I would liketo suggest that a discussion on posters as ateaching aid could involve listing itscharacteristics, advantages and limitations.There is ample scope for the learners to come upwith different ideas on how they used postersand if they found it relevant. But currently, thetopic is reduced to a formula that needs to be rotememorized and then reproduced inexaminations. The students said there were a fixednumber of points under each header. For a two-mark question, they were supposed to write fourpoints. I might have five points or maybe three.�You can add or subtract, but don�t leave those fourpoints�, the students said. This, according to me,is not learning. This is just reproduction of facts.Learning is eternal, it is life long, it stays with us,and what teacher at the DIET asked from thestudent would not stay with the student after theexaminations would get over.

Alternative teaching practices

For any class to be successful, for any learning tobe meaningful and fruitful, it�s imperative for theteachers to have the liberty to choose theircurriculum, reading materials, activities,assignments and tasks related to the subject area.There is prescribed curriculum for all subjectsthat all DIETs have to follow. But the teachers dohave the opportunity to take decisions regardingthe assignments and the daily classroomactivities. This �possible� space doesn�t lead to

much fruitful decisions as teachers stick toconventional practices.

Students said most of the assignments were inthe form of question answers which hardlyrequire reading from reference books. I felt thatthere is enough space and time for teachers to becreative and help their students develop criticalthinking skills. For instance, an assignment onteaching aids could ask students to develop lowcost teaching aids from waste materials. Thiswould not just help them in their practiceteaching, but also acquaint them with the idea ofusing waste materials, which acts as additionalresource material for the schools. I also felt theneed of proper resource organization as part ofdeveloping the teaching aids. This collection ofwaste material can be stored in a resource room,which can be lent to the government schoolsnearby, who may not have adequate fund to havea resource material library. This might alsofacilitates and establishes a dynamic relationshipbetween DIETs and schools which was expectedfrom DIETs. This is in accordance with thesuggestion that the National CurriculumFramework on Teacher Education suggestionabout having resource centers:

�....establishing resource centres that enable hands-onengagement with concepts and �tools� of education suchas textbooks and other resources is critical totransacting a process-based teacher educationprogramme. These resource centres are viewed asmechanisms for grounding the education of pre-servicestudents as well as in- service teachers withinimmediate classroom contexts, the wider societalcontext and learner diversity.� (p 32-33)

The assignment can be further extended intostudents developing inventories of how oneteaching aid can be used in different ways, whichcan be further used by teachers and the studentsthemselves. Instead of question-answers roundduring which students were expected to writeabout teaching aids or constructivism, studentscould actually be able to do it themselves. Theymight even chance upon the varying usefulnessof these teaching aids depending upon thecontexts and group of children it is used with.

Even in classrooms at the DIETs, I feel discussionsand using a multi-disciplinary approach toissues or topics as I mentioned earlier can be very


17

useful. They are not time-consuming but enableus to expand our mental boundaries and veryfruitful. In the process, not only the studentslearn, but the teachers learn as well. I feel, in everyprofessional environment, be it Education or anyother, one has to work within some constraints.Fortunately, unlike some schools or otherinstitutions, these teachers are not expected tofollow rigid plans of time-table and completionof syllabus, thus, they have that much more spaceto be creative.

My personal reflection as a student of Educationis that I�m very aware and reflective of the kind ofassignments we get or the kind of classes weattend. If given a question-answer assignment, Ifeel that the teacher expects only that much ofme. But an assignment which expects me to writemy reflections, or thoughts, or feelings, eventhough more time-consuming, seems fulfilling.An assignment based on reflection is most likelyto give an impression to a student that a teachersees him/her as an individual. (S)he understandsthat I have a mind of my own and moreimportantly, I have the capacity to think. Thestudents at DIET echoed a similar sentiment.They wanted opportunities in classrooms so thatthey could be recognized as thinking individuals.

Evaluating the learner and their reflections

The evaluation being used by the teachers wason the basis of how �correct� an answer was. Avariety of activities would give the teachers anopportunity to use various criteria of evaluation.Although even where writing subjective answersare concerned, teachers can decide what to assess- relevance of ideas, originality, presentation,references etc. Students said that they were mostlyassessed on how well they wrote answers forexaminations. I feel a student, whichever field ofstudy (s)he is in, can be evaluated on a number ofcriteria. While I am good at individualassignments, I might not be so good at group tasks.As a future teacher, it�s all the more important todevelop these skills. NCERT�s �Sourcebook onAssessment� gives an interesting array of skillsthat students can be evaluated on. Thesesourcebooks are grade specific for schools, but Ifeel some of these skills are relevant for students-teachers as well. For instance, the sourcebook on

assessment on language suggests that studentscan be evaluated on narration of a story they likedand the reason they enjoyed it. I used the samemethod for my student teachers at DIET and ithelped student to appreciate the method ofassessment in better manner.

Similarly, this distinction between narration oftheir experiences and reflecting on theseexperiences can be used to evaluate students atDIET as well. This takes me back to the firstquestion I raised related to our ability to reflect -it is not inborn, but develops gradually. Not onlydo such practices help students develop in aholistic way but also encourage them to use suchactivities and evaluation when they becometeachers. I don�t feel that these suggestions cantake place only in utopia. They require patience,but are not impossible to be carried out inclassrooms.

As a teacher one might also look at the possibilityof peer evaluation in case of a large number ofstudents or other such constraints. Of course, thiswould be successful only if the teacher believesin her/his students and doesn�t feel the constantneed or pressure to police them.

To share my experience at DIET, in my class on�functions of language�, students were supposedto work in groups and list down all the functionsof language they could think of. I was advisedagainst a group activity by the teachers and mypeers, told that it would be a chaos. But, I wentwith my instinct. The activity was a success. Iowe it to my belief in my students. They wantedto work and discuss, and they did. It helped mecover a big topic in a relatively short amount oftime. As I based my class on the students�responses, they felt more encouraged andengaged in the task.

Reflective teaching: Emancipating the teacher

In the workshop on �reflective teaching� we had

before going for the internship, the speaker

mentioned Schon�s conceptualization of

�Reflection for emancipation�. This concept stuck

with me. I was determined to find out if my

reflection on my teaching emancipated me in any

way. Every day, I would go back and think about

the incidents of that day.


18

Reflection requires time, patience and practice,

but it is worth the effort. I feel that teachingwithout reflection is like living in a bubble.Everything seems either good or bad and just that.As there is no reason involved, we feel powerlessor helpless. Some might even say that they arejust a bad/good teacher and nothing can be doneabout it. Reflection helps us overcome thatproblem. It helps us find solutions to ourproblems, or at least forces us to think about it.Reflection helped me understand what kind of ateacher I want to be.

For example, there was no faculty of English atthe DIET I was teaching at. The CTET was fastapproaching. In me the students saw a teacherwho could give a ten day crash course to crackthe CTET. I was expecting this and thought aboutit. I didn�t want to be the teacher who taughtbecause she wanted her students to crack anexam. I wanted them to enjoy English languagejust as I do. I wanted to equip them with skillsthat would help them when they taught English.I was certainly not averse to the idea of helpingthem with the English portion of CTET, but I justdidn�t want that to be my primary or their onlyaim and the motivating factor for students to sitin my class.

As I was clear about my aims, students tooshowed an interest talking to me about their fearof the language, their interests, their disinterestsetc. They also discussed their doubts for CTETand other such papers but only during breaks.Our classroom discussions focused on contentand the relevance of that content in real lives.Reflection also helped me to be clear about myrationale for planning out my lessons the way Idid. While discussing methods of teachinglanguages, I also discussed the history of thesemethods. I wanted my students to understandthat language is affected by the context. There�s astory behind everything. In the process, I alsodiscussed Jane Austen and the Victorian Era.Some might say I digressed, but I feel that eventhat one girl�s eyes that lit up and who feltinspired to discuss Jane Austen�s work with meafter class made my day.

One more concept that was discussed in thatworkshop was �Reflection in Action� and�Reflection for Action�. I really hope to reach thestage where I am able to reflect while I am still in

action. I used to begin with descriptive reflectionwhere I would just jot down in rough, whateverhappened during the day. This would help mepin point areas where I felt more reflection wasneeded.

Concluding, I would like to say that thedescriptions in my reflections were on my way ofteaching, my preparation for the class, mybehaviour with a student/group of students oran entire class. It could also include incidentsthat I observed in the assembly, corridor or office.This would lead to the stage of reflection where Icould dialogue with myself. I would posequestions to myself regarding the incident I chose.These questions would include why thisparticular incident was nagging me, whatreasons could I attribute to it, could this issue beresolved etc. And, then the critical reflectionwherein, I would try to think about the possibleanswers to these questions.

The way ahead

Teaching at the DIET gave me an opportunity tointeract with young student teachers. Studentswere extremely bright, critical and willing to havea discussion on various issues in education. Theirquestions and the doubts are a testimony to theirthinking capabilities and the fact that they wereextremely interested in what they were doing. Iwas also happy as the students had justcompleted their school contact program. Theywere extremely excited to share their experiences.They needed a platform to discuss their issuesand in my substitution classes, I would listen totheir stories with great pleasure. A teacher shouldhave good listening skills. They were very criticalabout their experiences and were also trying tolink these with the theories they had read beforegoing for their teaching practice. I felt that thisplatform should have been provided to them assoon as they came back from their teachingpractice. The students felt that it was being treated

as a mere formality and they had to resume theirstudies as soon as they came back. Also, they did

seem a little disappointed with the monotonousteaching routines and were looking for a more

creative outlet for their expressions.

Apart from the nitty-gritty of the functioning of

an institution, I really understood the value of


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preparation for my lessons. I would feelmotivated to read sufficiently to have as lively adiscussion in the class as possible. Reflection ispersonal and has no right or wrong answers. Insome situations, we may not have immediateanswers but it�s a process that certainly helpsme become better aware of the complexities ofteaching learning. It was exhaustive, but was veryenriching, satisfying as a teacher educator inpreparation.

References

Kumar, Krishan (2005) Meek Dictator: The Paradoxof Teacher�s Personality IN Political Agendaof Education: A Study of Colonialist andNationalist Ideas. New Delhi, SagePublications.

National Curriculum for Teacher Education(2009) draft for discussion. New Delhi,NCTE.

Reischmann, Jost (2004): Andragogy. History,Meaning, Context, Function. Internet-publication http://www.andragogy.net.Version Sept. 9, 2004. Retrieved from http://w w w . u n i - b a m b e r g . d e / f i l e a d m i n /andragogik/08/andragogik/andragogy/index.htm retrieved on May 1, 2014.

Sarangapani, Padma (2003) Constructing SchoolKnowledge: An Ethnography of learning inIndian School Village. New Delhi, SagePublications.

(Footnotes)

1. Acknowledgement for editing inputs from Ms

Harpreet Kaur Jass, Assistant Professor, DES, FOE,

Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi-25

2. I nherent drive, according to me, can be either

innate or a consequence of social influences, or

experiences. One may have always wanted to be a

teacher, while another person may have, over a

period of time decided to become a teacher. The

reasons behind this decision could be numerous-serving the society, meeting a teacher who changedour perspective and hoping to bring about positivetransformations in somebody else�s life etc. Thisdrive is evident in certain behaviouralmanifestations. Sometimes little instances such as

how someone views teaching is a clue to whetherthey are motivated to teach, or it just a �job� to them.I remember meeting a teacher who said that sheloved teaching because everyday was a new dayand every story a new story. Teaching, to her wasnot a job, but engagement with these stories.

3. Perhaps, this is an oversimplification. At this point,I am reading and exploring to get different vantagepoints on this interesting question of �who shouldbecome a teacher?�

4. A four years undergraduate program of Teacher

Education run in colleges of university of Delhi.

5. I was training them in English language which is

not a compulsory subject.

6. Rubaai is form of Persian poetry with four lines;often the style is imported in Urdu as well. OmarKhaiyyam�s Rubbaiyaat has been the most famousand widely read works.


20

Karen Haydock and Kranti Patil

An Analysis of the Treatment of

Evolution by Natural Selection in NCERT Textbooks

Abstract

OOur analysis of the treatment of evolution by natural selection in NCERT textbooks indicatesthat although the treatment in the current books is generally good, there are a few problems.The main problems are in the higher level books: The treatment of evolution is too confusingand abstract, there is some tendency towards teleology, there are a few mistakes andmisconceptions, the visuals are inadequate, the teaching method is too didactic, the syllabusis too vast, and there is some tendency towards genetic determinism. However, we find thatthe textbooks at the primary and middle school levels have many merits: They are in manyways pedagogically sound; they suggest very worthwhile activities that prepare students tolearn about evolution; and their design and visuals are attractive and functional.

Keywords: Evolution, Natural selection, Textbook analysis, NCERT

Framework of analysis

Here we analyse the presently used NCERT(National Council of Educational Research andTraining) 2006 textbooks, which we find to begenerally of a high quality compared to manytextbooks published by private companies inIndia. It is apparent that a lot of thought has goneinto their writing and design. A sincere andinformed effort has been made to apply soundpedagogical principles, as outlined in NationalCurricular Framework (NCF) (2005), in thedevelopment of these books. Many textbooksproduced by state textbook boards also followthe NCERT textbook model, although we will notreview them here.

We will first summarise what we mean byevolution by natural selection, what we think isessential to teach about it, and why it is essential.Our answers to these questions are based on ourprevious experience in teaching and learningabout evolution, and are discussed in more detailelsewhere (Haydock and Arunan, 2012;Haydock, 2014, in preparation).

Since the study of biology requires anunderstanding of evolution and the mechanismsof evolution, it is clear that students who studybiology need to study something about evolutionat some point before their graduation. Althoughevolution by natural selection is very difficult to

define, we suggest the following as a goodworking definition, which will the serve as our

basis for this exercise in textbook analysis:

Evolution by Natural Selection

1. There is variation between the individualorganisms that make up any population. (Apopulation is a group of organisms of thesame species living in the same place at thesame time.)

2. This variation occurs partly because thereare random mutations in the genome(differences in the DNA) of individualorganisms. These mutations can be passedto offspring.

3. Throughout the individuals' lives, theirgenomes interact with their environments tocause variations in traits. (The environmentof a genome includes the molecular biologyin the cell, other cells, other individuals,populations, species, as well as the abioticenvironment.)

4. Individuals with certain variants of the traitsmay survive and reproduce more thanindividuals with other variants.

5. Therefore the population evolves.

In order to learn about evolution by naturalselection, it makes conceptual sense to start withabstract concepts, leading finally to investigate


21

examples and particular observations related toevolution. However, in our extensive experiencein teaching students and teachers aboutevolution, we find that this is not usually the bestpedagogical approach. Students find it is easierto start with what they already know throughdirect observation and proceed to more abstractconcepts.

After trying many different approaches inteaching/learning about evolution, we haveconcluded that it is best to take a similar approachto the method scientists have been using to buildup an understanding of evolution. In otherwords, students use the scientific method to learnabout evolution. Accordingly, they rely onparticular observations of physical reality atmany stages throughout their study: in order tolook for characteristics and relationships betweendifferent forms of life; to sort things intocategories; to make generalisations; to testhypotheses, to communicate, and to suggest newquestions - though not necessarily in this order,of course. We are basing our textbook analysisupon this understanding of the scientific method,and upon the view that the teaching/learning ofbiology must be concerned primarily withlearning this method of science rather than with'learning' science as a 'body of facts'.

We take the view that students need to explorebiology and evolution in order to improve theirscientific temper - and they need to improve theirscientific temper in order to explore biology - andtextbooks should be designed with this in mind.We define scientific temper as the practice ofusing the scientific method throughout one'sdaily life in order to ask and search for answersto all sorts of questions, bearing in mind theinterconnections between science and social,political, economic, moral, and aesthetic factors.

