The Way I Feel

The Ideal School

amruthap — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 19:37:28 +0000

Green lawns, perpetual sunshine, blooming flowers, perfect science labs sans explosions, French classes that were comprehended by all those attending, no students lurking in the hallways after the second bell, teachers with smiles on their faces from 8:00am to 4:30pm, Kitchen staff that never stopped serving dessert, lunch so good that the President dined here, a student council that functioned as though it were mechanical, Track as the only unit of PE and only three classes that met once a week; that’s an ideal school to me. Teachers who believed that there was no such thing as deadlines, a school newspaper that produced itself without the need for reporters or an editor, notebooks that solved math problems, textbooks that read themselves, absences that excused themselves and no such practice as CAS hours; that’s an ideal school to me. A⁺s on every assignment even those not handed in, 7 on every IB exam even those bunked, long weekends every week and spring break every month, fieldtrips to villages and not cities, more extracurricular activities, less homework, no drug or alcohol problems and teachers that ignored the fact that you’re clumsy, irresponsible and a mile from being classified as hardworking; that’s an ideal school to me.

I believe that a school should be firmly grounded on discipline but this foundation should be so strong that it need not be enforced but practiced naturally. I believe that a school should promote achievement in academics, sports and music at the same time accept the fact that being an all rounder is a trait that is brought out not born with. I believe that a good school should encourage personal development and learning. A good school should encourage reading, writing, painting etc and not regard them as distracting hobbies. To someone else, a Harry Potter style school with owls instead of the postal department, wands instead of pens, swaying towers instead of a rigid observatory tower and teachers with witch hats instead of those with perfect hair would be an ideal school. Good is a relative term. Adjoining the adjective to a noun is the most impractical thing to do as it merely increases the ambiguous connotation of the noun. For example, a school is the collective term for a group of fish; it is also an institution that offers formal education as well as a stream of thought common to a group of philosophers, scientists, thinkers etc. What is a good school? A good school of fish, in my opinion, would be a healthy batch of tuna that would satisfy my craving. A good school of thought would be one of staunch beliefs yet welcoming to other streams of thought. A good school, in the terms of education, would be one that sufficed the needs of every individual who possessed the desire to learn. Is that possible?

We talk about individuals seeking knowledge. Each individual has different desires, is it possible to satisfy the needs of every individual on this planet with a stereotype school. Rationally speaking the answer would be no. What seems to be perfect to me may not appeal to someone else. Individuals have different needs that require different schools; therefore, there is no ideal school. A tribesman in the Amazon sees no purpose of counting beyond four whereas the parents of a toddler in
New York believe that their four-year-old should know how to count to ten at least. From my perspective, Math does not make sense. Science, History, English and Philosophy make so much more sense to me and my yearning for knowledge is limited to these areas hence, a school offering Math is not perfect to me. Look at it from the perspective from a fellow student, Natalya; she has no desire to learn History. A school offering History and no Math seems perfect to me but to her, it is not. On a general note, schools tend to force knowledge down the throats of young minds. I do not approve of this simply because I belief in another method of learning. I believe that students should take the initiative to use their resources to their maximum. If they are forced to take courses that do not appeal to them, take them, there is no harm in learning a little extra. You would not be obligated to take the courses unless there were of some importance. If you feel like you have a bad teacher, do not blame your performance on him or her. It is your duty to learn, they are your grades and no one else’s therefore, it is no one else’s fault for your bad grades. In other words, a student is completely responsible for his or her education. In my opinion, there is no such thing as an ideal school but an ideal student. An ideal or good student accepts what opportunity has left at his or her doorstep. An ideal student takes whatever seed he or she receives; sows and waters it and then benefits from its fruit. An ideal student acknowledges his or her shortcomings but works perfecting his or her talents and improving on the weaknesses. Last of all, an ideal student knows that there is no such thing as a good school. Note that ideal students cannot be created but they are formed over a period and sometimes are just born like that.

What’s in a name? Schools these days are branded with affiliations to the International Baccalaureate etc. Parents compete with each other, using their children as tools, by sending them to the most expensive and well-reputed schools somehow they gain a place in society. What’s in a name? You could send your child to a well-known IB school but they could come back learning nothing, you could send your child to a public school and they might come back learning more than the rich kid who studied at a reputed IB school. It’s not the school or the method of teaching, they’re both partially responsible, but it’s the student. If you want to learn and if you have limited or unlimited resources, you’ll find your way around every bend in favor of your success. Why force a student to take PE if it is not in their slightest interest? A six-pack is not attained by mere attendance; you have to work towards your goal. If you are interested, you will work, and when you work things will work for you or at least, seem to. It doesn’t matter where you study but how you study. Therefore, does it really matter if your school is good or bad? Is there really a good school?

