The Decline of the School System

Quote

" The New IPL in India*

I am teaching a girl Class 12 Macroeconomics

She is studying in Kendriya Vidyalaya and essentially *knows NOTHING*

*NO CLUE on the 1/2 base height formula of area if a triangle, 

Cannot even identify where Sri Lanka is on the world map, no idea on the state capitals and capitals of our neighboring nations*

*LITERACY IS A FARCE IN INDIA, THE LAND OF THE VEDAS*

 

"Unquote 

👆 message from a friend and batchmate just now. 

I find this to be increasingly true. Parents are sending their children to posher and posher schools, spending more and more money, and their children are getting more and more marks. 

But the children are learning less and less. Most children of today know essentially very little of what is covered in their own standard school curriculums.

I have been making a case for pulling the children out of school and shifting to home tuition. One of the reasons is this. 

The other reason is that school systems, like any organised system, exists to ensure the survival of the other stakeholders, like the teachers. The needs of the primary stakeholder , the child, are irrelevant. 

One diabolical manifestation of this is the complete takeover of American schools by the woke virus, and the consequent teaching of damaging trash to the kids, who are getting brainwashed into being walking talking confused zombies. This includes colleges too, not just primary schools and high schools. 

Observe what is really happening in the name of education. Brutally and logically evaluate how much your own child is learning. 

And be afraid.

Review of Chilli Chicken

Just saw the Kannada movie "Chilli Chicken" at PVR at Bhartiya City. 

A slice of the life of migrants from the north east, a slice of the city of Bangalore, or the story of migrants anywhere...  It could be called any of these. The movie is based on the story of these migrants who are employed in a Bangalore restaurant. The language in the movie shifts between Kannada and  Manipuri, hence the need for subtitles which are there. 

The movie has a story line that keeps you gripped throughout. There are no famous stars here, but all the actors give convincing performances. 

At times it has the feel of a Noir movie, with its surprising twists in the plot, and an accidental murder woven into the story. The background music and songs are  good too. 

It also brings out a social message, about how all of us treat outsiders, in a subtle way, woven into the plot and the dialogue.

The cinematography is good and the editing is slick - it kept me engaged throughout wanting to know what comes next. 

In terms of overall mix of elements, I would think it comes closest to Lapata Ladies, though the plots of the two films have nothing in common. 

It is obviously not a big budget production but the whole thing has coalesced into a great finished product. A lot of credit for this must go the Director, Prateek. This his first film but it certainly doesn't feel like it. Very impressive effort - Prateek is set to go places in the industry. 

*The Director Prateek Prajosh lives in our Layout

On Food Additives

All processed foods contain many additives, all of them chemicals, and none of them fit for consumption. 

The additives could be for the purpose of: 

Faking the food: Hershey's strawberry syrup has no strawberries, for example. 

Making it last longer.

Adding colour,

Adding flavour,

Adding some property, like say, a chemical to make salt non hygroscopic and free flowing. 

But they are all "safe", within safe limits, goes the argument. 

The apologist who puts forward this argument should go back and read that forward on medicines once again. Every allopathic medicine is a chemical with dosages in milligrams. Individually, these medicines are harmful, and collectively they are deadly. No tests are done, in fact it is impossible to do any tests, for the millions of combinations in which these drugs may enter the human body.

It's the same with food additives. They are individually harmful, and collectively, they are deadly. And no tests are done, in fact, no tests exist, for the millions of combinations in which they are used. 

We insist on taking our food, killing it, adding manufactured salt, refined oils, white sugars, high fructose corn syrups, hydrogenated oils, flavours, preservatives, colours... And we even irradiate foods, ripen them chemically, put wax coatings on them, use chemicals and pesticides while growing them... The list goes on. 

Each of these processes and additives kills the food and makes it less edible. Together, these processes convert our food into poison. 

So we eat processed foods, in other words,  poison instead of food. Then we get sick. Then we take more poisons as medicines. 

The only way out of this cycle is to opt out. 

Stop drugging yourself. 

Say no to drugs. 

Say no to allopathic medicines. 

Say no to processed foods. 

Say no to white sugar. 

Say no to refined oils. 

Say no to manufactured table salt. 

Say yes to organic food, freshly procured, from trusted verified sources.

Say yes to cooking at home, using only the best and purest of ingredients. 

Say yes to eating your food within hours of cooking. 

Doing all that will increase the quality of your life, and paradoxically, reduce expenses in the long run

Use Your Finger

Use your finger

To vote for progress, 

Against the forces of regress,

Use your finger, 

To reject appeasement,

At the cost of everyone else, 

Use your finger,

To stop the unchecked loot,

We suffered since our nation took birth, 

Use your finger, 

To give more time,

To those with honest intent, 

Use your finger, 

To reclaim the pride,

That is ours by right, 

Use your finger,

To protect what is yours, 

By right and inheritance,

Use your finger ,

To protect home and hearth,

From being broken or burnt, 

Use your finger, 

To reject throwing money, 

In freebies that are not earned,

Use your finger,

To guard against partition,

That they would foist upon us, 

Use your finger, 

To keep from breaking,

Our country one more time, 

Use your finger, 

To reject the Hand that misleads,

Along with all of their ilk,

Use your finger ,

And allow to bloom,

The Lotus in each one of us,

Use your finger,

To reclaim our temples, 

From ruins and barbarians,

Use your fingers, 

To stop the return, 

Of the masters of loot and run,

Use your fingers, 

To show your true clout,

Which to yourself was hidden, 

Use your fingers,

To enable once more, 

Ramrajya: the rule of the just! 

In the train from Bangalore to Coimbatore, I am reading this "in train"  magazine placed on the rack near the seat.

The Railways are learning! The articles are typical photo heavy shallow stuff, and they are liberally peppered with words like biodiversity, sustainability, responsible tourism, carbon neutral, etc. 

Meanwhile, vendors keep passing selling chai, samosa, chikki , etc.

India is always a great study in bridging contrasts and blending diverse things into one sensory heavy experience. 

I am now waiting for sustainability and ecological responsibility brochures next time I pass through Dharavi. We are beating the goras at their own game...