Our pedagogical stance is in agreement with thestance outlined in the upon NCF (2005) whichthe NCERT textbooks have been framed. Thus,the aim is to use an educational constructionistapproach as much as is practical - which is notthe constructivism of the sociology of science(Matthews, 1998). This approach also aims toencourage all students to become engaged ininquiries, observations, activities and argumentswith themselves and with each other. Throughthis process they confront contradictions and

misconceptions and work to resolve them. Thecontradictions may be between different people'sbeliefs, between the beliefs of one person, betweenstatements in one or more textbooks, betweenstatements in textbooks and beliefs, or betweenbeliefs and observations of physical reality.

According to this approach, even the authorityof a teacher or a textbook can be questioned. Toquote Eleanor Duckworth, "In science, the 'stuff'is the authority" (Duckworth, 2012). The 'stuff' isthe physical reality which we observe. In an areaas complex as biology, one main objective is tocritique and ask relevant questions rather thanjust to become confident in supplying correctanswers on exams. Becoming confused can alsobe seen as a goal, since it may be required in orderto learn. Thus, the question arises as to whetherit makes pedagogical sense to have textbookswhich contain contradictory statements in orderto try to confuse students so that they will try toresolve the contradictions.

A related question is whether it is even possibleto avoid all contradictions in textbooks,particularly in relation to a topic as complex asevolution. Avoiding contradictions becomes allthe more difficult when attempts are made tosimplify the topic for young students. Simplifyingmeans presenting simple models, whichnecessarily disregard some features in order toconcentrate on others. However, in biology it isvery important to investigate the interconnectionsand interdependencies between differentcharacteristics, behaviours, and components ofthe environment.

The syllabus and learning objectives

The current NCERT (2006) textbooks referexplicitly to evolution mainly in the Class XScience and the Class XII Biology textbooks.However, the textbooks for earlier classes alsocontain some very useful and necessary materialthat builds towards this later more detailedtreatment. This includes discussions andactivities related to the development of scientifictemper, categorising organisms, similarity andvariation, changeability, the complexity andinterdependence.

Evolution is taken up in depth in Chapter 9:"Heredity and Evolution" (Class X). The topics


22

covered in this chapter are indicated by thechapter headings, as shown in Table 1. Evolutionis not discussed in the Class XI textbooks.

Evolutionary is treated in detail in Chapter 7"Evolution" (Class XII). This chapter attempts to

give an account of the evolution of the universe,the origin of life, and the evolution of life forms,as shown in Table 2. In addition, Chapter 5 (ClassXII) discusses "Principles of Inheritance andVariation".

Table 1: Chapter headings (Ch. 9, Class X, Science, NCERT, 2006))

Class X (2006) Ch 9: HEREDITY AND EVOLUTION pp 142-1599.1 ACCUMULATION OF VARIATION DURING REPRODUCTION9.2 HEREDITY

9.2.1 Inherited TraitsActivity 9.1 Observe the ears of all the students in the class.9.2.2 Rules for the Inheritance of Traits � Mendel�s ContributionsActivity 9.2 In Fig. 9.3, what experiment would we do to confirm that the F2

generation did in fact have a 1:2:1 ratio of TT, Tt and tt trait combinations?9.2.3 How do these Traits get Expressed?9.2.4 Sex Determination

9.3 EVOLUTION9.3.1 An Illustration9.3.2 Acquired and Inherited Traits

9.4 SPECIATION9.5 EVOLUTION AND CLASSIFICATION

9.5.1 Tracing Evolutionary Relationships9.5.2 Fossils9.5.3 Evolution by Stages

9.6 EVOLUTION SHOULD NOT BE EQUATED WITH �PROGRESS�9.6.1 Human Evolution

�Box: Charles Robert Darwin (1809–1882)�

�BOX: Gregor Johann

Mendel (1822–1884)�

�Do you know? JBS Haldane�

�Box: How do fossils form layer by layer?�

�More to Know!

Molecular phylogeny�

Class XII (2006) Ch. 7: EVOLUTION pp 126-142

7.1 ORIGIN OF LIFE7.2 EVOLUTION OF LIFE FORMS - A THEORY

9.2.1 Inherited TraitsActivity 9.1 Observe the ears of all the students in the class.9.2.2 Rules for the Inheritance of Traits � Mendel�s ContributionsActivity 9.2 In Fig. 9.3, what experiment would we do to confirm that the F2

generation did in fact have a 1:2:1 ratio of TT, Tt and tt trait combinations?9.2.3 How do these Traits get Expressed?9.2.4 Sex Determination

7.3 WHAT ARE THE EVIDENCES FOR EVOLUTION?9.3.1 An Illustration9.3.2 Acquired and Inherited Traits

7.4 WHAT IS ADAPTIVE RADIATION?7.5 BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION

9.5.1 Tracing Evolutionary Relationships9.5.2 Fossils9.5.3 Evolution by Stages

7.6 MECHANISM OF EVOLUTION7.7 HARDY-WEINBERG PRINCIPLE7.8 A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF EVOLUTION7.9 ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF MAN

�BOX: Gregor Johann

Mendel (1822–1884)�


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Keeping in mind that there are 16 chapters ineach of the Class X and XII books, we think thatthe syllabus is much too vast. It would be betterto concentrate on investigating a few aspects ofevolution in more detail than to try to 'cover'everything from Mendelian genetics to micro andmacro evolution to classification, geologicevidence, and human evolution. In our experiencewe find that with such a vast syllabus, studentsturn their efforts to memorising the text, and theyend up forgetting almost all of it within a fewmonths after their examination. If studentsinstead practice using a scientific method to askquestions, observe, experiment, analyse andpractice critical thinking, they will be able andmotivated to investigate particular topics as andwhen they need them.

If the syllabus is to be reduced, the question arisesas to which topics could be removed and whetherevolution by natural selection should be removed.We believe that this is one topic that is essential,for three main reasons: (1) natural selection iscentral to evolution and evolution is central toall of biology; (2) biology is the science of life, weare living, and, to quote Socrates, "Anunexamined life is not a worthy human life"

( ) (Plato,c.340 BCE); and (3) social progress is possiblethrough applications of biology in agriculture,healthcare, engineering, and environmentalsciences. In particular, plant and animal breedingis evolution by artificial selection. Solutions toenvironmental problems require investigationsof evolution. In addition we think that anunderstanding of evolution by natural selectioncan be both the result and the cause of aprogressive way of looking at the world whichmay have many ramifications throughoutpeople's lives.

Pedagogy

We find that in order to understand evolution by

natural selection, students need to be prepared

with a functional scientific temper so that they

are able to question, observe, compare,

and find answers through experimentation,

communication, and critical thinking. The

importance of understanding and practising the

creative process of science, rather thanconcentrating on the 'content' of science has beenemphasized in numerous pedagogical studies inother countries, and is particularly important inrelation to the topic of evolution (Matthews, 1994,Lederman, 1992, Chiapetta & Fillman, 2007)

In order to cultivate a scientific temper, studentsneed to do science, and by doing, understand theprocess of science and make doing science a habitthroughout their lives. Teachers and textbookwriters therefore need to be discouraged fromportraying science as a body of knowledge or listof 'facts' to be memorised. Otherwise studentshear, read, and memorise the definitions and factsof evolution, without understanding or trying tofigure out how understanding evolution isrelevant to their own lives.

Therefore it is commendable that throughout theNCERT primary school textbooks students areencouraged to practice a number of scienceprocesses. For example, in a number of booksstudents are asked to closely observe plants andanimals.

In the chapter, "Super Senses" (Class V), studentsare asked to do activities, discuss, and comparedifferences in sensory abilities and behavioursof different people and of other animals. There isa discussion on the connections betweenstructure and function, a topic which is relevantto any understanding of evolution. Students areasked to list animals whose ears can be seen andto think about whether there is a link between

the size of the animals' ears and their hearing.This is similar to the exercise (Class IV, Chapter2) in which the students are asked which animalshave ears that cannot be seen. This could becomean interesting activity if students were asked tofind the answer by devising and carrying out teststo observe whether particular animals can hear,and on that basis guess whether they have ears.

In other textbooks the students are asked to makedrawings of chana which they sprout, go to apond and draw "the kinds of plants that you seethere," compare the appearances and behaviours

of different animals, categorize things, drawpictures, make models, do experiments, andanalyse data. All of these are useful in establishingan understanding of the nature of science and inenhancing scientific temper, which is needed to


24

understand evolution.

At several places throughout the textbooksstudents are asked to draw plants or animals. Itwill be particularly useful if students draw whatthey observe as they observe it, because drawingencourages keen observation. It will also helpstudents to realise the large amount of variationas well as similarity that exists even within onepopulation. Drawing is a form of model making,since a drawing is a simplified 2-d representationof physical reality. In order to make a drawing,students need to decide which aspects tosimplify. If, as often happens, the students areinstead asked to copy drawings from the board,from a textbook, or from memory, the learningwill be limited. The students will miss theopportunity to closely observe things first handand construct their own models.

One theme of Unit 9, Class II (according the notesfor teachers at the end) is "to give children afeeling of interdependence with their world". Thisis done by fostering a love for elders: there areseveral poems and stories about grandparentsand about loving relationships between childrenand grandparents. Exploring interdependence isrequired for learning about evolution.

We find that the NCERT textbooks - particularlyat the primary level - are quite innovative, andare designed for use in activity-based,constructivist, or inquiry-based teaching.However, in our experience in both private andgovernment schools, we find that most teachersuse didactic methods in which 'learning' means

that students hear, read, memorise, and

regurgitate the exact words on examinations,

ignoring the innovative methods and activities

which are suggested in the textbooks. Teachers

resort to didactic teaching methods due to their

working conditions. Most teachers have large

class sizes, with more than 25 students in each

class - and sometimes more than 100 in a class.

Teachers typically are asked to teach between 6to 8 periods in a day. If there are different batches

of students each period, the teachers are barely

able to even remember their names. Very few

schools allow teachers adequate non-teaching

time for planning and assessing. Newly

implemented requirements that teachers must

stay in school for several additional hours after

such gruelling timetables do not solve thisproblem. Class discussions or activities in whichstudents DO science, are almost impossible toplan or carry out under such conditions. Whenteachers are employed as contract teachers, withextremely low salaries, no benefits, and littlerespect from the community, adequate teachingis not viable.

Categorising organisms: Observing Similarityand Difference

Evolution, and life itself, is dependent upon theexistence of both similarity and variety withinany population of organisms. No two organismsin a population or species are exactly alike, eventhough they have certain similarities which allowus to group them together as one population andas one species. We categorise organisms basedon both similarities and differences. In order tounderstand evolution and its mechanisms,students need to see that similarity and differenceis an inherent characteristic of any population. Ifindividuals are too different they might notinterbreed, thus ruling out the possibility ofevolution. If a population does not containenough variation, there may not be enoughdifferent types for selection of more viableindividuals in case of changes in environment,disease, etc.

Noticing similarities between species is also thefirst step in realising that different species arerelated to each other because they have commonancestors.

Probably one of the reasons that natural selectionwas not identified earlier as a mechanism ofevolution was that people did not investigate thevariety within a population or species - they weremore intent upon identifying the differencesbetween species. Both Darwin and Wallace, whodiscovered the mechanism of natural selection,were probably able to do so because they hadextensive experience in the field, where they werestruck by the enormous variation within eachspecies. This detailed observation is somethingthat many classifiers of organisms mightoverlook, since they are trained to focus theirattention on only those particular characteristicsupon which classification of species are based.

Therefore it is essential that students getexperience in investigating similarities and


25

differences, in identifying characteristics, and insorting and categorizing things into groups.These kinds of activities are some of the easiestways to start understanding evolution, so it isimportant that students begin doing these at earlystages (Nadelson et al., 2009).

Starting from the primary level, the NCERTtextbooks do suggest a number of activitieswhich involve identifying and comparingcharacteristics of organisms (and various objects)and sorting them into categories.

In Chapter 1 of the Class III book, students areencouraged to go outside and observe nature,which is a good prelude to learning aboutevolution, and also helps inculcate a scientifictemper. They are asked to spend some time undera tree, observe and record which animals are seenon different parts of the tree and on the ground.The students are then asked to sort the animalsthey find in order of size. This is an excellentbiology activity, appropriate for any age or levelsince it is so open-ended. Students are also askedto classify animals based on ways of moving, andwhether or not they live in the house of the student.This sort of classification, which is based directobservation and analysis, is much preferred tobeing asked to memorise given classifications(mammals, reptiles, etc.).

Of particular relevance are activities in whichstudents are asked to observe and find differencesbetween leaves, trees, and plants (Ch. 2 in theClass III Environmental Studies (EVS) textbook),and flowers (Ch. 11 in the Class IV EVS textbook).Although students are not specifically asked tolook for differences between individual plants ofthe same species, this could be an interestingextension, and one which is needed in order tounderstand evolution. It is commendable that atthese early stages the students are not asked to

unnecessarily memorise too many technical

terms with regard to the plants. However, it is

unfortunate that students are not asked to find

both differences and similarities.

Interestingly, students are asked to sort things

based on a wide variety of characteristics. For

example, (Class IV, Chapter 15 "From Market to

Home"), students are asked to compare bhindi:

find the longest and the shortest, compare the

thickness and colour, compare the cut cross-

section, etc. They are also asked to sort vegetablesinto two sets: those that spoil quickly, and thosethat can stay for some days; those that are smoothand those that are rough; heaviest and lightest,etc. This sort of exercise is very useful in that itindicates that there are many different ways ofsorting things into sets, which is important whenstudents consider how species are classified.

There are instances in which the primarytextbooks suffer from being too reductionist intheir efforts towards simplicity. For example, theClass I Hindi textbook "Rimjhim-1" students areasked to sort various vegetables according to theircolours, but apparently each vegetable is to beclassified as being either red, green, purple,yellow, blue, or black. Subtleties or variations ormultiple colours are not considered. If studentsget in the habit of thinking in such a reductionistmanner, they may have problems later on inunderstanding evolution and biology.

Another example of this is in Class IV, Chapter16, where students are asked to sort their picturesof animals into three groups according to whetherthey live on land, in water, or in trees. As withmany sorting activities throughout the textbooks,the possibility of overlapping groups is notmentioned. Apparently, students are to be taughtthat animals either live in a pond or in a jungle orin a house; objects either float or sink, but do notfloat then sink or sink if they are dropped oneway and float it they are dropped another way;things can either be cut with scissors or with aknife but not both; we either eat the roots or the

shoots of a plant, but not both, objects either rollor slide, etc. Even in the chapter on "SortingMaterials into Groups" (Class VI, Chapter 4),students are asked to sort things into non-overlapping sets. The possibility that two objectsmay have some similar characteristics as well assome different characteristics - which makes themdifficult to sort - is not mentioned. It seems thateach group is separate and individual, and eachobject belongs to either one group or the other.Characteristics are considered to be either of onetype or not of that type. Answers to questions are

either true or false.

However, problems are bound to crop up if thestudents actually do the activities. Categorisationis not so simple - and the complexity is what


26

makes categorisation interesting and relevant.These problems are very important when weattempt to categorise and classify living thingsand understand evolution, as discussed below.

Actually it is not difficult to introduce the conceptof overlapping sets through the use of Venndiagrams. Even young children who do not yetknow how to read can sort things intooverlapping sets. By doing so, they find out whatis interesting about physical reality - and theyget practice doing science.

In Chapter 5 "The Fundamental Unit of Life" ofthe Class IX textbook students are asked tocompare different plants' cells and also cells fromdifferent parts of the same plant through amicroscope and tell what similarities anddifferences they find. This is a very worthwhileactivity. However, we find that in many schoolsstudents do not actually do it - because ofovercrowding, shortage of microscopes, shortageof time, or a lack of belief that it is important. It isimportant because through direct observationstudents come to find evidence that shows thatcells develop and differentiate to look similar butdifferent from parent cells, and that differentorganisms evolved to have cells that have bothdifferences and similarities to each other.