Good, school, good school. Is there any such thing that can be defined as good? Is there anything that can be classified as a school? Further more, is there any such thing as a good school? Is it a good school or a good student that we seek? We could ask question after question in the same manner than we could list characteristic after characteristic for a good school. From my angle, I do not see a good school but that doesn’t stop me from dreaming of one. I see no ideal student but that doesn’t stop me from trying to be one. There is no such thing as a good school, good student or good anything for that matter. Good has many connotations therefore trying to define the term is an endless quest. Attempting to describe a good school is something we can leave for our grandchildren; we seem to be making their lives easier with inventions, hence, leaving them with a puzzle seems only fair.

I am…

amruthap — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 03:15:28 +0000

When you look at me, you see an ordinary girl. You see dark-skin, dark-hair, unmanageable hair and a tall frame. When you listen to my voice, you try to put a name to my accent but what attracts you more is how I manage to squeeze in so many personalities into my voice; sometimes you hear the teenager in me, the adult occasionally and of course, the geek. If you were rude enough to go through my handbag, you would find my diary, a pen, a hairbrush and occasionally cream. If you were interested in tracing my family history, the books would take you back as far as St. Thomas hence my extended family consists of Hindus, Muslims, Jews and Christians. You could read all my diaries, blogs and even read every single conversation in my inbox but you would never understand the whole me. I am more than my culture, my ethnic race; I am definitely larger than my handbag and more interesting than my schizophrenic voice.

First, a basic introduction, the name is Amrutha Pulikottil and for those who love etymology, my name means “sweet tiger.” I am 16-years-old and have been attending KIS for the past three years. I live in Pune right now but I moved a lot before; England, the US, Vizag and Thrissur are a few of my homes. I love travelling but detest the journey itself. My dad is a Professor, my mom is a homemaker and my brother has just started his first year of college in Pune. I am the youngest in the family, the only girl amongst my first cousins therefore; I am thoroughly spoilt at the same time bullied. I love reading and writing. They are more like my obsessions than my hobbies or talents. I love talking; you’ll realize that in a while. I love studying, be it English, Science, Social Sciences, etc. If you were to be specific, it would include philosophy, political science, history, art, music and surprisingly sports. I live for music, art and literature. You may not see that on the outside but that is the true me. I just love working I cannot be idle. At the same time, I enjoy my time alone and my bag of chips in front of the television. I am a health freak let me clarify that. I have always thought or more like assumed that health was only in relation to food despite my high consumption of junk food and high Glycemic Index foods; I prefer salads to potatoes simply because they have a higher nutritional value and they taste better. One of my favourite places in Kodai is Eco-nut.

I believe that a person is formed from their beliefs. I believe that one should acknowledge the existence of every religion, by abiding to your religion you are obviously expected to be critical of another’s but I don’t believe that anyone has the right to insult or ridicule someone else’s religion. My family goes back into the history of Kerela; it used to be one of the most influential families simply because it was always involved in important events. It has taught me a lot. I respect every single religion, I have my doubts and questions, but I can honestly say that I have never insulted another religion. I know that my religion is right and by involving myself with the so-called errors of another man’s religion makes me deviate from concentrating on my mine.

My second belief is that everyone has the power. The power to move; to move people’s hearts, to move from failure to success, to move from city to city and most importantly move one’s destiny. Before I came to Kodai, I ranked second last in my entire class. My dad is in the education business so everyone assumes that his children were born geniuses but that certainly was not the case, at least not with me. I consider my brother to be one talented person who just does not realize it. That is where the second part of my belief comes it. I used to fail school and now I qualify for Stanford. I am not bragging. The point that I am trying to make is that, never underestimate yourself and do not ever overestimate yourself either. Work and you will definitely see results, it may take a while but it will happen.

My third belief is that never compare yourself to others. We are all unique, we have heard that a million times yet it does not register into our brain. We are all unique, we are not stereotypes, how does it make sense to compare yourself to some else when there is no set common standard? I care about the world, a lot for that matter but I have never compared myself to another person especially when it comes to school. I do not care about someone else’s grades; my aim in life is not to be better than another person but to do better than I did before. For the past three years at KIS, my GPA has been a straight bar graph and last semester, I just could not take it anymore so I worked harder than before and moved it up. That is just one example; all of my friends are so gifted when it comes to sports. I do not feel bad when I play with them and I do not envy them. My goal this PE unit is to get myself toned and to improve in volleyball. I know that my friends are talented, and smart and just amazing people but I know my limits, my shortcomings and my weaknesses. I have come to terms with it. I know I can be a better person but I am extremely content with who I am.

My fourth and most important belief is that people are founded in their beliefs. What’s in a name? It’s a mere label. You could label a peanut butter jar “blueberry jam” it does not make the contents blueberry jam. The ingredients are peanuts, butter, sugar etc. Those are you beliefs. I could change my name to Fabio Reno but that would not change who I am. I am more than my culture, my ethnic race; I am definitely larger than my handbag and more interesting than my schizophrenic voice. I am Amrutha Pulikottil.