Similarity and diversity is taken up again inChapter 7, "Diversity in Living Organisms" of thesame textbook. This chapter starts with adiscussion of human diversity, and then asksstudents to do an activity in which they comparedesi and Jersey cows. Starting the chapter withhumans and animals that are familiar to thestudents makes pedagogical sense. Hopefullyteachers will adapt the activity to includediscussions of whatever animals are present inthe local environment. In our own experience inteaching units on variation, for example in theHoshangabad Science Teaching Programme (Bal

Vaigyanik, Kaksha 6 1978), students have

collected and compared the similarities and

differences between leaves, goats' tails, ants of

the same or different species, and their own

hands.

Students need to study similarity and variation

in order to identify and classify species. The term

'species' is used for the first time when it is

defined in Class VIII, Chapter 5:

"Species is a group of population which are

capable of interbreeding. This means that the

members of a species can reproduce fertile

offspring only with the members of their ownspecies and not with members of other species.Members of a species have commoncharacteristics."

It might be better to introduce the term 'species'without any explicit definition, just by using itwhen discussing and comparing different typesof organisms. In later classes there could be adiscussion on the difficulties of defining species.

In Class VII, Chapter 17 "Forests: Our Lifeline"there is a good discussion of the consequences ofvariety:

"By harbouring greater variety of plants, the forestprovides greater opportunities for food andhabitat for the herbivores. Larger number ofherbivores means increased availability of foodfor a variety of carnivores. The wide variety ofanimals helps the forest to regenerate and grow.Decomposers help in maintaining the supply ofnutrients to the growing plants in the forest.Therefore the forest is a 'dynamic living entity' -full of life and vitality.

However, this does not mention that because ofindividual variation within a population, apopulation is more likely to survive changes toits environment, through natural selection.

The Class X textbook stresses the importance ofboth similarity and variation in reproduction ofDNA, cells, and organisms (Chapter 8, "How doOrganisms Reproduce?"). In this chapter, theconcept of evolution by natural selection isdescribed (Section 8.1.1 "The Importance ofVariation"), although, strangely, it is not referredto by name:

"Populations of organisms fill well-defined

places, or niches, in the ecosystem, using their

ability to reproduce. The consistency of DNA

copying during reproduction is important for the

maintenance of body design features that allow

the organism to use that particular niche.

Reproduction is therefore linked to the stability

of populations of species. However, niches can

change because of reasons beyond the control of

the organisms... If a population of reproducing

organisms were suited to a particular niche and


27

if the niche were drastically altered, thepopulation could be wiped out. However, if somevariations were to be present in a few individualsin these populations, there would be some chancefor them to survive."

This is actually a clearer definition of evolutionby natural selection than the formal definitionthat appears later in the same book in Chapter 9"Heredity and Evolution".

In the Class IX textbook (Chapter 5) we read that"Cells divide to produce cells of their own kind.Thus, all cells come from pre-existing cells." Inthat case, how did the first cell evolve? And, howdoes the variety of cells we find in one humanbody develop from one fertilised egg cell?Students must be confused. Hopefully thisconfusion will lead them to investigate further.

Throughout our education, teachers teach thatstatements are either true or false. Therefore, wecome to use a sort of Aristotelian logic whichconfines things to separate, individual,unchanging categories, even when this iscontradictory to our real life observations. Thisleads to difficulties in understanding evolutionby natural selection, which is based upon theinherent possession of both similarities anddifferences between individual organisms in thesame population.

It is commendable that the topic of evolution bynatural selection is introduced in the Class X book

through an example of beetle evolution, and thatthis is visually illustrated (Figure 1). However,we find that this illustration is very difficult tounderstand, and it also may reinforce a seriousmisconception - which is that before and afterthe process of evolution by natural selection apopulation may consist of identical individuals.If that was the case, selection, evolution, and lifeitself, could not occur. Every population containsinherent similarities and differences, as indeedwas implied by the first sentence of the chapter.So here it would be helpful to show obviousdifferences as well as similarities. Even theaccompanying text is confusing in this regard,with the sentence, "Their population will growby sexual reproduction, and therefore, cangenerate variations," implying that perhapsasexually reproducing populations cannotgenerate individual variations.

Also, the impression should not be given that

variation arises only as a result of interactions

with environmental factors that cause the

selection. But in the top series of pictures the

variations in beetle colour appear to arise only

after the crows also appear, which may reinforce

this misconception. Students need to realise that

the appearance of variation is dependent upon

random mutations. It would have been better if

some obvious variation was shown in the first

frame on the left as well as in the last frames on

the right.

Figure 1 Variations in a population (Fig 9.7, Ch. 9, Class X Science, NCERT, 2009)


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Everything Changes

It is useful to introduce young children toexamples of different kinds of change, includingevolutionary changes in organisms. This can bedone, for example, by investigating fossils, whichcan be found in many parts of the country. Someschools have collections of fossils. Even a pieceof coal can be observed and found to haveimpressions of leaves in it.

In Class VIII, Chapter 5: "Coal and Petroleum"the formation of coal is described:

"About 300 million years ago the earth haddense forests in low lying wetland areas. Dueto natural processes, like flooding, theseforests got buried under the soil. As more soildeposited over them, they were compressed.The temperature also rose as they sankdeeper and deeper. Under high pressure andhigh temperature, dead plants got slowlyconverted to coal. As coal contains mainlycarbon, the slow process of conversion ofdead vegetation into coal is calledcarbonisation.

Since it was formed from the remains ofvegetation, coal is also called a fossil fuel."

Although the word fossil is used here, students

may not realise that what is being described is

the fossilisation process. There is no mention of

the connection between fossils, extinction, and

evolution.

Dinosaurs are one of the most common examples

of extinct animals, and some children hear about

dinosaurs outside of school. However, it is

strange that the only mention of dinosaurs in the

primary books is in Chapter 2 of the Class IV

book, where there is a line drawing of a dinosaur

to colour. The accompanying text says: "Many

many years ago there were dinosaurs on earth,

but not any more. Now we see them in films,

photos and books". This might lead some

children to assume that dinosaurs disappeared

relatively recently and that people must have been

around when they were living and they took

photographs and made films of them. We find

that there is a surprisingly widespread

misconception amongst both children and

science teachers that people coexisted with

dinosaurs in the past. Huge timescales are

difficult to comprehend, and the NCERT

textbooks do not attempt to tackle this problem.

The Class III and IV NCERT (2007) EVS textbooksinclude a few activities related to changes inplants and animals in recent times. Students areasked to talk to their grandparents to find outwhat changes they may have observed in thenumbers and types of different plants andanimals in their environments and whether anyof them have completely disappeared or whetherthere are now any new types that did not existbefore. This helps students realise that livingthings change. It may provide concrete examplesof evolution from the lives and communities ofthe students. The topic of foods and seedschanging over the past few generations is raisedagain in "A Seed Tells a Farmer's Story" (Chapter19, Class V). Although the words "evolution" or"plant breeding" are not used, questions aboutchange and social progress are raised.

In Class V, Chapter 5 "Seeds and Seeds", there isa discussion of how seeds, fruits, and vegetablesspread to different places. There is also adiscussion of how from the same seeds, plantswill grow differently, depending onenvironmental effects such as water, soil, etc.However, there is no mention that populationsof seeds evolve.

Then, in Chapter 21, "Like Father, Like Daughter"(Class V), there is some investigation of humantraits that are passed from generation togeneration. Students are asked to tell whichcharacteristics they have which are similar tothose of someone else in their family and whetherparticular traits are learned or passed on fromtheir parents. This chapter also contains a box inwhich the authors' attempt to describe Mendel'sexperiments with peas in a very simple way.However, it is not intelligible:

"Seeds which are either green or yellow give riseto new seeds which are either green or yellow.The next generation does not have seeds with amixed new colour made from both green andyellow. Mendel showed that in the nextgeneration of pea plants there will be more plantshaving yellow seeds. He also showed that thenext generation will have more plants withsmooth seeds. What a discovery!"


29

It is doubtful whether any student can make anysense of this. Maybe a carefully illustratedexample could have been more successful.

Definitions of Evolution

Evolution is defined several times in the Class IXtextbook, each time in a slightly different way,without cross-referencing. In Chapter 7,"Diversity in Living Organisms" a discussion ofthe large diversity of life forms on earth leads towhat is the first use of the word 'evolve' in thisbook: "This bewildering variety of life around ushas evolved on earth over millions of years." Aftera discussion about how we classify organismsand what sorts of characteristics we use forcomparison, there is a three paragraphunillustrated section on "Classification andEvolution". However, it contains some ratherconfusing passages:

"All living things are identified and categorisedon the basis of their body design in form andfunction. Some characteristics are likely to makemore wide-ranging changes in body design thanothers. There is a role of time in this as well. So,once a certain body design comes into existence,it will shape the effects of all other subsequentdesign changes, simply because it already exists.In other words, characteristics that came intoexistence earlier are likely to be more basic thancharacteristics that have come into existencelater."

Even a reader who understands quite a bit about

evolution will have a hard time understanding

what the author was trying to say here. In the

next paragraph, evolution is defined as follows:

"What is evolution? Most life forms that we see

today have arisen by an accumulation of changes

in body design that allow the organism

possessing them to survive better. Charles

Darwin first described this idea of evolution in1859 in his book, The Origin of Species."

There are several problems with this definition.

(1) It could easily be misunderstood to mean that

an individual organism accumulates changes

over its lifetime, which is development, not

evolution. (2) It confounds the definition of

evolution with a definition of the mechanism of

evolution. (3) It implies that an organism changes

in order to allow it to survive better, which sounds

teleological. (4) It implies that Darwin was thefirst to describe the idea of evolution. Actually,many people before Darwin had realised thatevolution occurs, but Darwin was one of the firstpeople to understand the mechanism of evolutiondue to natural selection, and communicate thisidea widely. This misconception is furtherreinforced in the Class XII book (Chapter 7, section7.2), in which evolution is called "a theory" which"strongly challenged the biblical "theory of specialcreation." Many authors have pointed out that itis a mistake to refer to either of these as "theories"(Cleaves and Toplis, 2007). It is unacceptable todescribe evolution as "a common permissibleconclusion" that Darwin and his followers made,rather than as an observation which biologistsmake (and made even before Darwin).

The rest of the chapter is concerned only withnomenclature and listing and defining thecategories into which organisms are classified,which students may find rather tedious,especially if they are asked to memorise thedifficult Latin names such as "pteridophyta" ,"coelentera", and "platyhelminthes". Learning tospell these words will distract the students fromthe science. Some of the activities in the chapterare more worthwhile, such as one in whichstudents are asked to find out the names of certainplants and animals in as many languages as theycan, and another activity in which students areasked to find out the scientific names andcompare them to the common names. The acts offinding and comparing names are science. Theacts of memorising and regurgitating names arenot science. Due to confusions over definitionsof the term 'theory', it should be carefully defined,and while mechanisms of evolution could becalled theories, evolution itself should not be.

There is one more chapter in the Class IX textbookin which evolution is defined, although withoutcalling it evolution, which is Chapter 15,"Improvement in Food Resources". In this chapterthere is a section on "Crop Variety Improvement"in which it is stated that, "Varieties or strains ofcrops can be selected by breeding for varioususeful characteristics such as disease resistance,response to fertilisers, product quality and highyields." Thus, the evolution of varieties byartificial selection is described, although thisphrase is not used. It would have been useful if


30

this was mentioned as being another example ofevolution. Even Chapter 1 "Crop Production andManagement" (Class VII) mentions that "goodquality seeds are selected" [by farmers], but it doesnot mention that in so doing farmers may bepracticing evolution by artificial selection.

Chapter 9 of the Class X textbook gives adefinition of evolution based on the beetleexample (shown in Figure 3), as "the frequencyof an inherited trait changed over generations.Since genes control traits, we can say that thefrequency of certain genes in a populationchanged over generations. This is the essence ofthe idea of evolution."

The main problem with this definition is that,despite being based on the beetle example, it istoo abstract. We have found that before (and oftenafter) they enter university, students havetremendous trouble understanding what a 'gene'might be. When they are told that a gene is acarrier of 'information', they are even moreconfused, because this is too abstract. Theycannot understand whether 'information' is aphysical thing or an idea, and thus they alsocannot understand whether a gene is a physicalthing or an idea. When told that a changing genefrequency is the essence of evolution, it seems tofollow that the way to know whether evolutionis occurring is to observe a changing genefrequency - but how can gene frequencies bemeasured? Students can only see traits. Theconcept of 'genes' is inherently difficult tounderstand. Also lacking is a reminder of whatis meant by 'population' and an explicitdiscussion of the misconception that anindividual can evolve. We will have more to sayabout this definition in the section on Teleology,below.

In the Class X chapter on "Heredity andEvolution", evolution is defined as, "the gradualunfolding of organisms from pre-existingorganisms through change since the beginningof life". The metaphorical use of the word'unfolding' is problematic, making this definitiondifficult for students to understand. A more literaldefinition would be better. It is commendable thatthe following statement is included.

"The problem of origin and evolution of theorganism has always perplexed the humanmind. Almost all the ancient literature provides

description of origin and evolution of living

organisms. All these explanations are obscure

and do not fit into the parameters of scientific

principles."

However, no further explanation for this

statement is given, leaving the reader to guess

why e.g. a belief in reincarnation of different

animals is not scientific.

The chapter includes a discussion ofLamarckism, said to be a theory of inheritance of

acquired characteristics, and a rebuttal of this

theory by the mouse tail cutting experiment

performed by Weismann. We have found that

some students and teachers who have used these

books tend to have a misconception that

Lamarckism and Darwinism are two theories that

both explain evolution quite well, although the

latter is more widely accepted - and indeed this

chapter does support that misconception.

In the Class XII Biology textbook (Chapter 5), there

is a mention that in the past 10,000 years humanspracticed selective breeding to produce plants

and animals such as Sahiwal cows in Punjab.

However, the process is not described in enough

detail to make it comprehensible. Although the

authors call it artificial selection, they do not

mention that it is evolution.

In Chapter 7 (Class XII), evolution and evolution

by natural selection is defined a number of times,

but the overall impression is quite confused. For

example, in describing the evolution of peppered

moths we read: "In a collection of moths made in

1850s, i.e., before industrialisation set in, it wasobserved that there were more white-winged

moths on trees than dark-winged or melanised

moths." The problem is, the authors do not

mention that the different colours of moths are

all varieties of the same interbreeding species.

This leads students to the misconception that

evolution is a change in the numbers of different

species, rather than a change within one species

or population. Then there is the statement;

"...evolution is not a directed process in the sense

of determinism. It is a stochastic process based

on chance events in nature and chance mutationsin the organism." But the text does not mention

that selection cannot be not just a matter of chance.


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Teleology and Other Misconceptions

A tendency towards teleological thinking (the

belief that things occur intentionally) is one ofthe major obstacles to understanding evolution

by natural selection. Therefore it is important thattextbooks should not reinforce this tendency.

Some instances of teleological languageneedlessly occur even in primary level textbooks.

For example, Chapter 16 "A Busy Month" in theClass IV EVS textbook focuses on observing and

comparing different kinds of birds and otheranimals. This is a good idea, which helps in

forming the basis for studying evolution.However, half of one page consists of a section

entitled "Bird Feet - Different Kinds for DifferentNeeds". Five different kinds of bird feet are

pictured and labelled "To swim in water", "Tohold tree branches", etc. This is useful for forming

a foundation to the study of evolution, but itwould have be better to use the word "function"

rather than "need" in order to avoid teleologicalthinking. After all, the birds cannot choose to have

particular types of feet according to their needs -they use whatever feet they have for whatever

functions they can. Perhaps there are times whena water bird needs to clutch onto a branch to avoid

getting swept away in a storm. It will havedifficulty doing so even though it needs to do so!

And who knows, maybe birds with web feet arein the process of becoming extinct because they

are not able to clutch branches. Their feet are not'perfect' enough.

Other examples of how teleological ways of

thinking are subtly reinforced by some of the ways

of writing are found in the following statements

in the Class VI textbook, Chapter 9 "The Living

Organisms and Their Surroundings": "Most

desert plants have roots that go very deep into

the soil for absorbing water." Roots do absorb

water, but plants do not grow roots in order to

find water. "[Animals in mountains] have thick

skin or fur to protect them from cold." Thick fur

does protect animals from cold, but they do not

have fur in order to get protection. It would be

better to say that they "have thick skin which

protects them from cold". Such statements, which

can be easily misinterpreted to be teleological,

are interspersed with much better statements

such as, "It's light brown colour helps it to hide

in dry grasslands."

The chapter would be improved by simply asking

students to identify and compare plants and

animals living in different habitats,

characteristics of the habitats, and analyse the

functions - not the purposes - of various

characteristics. In fact, it would be a good idea to

explicitly point out at this stage that organisms

do not have these characteristics because they

need them or want them. For example, the chapter

could state, "How could it be that a plant decides

to grow longer roots? Plants do not have brains.

Plants cannot think or have desires!" This could

work very nicely together with the nonsense

poem, "Said the Table to the Chair..." of Edward

Lear which is already included in this chapter in

order to discuss the difference between living and

non-living.

Of course, we often use teleological language

when we talk about the characteristics of

animals. We commonly say "Birds have wings

in order to fly". Scientists know that wingless

animals cannot intentionally get wings because

they need to fly. Even though such language is

common, we suggest that teachers and textbook

writers should try to avoid it.

A few similar problems of teleological phrasing

occur in Chapter 7 "Weather, Climate, and

Adaptations of Animals to Climate" in the Class

VII textbook. For example, "Polar bears have white

fur so that they are not easily visible in the snowy

white background", and "It also has a thick skin

and a lot of fat to protect it from cold." On the

other hand, the accompanying figure avoids such

teleological language. It states various

characteristics and tells how they help to polar

bear to do various things.

A related misconception in this chapter is the

following implication of 'the struggle for

survival':

The climatic conditions in rainforests are highly

suitable for supporting an enormous number and

a variety of animals.


32

Since the numbers are large, there is intense

competition for food and shelter.

Large populations do not necessarily mean

intense competition. Actually the reason that

there are a large number and variety of animals

is that there is also a large amount and variety of

food.

The definition of evolution in the Class X book,

which we critiqued above as being too abstract,

is also too determinist and teleological. The

phrase "genes control traits" supports a

teleological stance - some readers might interpret

it to mean that genes purposely direct traits.

Actually genes do not completely control or

determine traits. Traits are determined by complex

interactions between genes and their

environment - and their environment includes

everything from the molecular biology of the cell

to other cells, other organs, other individuals,

other populations, other species, and the

adiabatic environment. To ignore all these factors

fosters over-simplification and genetic

determinism. The text goes on to say more about

how the beetle population evolved:

"... the variation became common because it gave

a survival advantage. In other words, it was

naturally selected. We can see that the natural

selection is exerted by the crows [who ate

beetles]... Thus, natural selection is directing

evolution in the beetle population. It results in

adaptations in the beetle population to fit their

environment better."

We find that upon reading this text, many readers

get the impression that maybe the crows are

purposely selecting and intentionally directing

the course of evolution - even though in this case

they are getting a population of beetles which is

harder for them to see!

This is another example of the insidious teleology

that creeps in partly because the structure and

terminology of our language makes it difficult

for us to express non-teleological concepts. Even

Darwin (1860) complained that 'natural

selection' is a bad term - because it sounds like

an intentional process of selection is occurring.

He suggested that maybe 'natural preservation'

is a better term, but then abandoned it because it

"would not imply a preservation of particular

varieties & would seem a truism". In the sameletter he wrote, "I am beginning to despair of evermaking the majority understand my notions."

It is unfortunate that the popular books writtenby Dawkins, although he says that evolution bynatural selection is not teleological, alsoencourage teleological thinking through theirunnecessarily metaphorical language:

"If we allow ourselves the licence of talking aboutgenes as if they had conscious aims, alwaysreassuring ourselves that we could translate oursloppy language back into respectable terms ifwe wanted to, we can ask the question, what is asingle selfish gene trying to do? It is trying to getmore numerous in the gene pool. Basically it doesthis by helping to program the bodies in which itfinds itself to survive and to reproduce."[Dawkins (1976)]

In the Class XII Biology book (Chapter 7), there isa discussion on the relation between structureand function of homologous forelimbs, asevidence for evolution. But unfortunatelyteleology enters with the statement, "Hence, inthese animals, the same structure developedalong different directions due to adaptations todifferent needs." In the same chapter, there aremore examples of confusing and subtlyteleological language:

"Hence, moths that were able to camouflagethemselves, i.e., hide in the background, survived.... This showed that in a mixed population, thosethat can better-adapt, survive and increase inpopulation size."

"Nature selects for fitness. ... some organisms arebetter adapted to survive in an otherwise hostileenvironment. Adaptive ability is inherited. It hasa genetic basis. Fitness is the end result of theability to adapt and get selected by nature."

On the other hand, in Chapter 2 (Class XII), theimportance of diversity in plants is emphasized,and it is stated: "Flowers do not exist only for usto be used for our own selfishness" - whichreinforces a non-teleological stance. Artificialselection (selective breeding) is mentioned in


33

Chapter 7, but it is not explicitly pointed out that

while this is a teleological mechanism ofevolution, evolution by natural selection is not.

The Class XII material on evolution is much moredisorganised and confusing than what we find

in the Class X book, and contains manymisconceptions. For example, it raises the

question of whether evolution and/or naturalselection "is a process or the result of a process",

rather than simply stating that natural selectionis a mechanism of evolution. In the section entitled

"Mechanism of Evolution" there is no mention ofnatural selection, but only a discussion on

mutation, saltation, and speciation. There is aninexplicable statement that since bacteria (which

reproduce within 30 minutes) evolve within afew days, then animals like fish or fowl (which

reproduce within a year) would take millions ofyears to evolve.

Despite our criticisms, we should point out thatthe present NCERT textbooks are relatively better

than most other textbooks with regard to teleology.They at least avoid using the phrases "struggle

for existence" or "survival of the fittest", unlikean Oxford University Press textbook (Beckett &Gallagher, 1989), in which "Nature" appears to

be rather intentionally cruel:

"Nature selects the fittest and strongest for

survival by killing off the weaklings."

Many of the teachers who have attended our

workshops have previously used texts withsimilar statements. Perhaps that is why we still

frequently hear BSc students using phrases like"struggle for survival".

There is a common misconception that specieshave evolved to be more and more perfect. This is

indirectly countered poem in Unit 2 of the ClassII book, called "I am Lucky" in which various

animals are commended for their differentabilities. Perhaps this implies that there is no

hierarchy of better or worse between differentanimals or people. This is in line with the

realisation that different species cannot actuallybe fit into a linear evolutionary progression from

lowly species to those that are more and morehighly evolved. For this purpose, the poem may

be useful.

Freedom

Chapter 3 of the Class IV EVS book celebrates akind of teleological individual freedom. There isa description of the activities of a young elephantin a herd in which the author imagines what theelephants are thinking and feeling. The authorassumes that elephants think and feel just likepeople do, and decide to do things based onwhether or not they like doing these things: theyeat their favourite foods, they love to play in mudand water, and, in sum, "Nandu (the babyelephant) did things that he liked to do." Thepossibility that they have a herd mentality is notmentioned.

In this chapter, the students are asked to maketwo lists: why they would like to live in a group,and why they would not like to live in a group -as if that is an option. While it is true that doingthings intentionally is important for people, evenpeople don't always do things just because theylike to do those things. As a study of evolutionshows, there are needs as well as desires. Allanimals have constraints on their individualfreedom, and it is important to recognise the socialinteractions upon which we all depend, and thesocial and environmental factors whichcontribute to the decisions we make and the waywe act. Investigations of animal behaviour andcomparisons between different kinds of animalsare important subjects that arise in connectionwith evolution.

The anthropomorphism of this chapterculminates with an exercise in which the studentsare asked to imagine how animals feel. Forexample, how a snake carried in a basket by asnake charmer feels, how much pain a horse feelswhen horseshoes are fixed to its hooves, howmonkeys are made to dance even if they don'twant to, etc. This contrasts with Chapter 2 of theClass V book in which snake charmers arediscussed rather sympathetically - seemingly inpraise of 'tradition' and 'traditional knowledge'.However, this chapter too contains an activity inwhich students are asked to imagine what it feelslike to be an animal in a cage. There are a series ofleading sentences to complete: "I am afraidwhen...", "I wish I ...", "I am sad when...", "If I hada chance I would...", "I do not like it at all when...".It is not difficult to guess what the answers are


34

supposed to be. However, these simplisticanswers ignore the fact that these animals incaptivity usually live much easier and longerlives than if they were in the wild. Despite itspost-modern relative objectivity, the textbook doesnot mention the large number of people who are

killed by snakes, wild cats, and elephants, or the

crop damage they do. The solutions are not simple

- whether or how to protect each and every wild

animal and prevent all extinction at any cost are

debateable. Even school students could take part

in such debates.

There are a few places in the textbooks where

nature is romanticized a little too excessively. Forexample, there is mention of a natural preservein which "animals roam freely without fear"(Chapter 4, Class IV). Surely the animals areeating each other. Is that freedom? Are animalsafraid of being eaten? Or would they rather beliving in a zoo where no one will eat them? Dothey even have an intention to survive?

Adaptation

The difficult term 'adaptation' is introduced inthe Class VI textbook in Chapter 9 "The LivingOrganisms and Their Surroundings". Section 9.2is called "Habitat and Adaptation", and itdescribes and compares fish found in the sea tocamels found in the desert, stating that the

features of a fish help it live in the sea and thefeatures of a camel help it live in the desert andthat the presence of such features that allowanimals to live in their surroundings (habitats)is called adaptation. We question whether it isnecessary or advisable to introduce such adifficult term at this stage, when the studentsprobably have no idea how an animal might get

such features. Students may assume that

individual animals acquire adaptations over

their lifetime, or that they intentionally acquire

adaptations. To avoid such misconceptions, we

think it would be better to explain the process of

evolution in more detail before using the term

'adaptation'. In the meantime, it will be better to

use a less teleological term such as

"characteristic" or "trait".

However, this chapter also includes an activity

which we think is very useful at this stage: the

students are asked to do an experiment in which

they compare how moong seeds sprout indifferent conditions in order to investigate theeffect of abiotic factors like air, water, light, andheat. Perhaps the students could be encouraged

at this stage to design such experimentsthemselves, rather than just following theinstructions in the textbook. They might even pay

attention to which variables they should keep

fixed and which variables they could manipulate

in order to find the answers to their questions.

The realisation that characteristics may be due

to the seeds as well as to the abiotic (and biotic)

environment is very important in order to

understand mechanisms of evolution.

A discussion on climate and adaptation in ClassVII, Chapter 7 begins with the statement, "Animalsare adapted to survive in the conditions in whichthey live." This can be interpreted in a teleologicalway to mean that animals intentionally changein order to survive. In the same paragraph, theword evolution is introduced for the first time inthe NCERT books by saying, "Features andhabits that help animals to adapt to theirsurroundings are a result of the process ofevolution." However, evolution is not referred toagain in the book, which probably leaves studentsconfused.

In the Class XII Biology book (Chapter 7), the term'adaptation' is used in very confusing ways. Forexample: "Adaptive ability is inherited. ...Fitnessis the end result of the ability to adapt and getselected by nature."

Visuals and Textbook Design

Illustrations and design are very important partsof any textbook, and most of the NCERT primaryschool textbooks are laudable for their design anddiversity of illustrations. A number of differentartists have contributed, in some cases even forthe same textbook. This diversity is suitable fortextbooks which are used for many months by

large numbers of students throughout a verydiverse country. Especially praiseworthy is theinclusion of non-western styles of artwork,ranging from Madhubani, to Worli, to even a fewexamples of children's' drawings (e.g. on ClassIV book cover). This helps students recognise and


35

appreciate styles which are their own. Especiallyfor Classes I to VI, the illustrations are large andcolourful, and in our experience students findthem appealing.

For example, Chapter 2 in the Class III EVS bookhas colour and black and white drawings and

photographs of leaves, leaf rubbings, and

children doing activities with leaves. It also has

photographs of pictures made from leaves,

similar to those made by the famous artist VishnuChinchalkar. Chapter 11 in the Class IV EVS

book, is full of colourful photographs of flowers,

a Madhubani painting which contains flowers

(Figure 2), and borders made from flower

garlands. One page in the former book is almost

completely covered by a picture of a room

containing decorative curtains, bedcover,

cushions, and various other items and the

students are asked to find examples of patterns

of leaves and flowers on them. Thus the books

demonstrate interesting ways of integrating art

and science, which is an important aspect of

scientific temper.

It is also commendable that in some of the booksthe drawings of people do not have very paleskin colours - they look Indian. This is in contrastto other textbooks, such as the NCERT (2002)Class III textbook in which people are appearmore caucasian (apparently the illustrator couldnot manage to make eyes that were not blue). Thisis alienating, demeaning, and racist.

The main exception we find to the variety of

illustration styles is in the Class I and II Englishtextbooks, which rely mainly on a typical western

commercial style, both in content and in form.They also contain less space devoted to

illustrations and more space devoted to text,compared to the Hindi textbooks for Class I andII and the EVS Class III book. In the English books,most of the trees consist of green blobs on brownposts (if they have fruit, they are probably redapples). Stereotypical birds live in stereotypicalnests. There may very likely be a rainbow in thesky. The houses all have peaked roofs (usuallybright red). There is even a question, ""What isthe colour of the tree?" with a small box for theone word answer. Presumably 'green' is the onlycorrect answer. If children were asked to actuallyobserve a real tree and then tell what colours theyobserved, their learning experience would bemagnified many-fold. Not only would they bedoing science, they would also realise that life iscomplex and trees are much more exciting thanwhat is suggested by the solid green blobs in theillustrations.

In these two English textbooks, people have palepink skin, and usually wear western clothes ("Myfather" is shown in a shirt and tie.) The fruits arepredominantly those which are also found in thewest. Words like, "giraffe", "igloo", "merry-go-round", "whale", "zebra", and "Xmas tree" areillustrated and labelled, and appear repeatedly.The children in the rain hold umbrellas and wearrain coats and galoshes (thankfully not labelledas such). Such illustrations alienate the students,and lead them to think of the 'learning' they do inschool as something which is very foreign to theireveryday lives. Evolution might then fit into thisparadigm, becoming just another foreign,irrelevant concept to memorise.

Figure 2: A Madhubani style painting whichincludes flowers and animals (Chapter 11,

Class IV EVS, NCERT, 2006)


36

It makes pedagogical sense to first emphasize theanimals and plants which children see in theirown environment, as most of the other textbooksdo. It is a shame if students know how to spell'giraffe' but have no idea about the differentbreeds of cows they encounter in their own streets- breeds which are good examples of evolutionby artificial selection. We are happy to see thatthe diversity of cows (not giraffes) is discussedin Class IX. Rather than emphasizing theexistence of a few desirable western fruits, plants,and animals, the cause of diversity may be

promoted by mentioning a variety of local plantsand animals. Textbooks may be playing a part in

reducing crop diversity if they fail to mention thelarge variety of local species, varieties, and

individual variation within a population. Thisis worrisome because future evolution by bothnatural and artificial selection depends upon theexistence of variety in the gene bank. If studentsonly see pictures of fruit and vegetables with a'perfect' shape and colour, they may grow uplooking for such 'ideal' forms, and be unwilling,for example, to purchase or eat fruits or vegetablesthat deviate from this stereotypical outwardappearance.

It is encouraging to see that the Hindi book forClasses I and II are much better in many of theserespects. For example, students are asked to gooutside to observe and collect leaves (Chapter 4,Class I). Names and types of leaves are not given,and the point of the exercise is not identification.

If students were asked to concentrate on naming,they would loose sight of more interesting aspects.

Instead, students are asked to make pictures withthe leaves they collect (as in Chapter 2, Class III).

It is commendable that no examples or 'answers'are given for the activities. This discourages

copying and memorising, and encouragesstudents to collect leaves themselves.

Comparing Chapter 9 of the present Class Xtextbook to Chapter 13 of the 2003 version, we

found the amount of space devoted toillustrations decreased from 10.7% to 9.5 % of the

total page size. The text space also decreased from70% to 60%. Although both of these chapters deal

with evolution, the total number of pagesincreased in 2006, mainly because the division

of topics into different chapters changed. In 2003

the topic of evolution was also included in theClass XII textbook, unlike in the 2006 version.

The Class X (2006) Chapter 9 has a word countof about 8500 words, including the questionsections which are mainly at the end of thechapter. There is an average of one smallillustration on each page, for a total of 14 figuresand 8 additional small illustrations, all of whichare in full colour. The illustrations utilise about10% and the text utilises about 60% of the totalpage space. We consider this to be a very smallamount of space for illustrations. Many of theconcepts which are presented through text alonecould be more usefully presented throughillustrations integrated with text. In order todesign a textbook in which this occurs, theauthors and illustrators will have to work closelytogether, and illustrations will have to be givenmore importance.

Some of the illustrations in the higher level booksare problematic if you believe, as we do, that anillustration should be as self-explanatory aspossible. For example, the last line of pictures inthe beetle evolution diagram (Figure 1) isparticularly confusing. We have yet to findanyone who can understand this part of theillustration without reading the text. The textexplains that it shows that as a beetle population"begins to expand, the bushes start suffering froma plant disease. The amount of leaf material isreduced. The beetles are poorly nourished as aresult. The average weight of adult beetlesdecreases...", etc. Who would guess that areduction in leaf material is represented only bya slight change in the green colour of the rectanglein which the beetles are framed? The illustrationis quite inadequate. And since the change incolour is not shown to occur before the change inbeetle size, which thing caused which effect isalso not clear.

Conclusions and Suggestions for Improvement

Even with very young children, we can beginactivities and discussions related to evolution.Evolution can be shown simply as anobservation, and the mechanisms of evolutioncan be discussed later.

For example, we have found that even before theyare able to read, if a book like "From Bone to


37

Stone"(Haydock, 1999) is read (or sung) to youngchildren, they begin to see that (1) in the past theearth was very different from what it is today; (2)we know this because we find fossils of somekinds of animals that no longer live on earth.

Another aspect of evolution that very youngchildren can start to investigate is similarity andvariation, both between different species andwithin the same population. This is being donein the present textbooks, but it could be improvedby including activities in which students explore(1) the intrinsic ubiquity of both similarity andvariation, (2) the existence overlapping sets (usingVenn diagrams), and (3) complexities anddifficulties in identifying characteristics andassigning categories.

We have had a long experience in teaching anddeveloping teaching material for students at themiddle school level in which we have found thatstudents need a lot of practice to be able to identifyboth similarities and differences between things.For example, we have asked Class IV and Vstudents to identify similarities and differencesbetween the sun and the moon, or between the

sunset and the sunrise. We have found thatstudents need experience in carefully observingand trying to think of both similarities anddifferences. Typically, if they think two thingsare basically similar they will have difficulties infinding differences, and if they think things arebasically different they have trouble findingsimilarities.

However, we have also found that with practicestudents do learn this basic aspect of the scientificprocess, and they are able to transfer the skillacross domains. For example, over the course ofone year in which they attempt to identifysimilarities and differences between things in thesky, things in air, and things in water, they aregenerally better able to compare and find bothsimilarities and differences between plants. Ofcourse it is necessary that in order to do this theymust observe the actual things, not just picturesof the things, rather than relying on theirmemories of the things.

For such preparation we find it useful to askstudents to categorise the same things in differentways, based on different characteristics (e.g.,Figure 3).

Figure 3: Venn diagrams could be used to help students do realistic sorting activities. For example,if the same organisms are sorted based on different characteristics, they may appear in different

sets, as shown here. (a) Sorting on the basis of flying or having fur - which also illustratesoverlapping sets. (b) Sorting based on being veg or non-veg.


38

Through such exercises, students come to see thatthings do not inherently belong to particular

categories, but that people define categoriesaccording to various characteristics, accordingto their needs. Thus students also come to seethat categorisation is not always straightforwardor easy - and this is something that makes scienceinteresting and worth doing.

Instead of beginning by explaining themechanism of evolution by natural selection, itwill be easier for students if they start with adiscussion of evolution by artificial selection,which is more concrete and less abstract.Children may already have some experience with

plant and animal breeding. We find that villagechildren usually know that there are differentkinds of wheat and rice - older varieties and thenewer 'hybrid' varieties. Although they do notunderstand how, they generally know that peopledeveloped the newer varieties. We might askchildren to learn more about plant and animalbreeding by talking to other people. Farmers andagricultural workers can be the teachers.

We suggest that rather than trying to include toomany topics related to evolution in the schoolsyllabus, there can be a few mandatory core topics

and some optional topics. Teachers and studentscan pick and choose amongst the optional topics,preferably only investigating topics that arise inconjunction with particular problems that arerelevant and important in their own communityor environment. For example, macro evolution,speciation, and the Hardy-Weinberg Principlecan be optional topics which may arise duringinvestigations of the local biodiversity aroundthe school, or during investigations of bacterialresistance. Students need not be asked tomemorise the names of organisms and their

classification. They will remember names if andwhen they need to use them.

Thus, textbooks can be more like reference books,in that they can contain optional material that isjust there in case it is needed. Large numbers ofseparate reference books and optional modulesof all kinds should also be made freely and readilyavailable to students and teachers in all schools,rather than trying to include too much in eachtextbook.

References

Chiappetta, E., L., & Fillman D., A. (2007). Analysisof five high school biology textbooks used inthe United States for inclusion of the nature ofscience. International Journal of ScienceEducation, 29 (15), 1847-1868.

Cleaves, Anna & Toplis, Rob (2007) In the shadowof Intelligent Design: the teaching of evolution,Journal of Biological Education, 42:1, 30-35.

Dawkins, R. (1976) The Selfish Gene, OxfordUniversity Press, Oxford, UK.

Duckworth, Eleanor, 2012, TEDx talk,tedxpioneervalley.com, accessed 23 March 2014.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sfgenKusQk]

Gallagher, R. & Beckett, B.S. (1989) Co-0rdinatedScience: Biology, Oxford University Press,Oxford, UK.

Haydock (1999) From Bone to Stone, National BookTrust, Delhi.

Haydock, K., Arunan, M.C. (2013) "Teaching andLearning about Evolution and NaturalSelection: Problems and Solutions" Proceedingsof Episteme 5, Homi Bhabha Centre for ScienceEducation, Mumbai.

Hoshangabad Science Teaching Programme (1978)Bal Vaigyanik, Kaksha 6, Ch. 16, MadhyaPradesh Patyapostak Nigam, Bhopal, pp. 131-138.

Lederman, N.G. (1992). 'Students' and teachers'conceptions of the nature of science: A reviewof the research', Journal of Research in ScienceTeaching. (29), 33 1-359.

Matthews, M. R. (1994). Science teaching: The role ofhistory and philosophy of science, New York,Routledge.

Matthews, M.R. (1998) "Introductory Comments onPhilosophy and Constructivism in ScienceEducation" in Constructivism in ScienceEducation, 1-10; Kluwer AcadademicPublishers, Netherlands.

Nadelson et al., 2009, "Teaching Evolution Conceptsto Early Elementary School Students" Evo EduOutreach 2: 458-473

National Curricular Framework (2005), TheNational Curriculum Framework, New Delhi:National Council of Educational Research andTraining.

Plato (c360 BCE) Apology 38a


39

Background

Reading is one of the important components ofschool education. The skill of reading is importantto learn as it transcends to other subject areasand affects child's learning in those subject areas.Therefore it is imperative for a child to havemastery over reading skills. Here it is to beremembered that the word "reading" stands forreading meaningfully and not merely soundingout the written text. The act of reading is an act ofmaking sense or meaning out of the text by thereader and it applies to readers of all age group.The teaching tradition of our schools is highlydepended upon the text books. This dependencyis dominant to such an extent that they hardlyget any opportunity to read stories, poems andother genre of literature. The traditional approachof teaching reading believes that in the initialyears of schooling if the child learns to recognizealphabets or hindi varnamaala and itscorresponding sounds then only the child willbe able to learn to read. This process of teachingreading is called bottom up approach where thewhole focus is on the individual letters and itssound and no focus on construction of meaning.In this mechanical process of learning to read,which is highly burdened with absorbing andmemorizing information, the child ultimatelyloses the interest from reading and as aconsequence of this they see failure in othersubject areas as well. It is a well establish factthat literature based instructions develop interestfor reading amongst the children of early age asit gives the space for reading for pleasure andenjoyment. In India, however, this is anunfortunate fact that our young children do notget scope of individualized reading. It means thatchildren hardly get to read any text which is oftheir interest. The pleasure of reading for its ownsake is somewhere missing for our children andalso one of the biggest reasons that our childrenfails learn to read meaningfully (NCF-05).

From the above discussion it is clear that learningthe skill of reading is very important for a child

to survive successfully in the school and thereforeit is very important to promote the culture ofreading at all stages of child's learning. Thisobjective will be difficult to achieve by limitingour instructions only to teaching individualalphabets and sounds. According to NCF-05nurturing the culture of reading it is essential tonurture libraries in schools and community. Itfurther states that libraries in schools can becomean important aspect of teaching and learning andshould be used as medium through whichchildren can learn with pleasure andconsistence. The functioning of the library ismainly handled by the librarian. The librarian'smain task is just to keep a tab on the stock ofbooks. However when we talk about usinglibraries as a medium to nurture the readingculture it becomes imperative that the role of thelibrarian should be more than a manager of booksand should be informed enough about the diversepossibilities which library offers for meaningfuland enjoying reading.

This paper is an outcome of my experiences andobservation during my visit to Vidya BhavanResource Center as a resource person for acertificate course titled "Capacity Building forLibrary Educators". I will share my observationsand reflections in the light of importance oflibraries and the role of librarians in promotingreading culture amongst the children of early age.

About the course

The design of the course addresses the issue ofexistence of libraries in schools and communityand its importance in creating culture of readingamongst the children. This program carries thevision that along with keeping good authenticliterature for the children it is equally importantto capacitate and sensitize the librarians towardsthe reading interests and need of the children.One thing which attracted me a lot is that in thisprogram the librarians have been called as libraryeducators. The term library educator broadens

Swarnlata Sah

Role of Libraries in Nurturing Early Readers


40

the role of the librarian who is otherwise merelyconfined to the preserver of the books in thelibrary. According to this program, the libraryeducator should have knowledge andunderstanding about the relevance of ageappropriate and authentic literature for children.This will help the librarian to contribute his orher suggestions while purchasing the books forlibrary, creating an effective and enablingenvironment for reading in the library,responding to the reading interest of children andthe process of reading comprehension amongstchildren. Now this widen perspective aboutlibrary educators definitely gives us a hope thatsuch steps would definitely nurture the cultureof reading for meaning.

Need of libraries

Reading amongst the children cannot bedeveloped by just sticking to the text books orbooks based on sounds. Especially at an earlyage this has to be communicated to the childrenthat reading a text is a very much meaningfulactivity. Children should be kept at distance frommechanically practicing the sounds of the lettersand memorizing the shapes of the letters. Thiswhole process of mechanically memorizing andpracticing the sounds for a longer duration oftime leads the children towards losing theirinterest from reading. Sinha (2001) whileanalyzing the structure of textbooks based onsound and letters, found that due to lack of storystructure in those texts, makes the reading verytiring and boring activity. Due to this childrenright from the beginning may start developingthe notion that reading is just a sounding out thewritten text and there is no need to constructmeaning out of the text. As a reader their role isjust a decoder instead of constructor of themeaning.

Libraries can be used a place where children canread what they want. However this task will notbe as simple as it seems to be. First of all if we aretalking about the library for children then criteriafor selecting books for children has to be donewith great care. It does not mean that books shouldovertly teach morals and other life skills. It is veryessential that the books should primarily givesense of enjoyment to the children. They should

feel like to pick up the book and read. This willonly happen when there will be representationof child's concerns from the child's perspective.The library of Vidya Bhavan has enormouschildren's literature and each book has its ownvalue from the child's perspective. It was full withthe books from famous publishers like katha,National Book Trust (NBT), Children Book Trust(CBT), Scholastic, Toolika and many others. Ifsuch books will be available in the library thenno one can stop a child to develop an interest forreading.

It is very fortunate that our government hasstarted spending huge money in the name ofteaching learning material. It is indeed the needof the time that our libraries, be it in schools orcommunity should optimize the funds wiselyprovided to them and have stock of such booksso that children irrespective of their social stratacould have access to interesting, enjoyable andmeaningful books to read.

Role of librarian

It is difficult to imagine a library without alibrarian. So far we have seen that generally therole of the librarian has been limited only tomaintaining and preserving the books of thelibrary. A librarian also issues the books to thevisitors of the library. However, I was amazed tosee that under this certificate course theparticipants, most of them were associated withlibraries, have been addressed as libraryeducators. I feel that this phrase defines the roleof the librarian with altogether in new dimension.A librarian is the person who sees readers ofvarious age groups in the library. S(he) is the onewho with his or her careful observation canunderstand and identify the reading interests ofvarious age groups. This observation cancontribute a lot while ordering books for thelibrary. But this cannot be done unless and untiladequate orientation of the librarian will be done.This certificate course is an impressive initiativefor such cause. When I was called for to be as a

resource person to talk about process of readingcomprehension I did not have any idea abouthow to address this mixed group of NGO workersand librarians on reading comprehension. Butafter interacting with them I actually realized that


41

lf librarians are given adequate orientation aboutthe way children read, their interest areas, typesof books required for early readers, and the roleof library in enhancing reading habit amongstthe children then it can really work as a magic. Acapacitated librarian can also be a strongestmedium of nurturing the seed of reading inchildren. To conclude I would really congratulateVidya Bhavan Resource center for this muchneeded effort and wish to see more suchinitiatives in the future.

References

Sinha, S. (2001). Acquiring literacy in the schools,seminar, 493, 38-42.

N.C.E.R.T. (2005) National CurriculumFramework, Delhi


42

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,dyO; dh cky if=dk **pded** ds 300osa vad ds foekspu ij �".k dqekj }kjk **f'k{kkvkSj cky lkfgR;** fo"k; ij fn, x, Hkk"k.k ds igys Hkkx ds fyI;kUrj.k dh leh{kkA ;gHkk"k.k vki uhps fn;s x;s fyad ij tkdj i<+ ldrs gSaA

link : www.eklavya.in/magazine_activity/sandarbh_magazines/190_sandarbh_from_issue_71_81/sandarbh_issue_80


43

f'k{kk O;oLFkk dk ,d /kqzohdj.k **ikB~;iqLrd**ds ckjs esa py jgh ckr dks mUgksaus nwljs izdkj ds/kzqohdj.k ls vkxs c<+k;k gSA ;g /kzqohdj.k gSvkuannk;h f'k{kk o esgurh f'k{kk dk ljdkjhfo|ky;ksa esa tgk¡ vkuannk;h f'k{kk dk cksyckykc<+ jgk gS ogha izkbosV fo|ky;ksa esa izfrLi/kkZRedf'k{kk dk opZLo gSA �".k dqekj bl c¡Vokjs dsckjs esa ckr djrs gq, dgrs gSa fd vkuan o esgurnksuksa f'k{kk ds vfuok;Z igyq gS vkSj bUgsa vyxugha fd;k tk ldrk gSA okLro esa ;g c¡Vokjkvehjksa o xjhcksa ds chp dk c¡Vokjk gSA os dgrsgSa fd xjhcksa dh f'k{kk vkuannk;h gksxh vkSjvehjksa dh f'k{kk esgur ls Hkjh tks fd izfr;ksfxrkokys thou ds fy, cPpksa dks rS;kj djsxhA

lkfgR; dk la?k"kZ

ys[k ds vxys fgLls esa �".k dqekj crkrs gSa fdcky lkfgR; dh ftl la?k"kZ ds nkSj ls xqtj jgkgS lkfgR; Hkh mlh la?k"kZ dk lkeuk dj jgk gSAekuo thou esa lkfgR; vko';drk o egRo dks�".k dqekj us cgqr gh mEnk rjg ls O;Dr fd;kgSA os dgrs gSa fd fofHkUu Hkwfedkvksa esa ca/ks blthou esa tc ge lkfgR; dh fdlh Hkh fo/kk pkgsog dfork gks] dgkuh gks] ukVd gks] miU;kl gksesa Mqcrs tkrs gSa rHkh ge ,d vyx gh izdkj dheqfDr dk] Lora=rk dk vkuan ys ikrs gSaA ;g ,dcgqr gh lgt o LokHkkfod izfØ;k gksrh gSAlkfgR; bl eqfDr dk ek/;e gSA

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pqdk gS mls tkuus ij tksj nsrh gSA bUgha dsfojks/kkHkklh xq.kksa ds dkj.k gh cky lkfgR; dhrjg lkfgR; ij Hkh ladV ds ckny eaMjk jgs gSaAlkfgR; vkSj cky lkfgR; ij eaMjkus okyk ,dvkSj cM+k ladV **ijh{kk** dk gSA �".k dqekjekurs gSa fd ikB~;iqLrdksa ij vk/kkfjr ijh{kkO;oLFkk cgqr yEcs le; ls lkfgR; dh laqnjrk]mldh vkRek] mldh dYiuk djus dh vkt+knhdks ygqyqgku djrh jgh gSA

cky lkfgR; Hkh lkfgR; dk fgLlk gksus ds ukrsbu lkjh leL;kvksa dk lkeuk dj jgk gSA blhds pyrs f'k{kk txr esa mldh O;kfIr ugha gks ikjgh gSA

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;s lkjs loky cky lkfgR; ls Hkh cgqr djhc lstqM+s gSA vr% �".k dqekj dgrs gSa fd ckylkfgR; dh cgl dks vkSj f'k{kk ds lkFk mldsfj'rs ij cgl dks vkxs c<+kuk ge lHkh dhftEesnkjh gSA

milagkj

iwjs Hkk"k.k esa �".k dqekj us cgqr gh lVhdrk lsrjhds ls cky lkfgR; ds la?k"kZ dks xgjkbZ dslkFk izdV djus dh dksf'k'k dh gSA ys[k ds [kRegksrs&gksrs cgqr lkjs eqn~ns gekjs lkeus Li"V gksrspys tkrs gSa pkgs og cky lkfgR; ds fuekZ.k dhckr gks ;k f'k{kk txr esa mldh O;kfIr dhA


44

okLro esa iqLrdky; dks ysdj cPpksa ds lkFk&dkedjus okys fdrus gh tehuh dk;ZdrkZvksa ls ckrphrds nkSjku ;g loky vk;k gS fd vkf[kj bruhesgur ds ckn Hkh ge vkxs c<+ jgs gSa ,slkvglkl D;ksa ugha gksrk gS\ dgk¡ deh jg jgh gS]le> ugha vkrk\ eq>s yxrk gS fd bl ys[k dksi<+us ds ckn mUgsa vius cgqr lkjs lokyksa dstokc Li"V gks tk,axsA

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dgha&dgha ij �".k dqekj dh ckr cgqr xgjh gkstkrh gS vkSj 'kk;n ikBdx.k dks le> cukus esafnDdr Hkh gks ldrh gSA tSls fd tc os f'k{kk ds/kqzohdj.k ¼esgur vkSj vkuan½ dh ckr djrs gSarc ogk¡ ij lrgh rkSj ij rks ckr idM+ esa vktkrh gS ij ckr dh xgjkbZ esa tkus ij ,d vyxgh cgl fNM+ tkrh gSA vkerkSj ij �".k dqekjdh ys[ku 'kSyh cgqr ljy 'kCnkoyh fy, gksrhgS] ftlls vke ikBd Hkh viuk tqM+ko ljyrk lscuk ikrk gSA ogha mudh ckrphr ds vankt dksns[ks rks og Hkh lgt okrkZyki fy, gksrk gSysfdu ge ;fn ;g ckr djsa fd&

;fn ge fdlh ,d gh O;fDr ds ckrphr oys[ku dh 'kSyh dh rqyuk djsa rks mlesa okD;foU;kl ds Lrj ij ,d Li"V varj fn[kkbZ nsrkgSA ckrphr esa vDlj O;fDr viuh ckr dks j[kusds fy, Hkko&Hkafxekvksa o vk/ks v/kwjs okD;ksa dkbLrseky Hkh djrk gS ;g lksprs gq, fd lkeusokyk O;fDr ckr dks le> jgk gSA vr% fdlhckrphr dks ;fn fyf[kr :i ns fn;k tk, rkslEHko gS fd mldk vFkZ le>us ds fy;s vf/kdiz;kl djus dh vko';drk gksA ;gh fLFkfr blys[k ds lkFk Hkh gqbZ gSA

vr% ys[k dks de ls de nks&rhu ckj i<+k tk,¡rks lkjh ckrsa ijr nj ijr [kqyrh gqbZ izrhr gksrhgS vkSj muds vkilh laca/k Hkh mHkjdj vkrs gSaA,d ckj i<+us okyksa ds fy, ys[k le>us ds Lrjij FkksM+k nq"dj gks ldrk gSA


45

Introduction

The Right of Children to Free and CompulsoryEducation Act (more commonly known as theRight to Education or RTE Act), 2009 is mediatedthrough various institutions and authoritiesspecified under the Act. The School ManagementCommittee (henceforth SMC) is one such body.The Act makes it mandatory for every school,other than an unaided school not receiving anykind of aid or grants to meet its expenses fromthe government or the local authority, thereshould be a management committee. The act alsoexpects every state to formulate specific rules forthe formation and structure of the SMC. In Assam,where this case study is situated, the Right ofChildren to Free and Compulsory EducationRules were notified by the state government inJuly 2011.

Since the focus of the paper is on role and dutiesof the SMC hence I will first briefly mention howit is defined in the two documents.

SMC under The Right of Children to Free andCompulsory Education Act (henceforth RTE Act)

The role/duties of the SMC under the RTE Act,2009 are covered in sections 21 and 22. These layout the nature and principles of the constitutionof SMC as well as the purpose and need of aSchool Development Plan (SDP). Clause 2 ofsection 21 details the work that the SMC issupposed to do including,

1. monitor the working of the school

2. prepare and recommend the schooldevelopment plan

3. monitor the utilization of grants receivedfrom the government or the appropriate localauthority or any other source

SMC under The Assam Right of Children to Freeand Compulsory Education Rules, 2011

The powers and functions of SMC are coveredunder subheading 8 of rule 13 of the state rules.In brief, these are:

· The growth and development of schoolleading to a conducive educationalenvironment for attainment of academicexcellence by children.

· Ensure hundred percent attendance ofchildren, retention and completion ofeducation till elementary level.

· Improve the achievement levels of childrenby taking up micro-planning, schoolmapping and optimum utilisation of locallyavailable resources, by ensuring that schoolfunctions as per the approved academiccalendar, by paying special attention tochildren coming from disadvantage groupand weaker section of society.

· Attendance monitoring of teaching and nonteaching staff which includes regularchecking of attendance registers of teachers,non teaching staff, and also students;approving teachers and non teaching staff�s

Rajni Dwivedi

Workings of a School Management Committee : A Case Study

from Assam

Abstract

This article explores the workings of and perceptions about the school management committeein the context of a school in Sonitpur, Assam. For the purpose of the study I looked at the RTEAct 2009, rules for the SMC developed by the state, other related resources and visited aGovernment primary school situated in a village of Sonitpur district of Assam in order tounderstand how the SMC works there. In all I spent 3 days on the visit (approximately 3 to4 hours every day) talking to SMC members, local community and teachers.


46

monthly absentee statement (to be recordedeveryday), and endorsement of casual leave(by SMC president). It has also the power toreport to the competent authority if they arenot satisfied with the role of the teachers.

Rule 3 of Part 2 of the document says that it is theduty of SMC (or the local authority as the casemay be) to identify children who require specialtraining and to organise these with speciallydesigned, age appropriate learning material forthem. These should be organized in the schoolcampus. The minimum duration of suchtrainings should be three months and maximumnot more than 2 years.

Rule 13 of Part 5 of the state rules puts downspecifically the mechanisms and procedures forthe composition of SMC and its functions underthe following headings:

1. Composition and purpose of the SMC

2. Functions of the managing committee

3. Selection/ Election of the President andMembers of SMC

4. Rules of Business

5. Removal of President/ members of SMC andfilling up of vacancies

6. Dissolution of SMC

7. Accounts and Audits

8. Powers and Functions of SMC

SMC is supposed to be a permanent body andmembers would have a term of three years. It issupposed to have 13 members with parents ofthe schools� students constituting 9 of these 13.Other members include the school headteacher,the village head and a teacher/ health worker -all from that village. The parents of all studentsin the school constitute the general body of theSMC. The general body elects the SMC membersin a meeting where the Deputy inspector of theschool/District elementary education officer/sub inspector are present. It is the responsibilityof the head teacher to inform all about themeeting. A member can be removed if found to benegligent in performing the assigned duties.Similarly, the SMC can be dissolved if foundnegligent of its duties assigned in these rules.

According to Rule 14 of part 5, one of the mainfunctions of SMC is to develop the schooldevelopment plan. The plan should include � a)estimates of class-wise enrollment each year, b)requirement of teachers in the school, c) need ofphysical infrastructure and d) need of additionalfinance which could be related to point a, b orrelated to the organization of special training,entitlements of children for free textbooks,uniforms or other financial requirement.

For the SMC to perform its functions smoothly,individual/group responsibilities have also beengiven to its members. For example, theresponsibility of handling accounts,maintenance of the funds/grants, receipt,register,cash book, stock book, payment registerand safe custody of these record rests with themember secretary. It is the duty of the SMC tosubmit the utilisation certificate of funds.

The study

The study involved the observation of the villageand the school, interview of the SMC president,of a teacher from the school, of a SMC parentmember, a community person and two parentswho are not the members of the SMC but whosechildren study in the school. I used anobservation schedule and interview schedule forthe purpose.

Village profile: The village of Sonitpur is around30 km from the district head quarter. The nearesttown (the block) is around 15 km away. The

distance from the main road is 8 km. There is nopucca road to the village or inside the village.

Somitpur is surrounded by tea plantations.Majority (80%) people of the village is involved

with the tea plantation work. Most of the peopleare from labour class and fall in the weaker section

category. The main community of the village areChristians, Hindus, Nepalia, people from

Orissa/Bihar and Muslims (very few). The villageis divided into 8 areas. The number of houses in

each area ranges from 50 to 200.

The literacy rate of the entire district is 67.34%

and 71% in the urban and rural areas respectively(Census, 2011). However most of the adult

population (aged 30 or above) of this village is


47

either illiterate or had studied many years backand now cannot read and write (as came outduring discussion with teachers and villagepeople). But all of them want that their childrento get educated.

School profile: The school was established in2006. Before 2006, there were three primaryschools in the village but these were very far fromthe part of the village covered in my study. Theinitiative to setup a school in this area was takenby a group of village people. They requested theTea Company to provide some land for the schooland a kuchcha building was built. They alsoposted someone from the community as theteacher. However they were not able to run theschool for very long as they were not able to paythe salary of the teacher. The departemnt ofeducation was then requested to take over theschool and they did so once a No ObjectionCertificate was issued by the tea company. Theschool was approved and in 2008 a teacher wasposted here. For two years it ran in the kuchchabuilding and then in 2010 the new pucca buildingwas constructed.

The school year is from January to December. Thenew session had just started at the time of thestudy. There were 3 contract teachers in the schoolbut itdid not have a regular head teacher. Whenthe school was first established an assistantteacher from a neighboring school was givenadditional charge as the school head of thisschool. This system continues.

The total enrollment of the school for the year atthe time of study was 128. The admissions werestill on. There were no schedule caste, scheduletribe and other backward class children in theschool. However all the children of the schoolwere from the weaker sections of society. Most ofthe children were first generation learners orchildren of the parents who dropped out fromthe school in primary classes. People who arelittle better off prefer sending their children to aprivate English medium school.

The school has only two classrooms and one

room for the pre-primary section. There is no room

for the teachers or the head teacher. There is no

boundary wall, no play ground, no drinking

water, no library, no teaching learning material

apart from the textbooks. However there areseparate toilets for girls and boys.

SMC profile: The SMC was formed in September,2011. As prescribed in the state rules there are 13members in the SMC. While looking at the papersand during interviews some of the members, itwas revealed that a meeting was conducted forthe election of members but there were not manyparents present (as per rules, 70% general bodyattendance is mandatory). It was told by themembers that parents do not take interest andalso they are busy in their work during schoolhours.

The rule that only the person whose children arestudying in the school can be the president orvice president has been violated as the president�schildren do not study in the school. He has beenselected as he was the one who initiated the schoolprocess. Similarly the person who is the membersecretary is not a regular head teacher of theschool (As mentioned earlier, he is the assistantteacher in another school). The acting head visitsthe school mostly when there is meeting of theSMC or if called by the president for some work.All the other members qualify the criteriaprescribed by the state rules - 50% women, villagehead man, health-worker or aganwadi worker,local representative are represented in the SMC.

Observations regarding functions and duties

The duties such as monitoring of the attendanceof the teachers and children, leave sanction ofthe teachers, mid-day meal, infrastructure relatedissues are taken up by the SMC. The school has apucca building because of its efforts. Efforts weremade for drilling a tube-well as well but that didnot work. Now the committee is also planning tomake more rooms and are trying to raise fundsfor that. The members said that they want toimprove the condition of the school and aretalking to the block office for buidling more rooms,availability of drinking water, setting up a library.etc.

However, there were complaints that some of theteachers take advantage of their connection withthe SMC president in the matter of teacher�sattendance. The other SMC members also don�tsay anything.


48

SMC also make sure that the classes run on timeand children have enough work to do. Some ofthe members of SMC are also aware and monitorthe special training programme organised forchildren. They make sure that the programmeruns smoothly, the required material reaches thechildren in time and that the teacher spends timewith these children and help them in learning.

There is concern that all the children of thecommunity should join school and the SMChelps the teachers in talking to parents so thatthey send children to school regularly andchildren do not drop out.

Members also want the children do wellacademically however they do not have muchunderstanding of underlying issues and factorssuch as role of the teacher, nature of classroomprocesses, nature of the textbooks, backgroundof the children, over all school environment etc.Hence they are not able to do much in thisdirection.

Though the rules states that academic excellencecan be achieved by micro -planning, schoolmapping and by optimal utilization of locallyavailable resources but it does define these indetails so that some steps can been taken in thisdirection.

The members were also not aware of the schooldevelopment plan; according to them they havenot prepared such a plan . However theobservation of documents revealed that paperwork has been done in this direction and there issome plan of the school. Since most of this kindof paper-work is done by the head teacher.members are not well aware of it.

It was striking that none of the school teachers(they are part of the school since last one andhalf year) were aware of the SMC, its memberand of the work that the SMC is doing. The reasonshared by them was that the head teacher doesnot involve them. It must be recalled here that thehead teacher is not a regular part of the schooland perhaps there are few chances of interactionbetween them.

The SMC is supposed to coordinate closely withthe local authority on several issues but linkageswith the other local bodies is poor. Even the roleof gram panchayat in school functioning isnegligible.

It was also found that the SMC in the school isnot working as a group but more at the individuallevel. The only person who is taking interest inthe school affairs is the president. He lives nearbyand visits the school almost everyday. He takeshelp of the head teacher and other members asand when required. Since the head teacher is wellconnected with the other people at the clusterand block level and has a fair understanding ofthe school and school processes, audit andaccounts and the SMC president holds a goodposition in the community, the two of of themtake majority of decisions related to any concern.Sometimes members are informed and sometimesnot but the members and also the parents seemssatisfied with the way the committee is working.It can be said that the power has come to the locallevel but it is still with the authority.

What are the issues, challenges, limitations andachievements

Poverty, lack of education are the main issues inSonitpur and the situation is complex. Parentswant to send their children to school but they arenot able to see the results of education whichcomes after several years and not immediately asthey want. Poverty p forces them to send theirchildren to work in gardens as labour as thusthey can earn Rs. 80 to 100 per day. To bring allthese children to school is a major challenge forthe SMC. Another challenge is to convince thesepeople about the role that education plays inone�s life and also how it helps. But here SMCalso has limitations as most of the members ofthe SMC itself are not very well educated and arenot very competent to talk to parents, and makethem understand the importance of education.

Getting enough funds for the school is alsodifficult. Last year school received a grant ofRs.15000/- from SSA for repair and maintenancework and Rs 500/- for TLM. This is very less.This is a primary school and also has preprimarysection. Networking with more people who canhelp the SMC in raising funds is also a challenge.The members have tried to collect some moneyfrom the village itself and collected some amountbut since they were not able to maintain theproper record and make the process transparentit didn�t work.


49

Involving the community and motivating themto take part in the school affairs is another bigissue. The school runs from 9am to 3pm. whereasthe timings of working in tea gardens is 7am to4pm. Even if the parents want to come to schoolthey cannot come. Also the SMC members do notunderstand the rationale behind SMC�s presencein school or they would work to increase thepossibility of parents coming and joining the GBmeetings by changing the time and venue.

The issue of having faith in community ability isalways talked about when we talk aboutcommunity involvement, however it is also mustthat people have faith in themselves. It came tolight that some of the parents who observe andhave their say on certain issues do not share theseviews when required because they feel that theymay be wrong. As shared by one of the parent, heis well aware that one of the teacher does notcome regularly to the school but still he did notmake it a point and neither spoke to SMC membernot to the teacher.

Getting people who have fair understanding ofeducation to help SMC in understanding theirwork and provide hand holding till the time itrequire is also not easy since the school is situatedin a remote area and the members do not knowhow to reach such resource people.

Members who go for training for SMC do notshare their understanding with the othermembers and this hinders steps towardsdeveloping a common understanding about theprocesses and functioning of SMC. Also membersdo not try to help each other; for example helpingthose members who cannot read and write canbe made to understand issues throughdiscussions.

Still, it is a big achievement that there is a schooland there are teachers in the school, more parentsare becoming aware of the school and havestarted sending children to school.

Areas to focus on

The issues that need to worked on are easilyidentified from the challenges listed above. Forexample:

· Orientation of all members about the SMC,its structure, role and function.Not only allthe members of the SMC but also the parents

of the children who are studying in theschool should be provided an orientation.Members and parents should be helped indeveloping their understanding about theSMC and also about their respective roles inSMC.

· Guidance should also be provided to SMCmembers about sources from where they canget help. For example � whom they cancontact for getting help related to academicissues, what could be the other sources toraise funds and other such things.

· Some forums should be organised and aprocess should be set up (spread over theyear) where parents can meet and discussthe issues related to school and education.These forums should be organized keepingin mind the availability of the parents toensure more participation.

· Not only the parents but educated membersof that community who are concerned aboutthe school should be allowed to take part inthe meeting. They cannot vote or takedecisions but at least they should be heard.It may help in strengthening the process ofdemocratic decisions.

· What should be the role of the BRC/CRC inconnection to SMC is not very clear. Some ofthe interested member of SMC should alsobe invited to take part in BRC/ CRC meeting.

· How the members would develop anunderstanding of school and school relatedissues over the years should also be thoughtabout. As they are part of the society and evenif their term changes after three years thenalso they would be able to contribute in someor the other form.

References:

Govinda R., Bandhopadhyay M (2010) ChangingFrameworks of Local Governance andCommunity Participation in ElementaryEducation in India.

Sharma Rashmi (2000) Decentralisation,Professionalism, and the School System InIndia in Economical and PoliticalWeekly,Vol 35, No. 42 ( Oct,14-20, 2000)PP.3765-3774


50

http://righttoeducation.in/sites/default/files/T H E % 2 0 A S S A M % 2 0 R I G H T % 20OF%20CHILDREN%20TO%20FREE%20AND%20COMPULSORY%20EDUCATION%20RULES,%202011.pdf (accessed on 9th

January,14)

ht tp ://ar tassam.nic . in/Educat ion%20Department/The%20Assam%20 Elementary%20Education%20 (Provincialisation)%20Rules,%201977.pdf (Accessed on 9th Jan 2014)

http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/smc/Assam.pdf ( Accessed on 12th Jan2014 )

http://schoolreportcards.in/SRC-New/Download/RawData/DownloadRawData.aspx?dl=4and http://www.census2 0 1 1 . c o . i n / c e n s u s / d i s t r i c t / 1 6 5 -sonitpur.html (accessed on 18th Jan,2014)


51

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fcgkj jkT; esa 2003 ls loZ f'k{kk vfHk;ku dsvUrxZr f'k{kkfe=ksa dk fu;kstu gqvk rFkk 2006&07esa bu f'k{kkfe=ksa dh lsok,¡ fu;fer f'k{kd ds:i esa yh tkus yxhA buds fu;kstu dh ftEesnkjhf=&Lrjh; iapk;rh jkt O;oLFkk dks nh xbZ FkhAbu f'k{kdksa esa cgqr cM+h la[;k vçf'kf{kr f'k{kdksadh FkhA jkT; }kjk bu f'k{kdksa ds çf'k{k.k dhO;oLFkk djkus gsrq dbZ iz;kl fd, x,A ijUrqjk"Vªh; Lrj ij bl dk;ZØe dh leh{kk ds Øeesa ;g ik;k x;k fd lsokdkyhu izf'k{k.k ds }kjkftl rjg ds f'k{kdksa dh rS;kjh dh vis{kk dhtkrh gS og iwjh ugha gks ik jgh gSA vr% ,sls39210 f'k{kdksa ds çf'k{k.k dh O;oLFkk f'k{kkfoHkkx ds fu.kZ; ds vkyksd esa jkT; f'k{kk 'kksèk,oa çf'k{k.k ifj"kn~ ds ekè;e ls djk;h tkus dkfu.kZ; fy;k x;kA jkT; f'k{kk 'kks/k ,oa izf'k{k.kifj"kn~ dks jk"Vªh; v/;kid f'k{kk ifj"kn~ ds }kjknwjLFk f'k{kk ds ek/;e ls 500 lsokjr vizf'kf{krf'k{kdksa dks izf'k{k.k djus gsrq ekU;rk izkIr gSlkFk gh 39210 f'k{kdksa ds fo'ks"k izf'k{k.k gsrq Hkhjk"Vªh; v/;kid f'k{kk ifj"kn~ ekU;rk miyC/kdjkbZ xbZ gSA ifj"kn~ }kjk bl dk;ZØe ds lQylapkyu gsrq nwjLFk f'k{kk funs'kky; dh LFkkiukdh xbZ gSA

orZeku le; esa eq¶r ,oa vfuok;Z f'k{kk dkvfèkdkj vfèkfu;e&2009 ds çkoèkku ds vkyksdesa Hkh ;g visf{kr gS fd fdlh Hkh ifjfLFkfr esa

fo|ky;ksa esa çf'kf{kr f'k{kdksa ds }kjk gh f'k{k.kdk;Z djk;k tk;A jkT; us Hkh vius çkjafHkdfo|ky;ksa esa dk;Zjr vçf'kf{kr f'k{kdksa dks lokZsPpçkFkfedrk ds lkFk çf'kf{kr djus gsrq çfrc)rktrkbZ gSA blh çfrc)rk ds rgr jkT; f'k{kk'kksèk ,oa çf'k{k.k ifj"kn~] fcgkj }kjk bu vçf'kf{krf'k{kdksa dks çf'kf{kr djus ds fy, ,d j.kuhfrrS;kj dh xbZ gS ftlds rgr nks pj.kksa ¼izFkepj.k 10824 ,oa f}rh; pj.k 28386½ esa bu39210 f'k{kdksa dks çf'kf{kr djus dh ;kstukcukbZ xbZA

Mh-,y-,M- ¼nwjLFk f'k{kk½ dk;ZØe ds mís';

Mh-,y-,M- ¼nwjLFk f'k{kk½ dk;ZØe ds fuEufyf[krmís'; gSa%&

1- fcgkj ds izkjfEHkd fo|ky;ksa esa dk;Zjrvizf'kf{kr f'k{kd@f'kf{kdkvksa dks izf'kf{krdjukA

2- izf'k{kqvksa esa ,d izHkkoh f'k{kd@f'kf{kdk cuusds fy, vko';d Kku] dkS'ky] {kerk vkSjvfHko'fÙk dks fodflr djukA

3- izf'k{kqvksa eas fo|kfFkZ;ksa ds fodkl o vf/kxeizfdz;k dks izHkkfor djus okys fofHkUu dkjdksads izfr laosnu'khyrk fodflr djkukA

4- izf'k{kqvksa esa izkjfEHkd fo|ky; dh ikB~;p;kZrFkk ikB~;Øe dk Kku o le> fodflrdjukA


52

5- f'k{k.k&vf/kxe ds uokpkjh ifjorZuksa lsizf'k{kqvksa dks voxr djkukA

6- lkekftd&lkaLÑfrd rFkk jktuSfrd ifjn';esa izkjfEHkd f'k{kk rFkk f'k{kd@f'kf{kdk dhHkwfedk dh le> fodflr djukA

7- izf'k{kqvksa esa izHkkoh f'k{k.k&o`fÙk dk fodkldjukA

ikB~;Øe dh l=okj :ijs[kk

ikB~;p;kZ&lg&ikB~;Øe

jkT; f'k{kk 'kksèk ,oa çf'k{k.k ifj"kn~ }kjk nkso"khZ; fMIyksek bu ,fyesaVªh ,tqds'ku ¼nwjLFkf'k{kk½ dk;ZØe dh ikB~;p;kZ ,oa ikB~;Øefodflr dh xbZ gSA bl dk;ZØe dks vkbZ-lh-Vh-(ICT) lefFkZr cuk;k x;k gSA ;g dk;ZØe pkjl=ksa esa foHkkftr gSa (fp= nsf[k,½


53

Lo&vf/kxe lkexzh

fodflr ikB~;p;kZ&lg&ikB~;Øe ds vk/kkj ijizR;sd fo"k;i= gsrq Lo&vf/kxe lkexzh rS;kjdh xbZ gSA bl Lo&vf/kxe lkexzh ds fodkl esajk"Vª ,oa jkT; Lrjh; lk/ku lsfo;ksa dh lgk;rkyh xbZ gSA eq[;r% fuEukafdr laLFkkvksa dk fo'ks"klg;ksx Lo&vf/kxe lkexzh ds fodkl esa jgk &

1- eqDr fo'ofo|ky;] nf{k.k vÝhdk

2- eqDr fo'ofo|ky;] ;wukbVsM fdaXMe

3- ,u-lh-bZ-vkj-Vh-] ubZ fnYyh

4- fo|k Hkou lkslkbZVh] mn;iqj

5- ,dyO;] Hkksiky

6- vthe izseth QkmUMs'ku

7- Vsl bafM;k

8- fnYyh fo'ofo|ky;] ubZ fnYyh

9- mRrjk[k.M [kqyk fo'ofo|ky;]

10- cukjl fganq fo'ofo|ky;] okjk.klh

11- egkRek xka/kh dk'kh fo|kihB] dk'kh

12- ,l-lh-bZ-vkj-Vh-] ubZ fnYyh

13- ,l-lh-bZ-vkj-Vh] jk;iqj] NRrhlx<+

blds vfrfjDr fcgkj jkT; ds fo'ofo|ky;ksa,oa v/;kid f'k{kk laLFkkuksa ds v/;kid f'k{kdksadh Lo&vf/kxe lkexzh fodkl esa lHkkfxrk jghgSA Lo&vf/kxe lkexzh dk fodkl jkT; dsifjisz{; esa f'k{kdksa dh izHkkoh rS;kjh dks /;ku esaj[krs gq;s fd;k x;k gSA

izf'k{k.kkfFkZ;ksa ds fy, fodflr iBu&lkexzh dksnwjLFk f'k{kk ds varxZr vuqns'ku rFkk vfèkxe dkegRoiw.kZ lkèku ekuk tkrk gSA bl dk;ZØe dsfy, Hkh iBu lkexzh dks cgqr gh egRoiw.kZ ekursgq, bls fcgkj jkT; ds f'k{kdksa ds vko';drkvksads vuq:i fodflr fd;k x;k gSA bls vfèkdlanHkkZRed rFkk Loè;k;&ijd cukus ds fy,

vusd dk;Z'kkykvksa ds }kjk ns'k rFkk jkT; dsvusd fo'ks"kKksa dh enn yh x;h gSA fo"k;okj,oa l=okj fodflr bl iBu lkexzh dh eqfærçfr;ka lHkh çf'k{kq f'k{kd&f'kf{kdkvksa dks fu%'kqYdmiyCèk djk;h tk jgh gSaA buds izHkkoh v/;;uds fy, izf'k{kq ,o v/;;u dsUnz ds lk/kulsfo;ksads e/; O;kid laokn dk gksuk cgqr egRoiw.kZ gSA

v/;;u dsUnz

vè;;u dsaæ] nwjLFk ,oa eqä f'k{kk i)fr ls Mh-,y-,M- ikB~;Øe ds fy, p;fur çf'k{kq f'k{kdksads fy, Lkzksr dsUæ gSA ;s vè;;u dsUæ jkT;f'k{kk 'kksèk ,oa çf'k{k.k ifj"kn~ ,oa çf'k{kqvksa dseè; laidZ dM+h dk dk;Z dj jgs gSaA çR;sdftyksa esa lalkèku ,oa vçf'kf{kr f'k{kdksa dh la[;kds vkèkkj ij vè;;u dsUæ cuk;s x, gSaA Mk;Vdks iwjs ftys esa bl dk;Z ds lapkyu dh ftEesnkjhlkSaih xbZ gSA Mk;V ds izkpk;Z ftyk Lrj ijleUo;d gSaA lkFk gh Mk;V ,d vè;;u dsUæds :i esa Hkh dke dj jgk gSA ogka ij Mk;V dsO;k[;krk leUo;d ds :i esa dk;Z djrs gSaA ih-Vh-bZ-lh ds çkpk;Z ogka ds vè;;u dsUæ dsleUo;d gksrs gSaA ç[k.M lalkèku dsUæ ¼ch-vkj-lh-½ ds vè;;u dsUæ ij ch-vkj-lh- ds ,dlkèkulsoh leUo;d ds :i esa dk;Z djrs gSaAlEidZ dk;ZØe vè;;u dsUæksa ij 'kfuokj vkSjjfookj dks 10%00 cts iwoksZa ls 4%00 cts vijkõ rdvk;ksftr gksrh gSA

izFke pj.k ds fy, 27 ftyksa esa 150 v/;;u dsUnzLFkkfir fd;s x;s gSaA 27 dsUnz Mk;V] 23 izkFkfedf'k{kd f'k{kk egkfo|ky;ksa ,oa 100 dsUnz iz[k.Mlalk/ku dsUnzksa ij LFkkfir fd;s x, gSaA bu 150v/;;u dsUnzksa ij ;Fkk laHko vko';d lalk/kumiyC/k djk;s tk jgs gSaA


54

Mk;V vkSj izkFkfed f'k{kd f'k{kk egkfo|ky;ij 100&100 ,oa iz[k.M lalk/ku dsUnz ij 60&60izf'k{kqvksa dks ukekafdr fd;k x;k gSA izR;sd'kfuokj vkSj jfookj dks v/;;u gsrq laidZ d{kkvksadk vk;kstu gksrk gSA bl izdkj Mk;V@izkFkfed

f'k{kd f'k{kk egkfo|ky; Lrj ij 50&50 izf'k{kq,oa ch-vkj-lh- ij 30&30 izf'k{kq lEidZ d{kkvksaesa Hkkx ysrs gSaA tks izf'k{kq 'kfuokj dks lEidZd{kk esa Hkkx ysrs gSaA vxys lIrkg og jfookj dkslEidZ d{kkvksa esa Hkkx ysrs gSaA

;g dk;ZØe pw¡fd ijaijkxr o laLFkkxr dk;ZØeksals vyx gSA blesa v/;;u dsUnzksa ij laidZdk;ZØe ds çLrqrhdj.k gsrq eYVh&ehfM;kvuqleFkZu }kjk vyx vuqns�ku çfofèk;ksa dkbLrseky djus dh O;oLFkk Hkh dh tk jgh gSAf�k{k.k vfèkxe çfØ;k esa vfèkxedrkZ dhvko�;drkvksa dks ns[krs gq, vfèkdre Hkkxhnkjhlqfuf�pr djus ds fy, nwjLFk ,oa eqä f�k{kk ,dvfèkd lqxe rFkk yphys çk:i dks cy fn;kx;k gSA vr% ;g dk;ZØe eYVh&ehfM;k mikxe

dk vuqikyu djrs gq, fofHkUu lwpuk ,oa çlkj.kizkS|ksfxdh ds ç;ksx dks çksRlkfgr djrk gSA bldk;ZØe ds vuqns�ku esa fofHkUu lalkèkuksa dkLora= ;k lekdfyr :i esa ç;ksx fd;k tk,xkAçf�k{kq f�k{kd&f�kf{kdkvksa dks bl ikB~;Øe dksle>us dk volj çkjaHk esa gh çkIr gks blfy,ikB~;Øe dh 'kq:vkr eas gh izR;sd v/;;u dsUnzij 6 fnolh; dk;Z�kkyk dk vk;kstu fd;ktkrk gSA


55

lk/kulsfo;ksa dh O;oLFkk

nwjLFk ,oa eqä f'k{kk esa lkèkulsoh dh Hkwfedkvge~ gksrh gS vkSj 'kS{kf.kd miyfCèk dk egRoiw.kZHkkx buds Hkkxhnkjh ls gh lqfuf'pr gksrk gSAbl dk;ZØe gsrq lkèkulsoh ds fy, fuèkkZfjr;ksX;rk ,u-lh-Vh-bZ- ekud ds vuq:i j[kh xbZgSA izR;sd ftys ds ftyk f'k{kk ,oa çf'k{k.klaLFkku }kjk vius ftyk ds vUrxZr lHkh vè;;udsUæksa gsrq lkèkulsfo;ksa dk p;u dj fo�k;okj,d iSuy dk fuekZ.k fd;k x;kA çR;sd vè;;udsUæ ij 10 çf'k{kqvksa ij ,d lkèkulsoh 'kS{kf.kdvuqleFkZu miyCèk djkrk gSA ;s lkèkulsoh ftykLrj ij fpf=r fd, x, gSaA vè;;u dsUæ viusftys ds Mk;V ls lfØ; :i ls tqMs+ gq, gSaA iwjsikB~;Øe ds nkSjku vko';drkuqlkj ijke'kZ l=ksa]lEesyuksa dk vk;kstu] l=h; dk;ksZa dk ewY;kadurFkk çf'k{kqvksa lEcUèkh lwpukvksa dk vknku&çnkubUgha ds ek/;e ls vè;;u dsUæksa ij fd;k tkjgk gSA vè;;u dsUæ ds leUo;d vè;;udsUæ ij lapkfyr gksus okys Mh-,y-,M- dk;ZØe¼nwjLFk f'k{kk½ ds leLr dk;ZØe dk le;kuqlkjlQy lapkyu lqfuf'pr dj jgs gSaA ;s çf'k{k.kkFkhZ]

lkèkulsoh] ftyk&leUo;d ,oa jkT; leUo;dds lkFk leUo; LFkkfir djrs gSaA lk/kulsfo;ksads vfrfjDr ftyk Lrj ij 4&5 eq[; lk/kulsohrS;kj fd;s x;s gSa tks ftyk Lrj ij v/;;udsUnzksa ,oa lk/kulsfo;ksa dks 'kSf{kd vuqleZFkumiyC/k djkrs gSaA

eq[; lk/kulsoh] lk/kulsfo;ksa@leUo;dksadk {kerk fodkl

lHkh v/;;u dsUnzksa ds leUo;dksa] eq[; lk/kulsfo;kas,oa lk/kulsfo;ksa dks jkT; f'k{kk 'kks/k ,oa izf'k{k.kifj"kn~ esa jk"Vª Lrjh; lk/kulsfo;ksa ds ek/;e ls5 fnolh; izf'k{k.k] lEidZ d{kkvksa ds izkjaHk gsusls iwoZ fn;k x;k rFkk izR;sd 3 ekg ij fj¶ysd'kudj mudk {kerk fodkl fd;k tkrk gSA

izf'k{kq ds fy, 6 fnolh; dk;Z'kkyk

izf'k{kq f'k{kd@f'kf{kdkvksa dks bl ikB~;Øe dsle>us dk volj izkjEHk esa gh izkIr gks blfy,dk;ZØe ds izkjEHk esa N% fnolh; dk;Z'kkyk dkvk;kstu izR;sd v/;;u dsUnzksa ij fd;k tkrk


56

gSA bl dk;Z'kkyk ds mijkUr gh izf'k{kq lEidZd{kkvksa esa Hkkx ys ldrs gSaA

bl dk;Z'kkyk esa izf'k{kqvksa ds lkFk eq[;r%fuEufyf[kr eqn~nksa ij fopkj foeZ'k fd;k tkrkgS%&

(i) Mh-,y-,M- ¼nwjLFk f'k{kk½ dk;ZØe dhvo/kkj.kk ,oa :ijs[kk dh laf{kIr tkudkjhizkIr djsaxsA

(ii) RTE, NCF-2005, B.C.F-2008, NCFTE-

2009 dh laf{kIr tkudkjh rFkk bl vkyksdesa Mh-,y-,M- ¼nwjLFk f'k{kk½ ikB~;p;kZ ,oaikB~;Øe dh tkudkjh izkIr djsaxsA

(iii) lS)kfUrd fo"k;ksa ,oa muds ikB~;Øe dhtkudkjh izkIr djsaxsA

(iv) ICT dh Hkwfedk ls voxr gks ldsaxs rFkkmlls lEcfU/kr vuqHko izkIr djsaxsA

(v) fofHkUu 'kS{kf.kd izfof/k;ksa ,oa f'k{kk'kkL=h;vo/kkj.kkvksa ls voxr gks ldsaxsA

(vi) vf/kU;kl (Assignment) ,oa fo|ky;vk/kkfjr dk;ZØeksa ls ifjfpr gks ldsaxsA

lEidZ dk;ZØe

nwjLFk f'k{kk ikB~;Øe ds vUrxZr U;wure visf{kriBu&ikBu vof/k esa ls dqN le; laidZ dk;ZØeds fy, Hkh fu/kkZfjr gSA izf'k{kqvksa dks v/;;udsUnz }kjk lapkfyr ijke'kZ l=ksa esa vo'; mifLFkrgksuk gksrk gSA lEidZ d{kk 10 ls 4 cts rdizR;sd v/;;u dsUnz ij lapkfyr gksrh gSA ftldsfy, laidZ dk;ZØe izf'k{kqvksa dks fuEu voljiznku djsxk &

· çf'k{kq f'k{kd&f'kf{kdkvksa ,oa Lkzksr O;fä;ksa¼lkèkulsfo;ksa½ ds eè; lEidZ dk voljA

· vU; çf'k{kq f'k{kd&f'kf{kdkvksa ls vuqHkock¡Vus dk voljA

· ikB~;Øe dh leLr xfrfofèk;ksa ls ifjfprgksus dk voljA

· xfrfofèk;k¡ dSls lEiUu gksaxh ;g le>us dkvoljA

· çf'k{kq f'k{kd&f'kf{kdkvksa }kjk dh xbZxfrfofèk;ksa ij leh{kk ,oa lqèkkj gsrq mik;lkspus dk voljA

eq[;r% ;g dk;ZØe 'kfuokj rFkk jfookj dks ghlEiUu djk;k tkrk gS ,oa blesa dsUæ ds iathÑrleLr çf'k{kqvksa dks fuèkkZfjr fnol esa lfEefyrgksuk vfuok;Z gSA bUk dk;ZØeksa esa çf'k{kq lewg esai<+dj o vkil esa ppkZ dj lkFkZd fu"d"kZ ijigq¡pus dk ç;kl djrs gSa rkfd muesa ikB~;lkexzhdks i<+us ,oa ml ij fparu] euu djus dh vknrfodflr gks ik,A çf'k{kq vH;kl Hkh djrs gSaftlls mUgsa vH;klksa dh çÑfr o mudh mi;ksfxrkle>us esa enn feyrh gSA çf'k{kq ,d&nwljs dkstku ikrs gSa vkSj laidZ d{kkvksa ds ckn Hkh os,d&nwljs ls laidZ LFkkfir dj Lo&vè;;u&vè;kiu dk dk;Z dj ldrs gSaA

iznÙk dk;Z

iznÙk dk;Z dk eq[; mn~ns'; ikB~;Øe ds vk/kkjij fodflr iBu&lkexzh vkSj vU; lanHkZ iqLrdksads izfr izf'k{kqvksa ds le> dk vkdyu djus rFkkmUgsa izfriqf"V iznku djds ikB~;Øe ds fo"k;oLrqdks le>us esa mudh enn djuk gSa izf'k{kqvksa dksiznÙk rS;kj djrs le; lanHkZ iqLrdksa rFkk vu;iqLrdksa rd viuh igq¡p cukuh gksrh gS vkSj mudkmi;ksx djuk gksrk gSA bl dk;ZØe ds fy, iznÙkdk;Z bl rjg ls fMtkbu fd, x, gSa fd izf'k{kqeqfnzr Lo&vuqns'kukRed vf/kxe lkexzh] lanHkZiqLrdksa vkSj dqN vfrfjDr jhfMax ds lkFk&lkFkvius O;fDrxr vuqHkoksa dk Qk;nk mBk ldsaA


57

iznÙk dk;Z gsrq izR;sd fo"k; esa dqN vad fu/kkZfjrfd;s x;s gSaA izR;sd izf'k{kq ls visf{kr iznÙk dk;ksaZdk vkoaVu ifj"kn~ }kjk fd;k tkrk gS] lkFk ghvf/kxe dsUnzksa dh Hkwfedk Hkh blesa egRoiw.kZ gksrhgSA izf'k{kqvksa }kjk l=h; dk;ksZa dks vius v/;;udsUnz esa fu/kkZfjr le; ds iwoZ tek djuk gksrk gSAiznÙk dk;Z ds varxZr fn, tkus okys fofHkUu l=h;o izkstsDV dk;ksZa dk fjdkMZ dsUnz }kjk la/kkfjrfd;k tkrk gS rFkk vok';drkuqlkj ;g lwpuk,¡ifj"kn~ ,oa fcgkj fo|ky; ijh{kk lfefr dks miyC/k djkbZ tkrh gSA

l=h; o izkstsDV dk;ksZa dks eq[;r% cPpksa ;kleqnk; ds lkFk lS)kafrd le> ds vuqiz;ksx ds:Ik esa ns[kk tkuk pkfg,A ;fn dksbZ pkgs rks nksfo"k;ksa ds le> ds vk/kkj ij ,d izkstsDV cukldrk gSA ,d 'kSf{kd l= esa izR;sd fo"k; dsfy, 1&1 izkstsDV dk;Z gksrs gSaA blesa voyksdu]dsl&LVMh] losZ{k.k] lk{kkRdkj] QhYM odZ tSlsdk;Z 'kkfey gksrs gSaA izkstsDV dk;ksZa dk ewY;kaduv/;;u dsUnz Lrj ij gksrk gSA izkstsDV dk;Zfdlh fo"k; fo'ks"k ls tqM+s eqn~nksa ij fd;k tkldrk gS] tsls&

· cPpksa ds lkFk vkReh; laca/k LFkkfir djus dslaca/k esa]

· cPpksa ds lkFk [ksyksa ds vk;kstu esa]

· dyk f'k{k.k ds ek/;e ls vU; fo"k;ksa ;Fkk&Hkk"kk] xf.kr o i;kZoj.k f'k{k.k&fo"k;ksa dkvf/kxe]

· lexz f'k{k.k ;kstuk dk fuekZ.k

· d{kk lapkyu ;k d{kk izca/ku]

· cPpksa ls fy, tkus okys laHkkfor loky&tokc]

· cPpksa ds d{kk dk;Z rFkk xg dk;Z dk ewY;kadu

· O;fDrxr Mk;jh@izfrosnu]

· cPpksa o muds O;ogkj dh le>]

· vuqifLFkr cPpksa dh mifLFkfr lqfuf'pr djusds laca/k esa]

· fo'ks"k vko';drkvksa okys cPpksa ds laca/k esa]vkfnA

bl fo"k; esa v/;;u dsUnz ij le;≤ ijfofHkUu laidZ dk;ZØeksa ds ek/;e ls lk/kulsfo;ksa}kjk ppkZ dh tkrh gSA

fo"k;&fo'ks"kKksa dk lk/ku lewg rFkk esaVj

Mh-,y-,M dk;ZØe ds fofHkUu fo"k;ksa ls lEcfU/krjk"Vª ,oa jkT; Lrj ds lk/kulsfo;ksa dk ,dlk/ku lewg rS;kj fd;k x;k gSA ;g lk/kulsohikB~;p;kZ&ikB~;Øe] Lo&vf/kxe lkexzh dsfodkl ls tqM+s jgs gSa rFkk fujarj bl dk;ZØe esalg;ksx iznku djrs jgs gSaA bu lk/kulsfo;ksads bZ&esy ,oa eksckbZy uacj lHkh izf'k{kqvksa]lk/kulsfo;ksa ,oa leUo;dksa dk miyC/k djk;sx;s gSa rFkk izf'k{kq lk/kulsoh@leUo;d ls ,l-,e-,l ;k bZ&esy ls lEidZ dj ldrs gSaA

vkxs ds l=&2 esa] çR;sd çf'k{kqvksa ds fy, ,desaVj fuèkkZfjr fd;s tk;saxsA ;s esaVj çf'k{kq dsdk;Zjr fo|ky; ds çèkkukè;kid] ladqy laLFkkudsaæ ds leUo;d] çf'kf{kr f'k{kd] lsokfuo`rf'k{kd ;k vè;kid çf'k{kd gks ldrs gSaA esaVjçf'k{kqvksa ds fo|ky; vkèkkfjr lHkh xfrfofèk;ksadks iwjk djkus esa enn djsaxs] bu dk;ksZa ij viuhçfriqf"V (Feed back) nsaxsA

vuqJo.k

ftyk Lrj ij Mk;V ds vfrfjDr nwjLFk f'k{kkdksj Vhe] jkT; f'k{kk 'kks/k ,oa izf'k{k.k ifj"kn~ladk; lnL;ksa] loZ f'k{kk vfHk;ku (SSA)] funs'kd]'kks/k ,oa izf'k{k.k bl dk;ZØe dh fujarj vuqJo.k


58

djrs gSaA fo'ks"k :i ls 12 State Task Force dhVhe rS;kj dh xbZ gS tks lHkh ftyksa esa bldk;ZØe dk vuqJo.k dj 'kSf{kd vuqleZFkumiyC/k djkrh gSA eq¶r ,oa vfuok;Z f'k{kk dkvfèkdkj vfèkfu;e&2009 esa visf{kr vçf'kf{krf'k{kdksa ds izf'k{k.k dk dk;Z bl dk;ZØe ds }kjkge lQyrkiwoZd dj ik jgs gSaA

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Voices of Teachers and Teacher Educatorsncert.nic.in/publication/journals/pdf_files/Voices_Sep... · 2017-08-29 · About the publication The launch of the journal 'Voices of Teachers