The Academic Journal

VOL. 1 ISSUE 1

Contents

1. Letter From The Editor ..................................................... 1-1 2. Perceptions: From the Eyes of a MUNner…..................... 2-3

By Anusha Sharma

3. The Practicality of Theory ................................................. 4-8 By Naren Nagarajan

4. How Do I Pick The Right Career? .................................... 9-12 By Christine Woodward

5. British Policy Towards The Development ....................... 13-22 of Indian Constitution. (1927-1937) By Sonia Ahuja

6. Educating the Z Generation ........................................... 23-24 By Chitra Sharma

7. The Emerging Middle School .......................................... 25-27

By Anita Roy

8. The Power Of An Embedded Curriculum ........................ 28-29 By Ruma Malhotra

9. ....................... 30-32

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Letter From The Editor

Dear Readers,

The story behind this Journal is pretty humble. As teachers and educationists, there are certain issues we all feel very strongly about but owing to the pressures of time, let the voice die within. Though many of us are first time writers, on being given this opportunity, willingly jumped onto the bandwagon of amateur writers. The mission of this Journal is to advance scholarly thought by publishing articles promoting research, practice, and policy in education. I sincerely hope that we are able to achieve this mission and make a difference in some segment of our school-teaching fraternity. This issue touches on a variety of topics, from ‘The Practicality of Theory in Science’ to a research paper on ‘British Policy Towards The Development of Indian Constitution’. We have tried to include a wide range of topics and hope that this first issue of the Kasiga Academic Journal will be the beginning of a new era and will encourage the pursuit of knowledge. Being a maiden effort, I am quite apprehensive about the appeal of this Journal. I look forward to your feedback on individual articles as also the Journal as a whole. Feedback is an important factor in a team environment, and being a strong proponent of it, any kind of feedback is more than welcome by me ! As a final word, I sincerely hope that in future we have more contributions and this Journal is able to make a mark in the complex world of education. Ruma Malhotra

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PERCEPTIONS: From the Eyes of a MUNner…..

BY ANUSHA SHARMA

‘What is that buzzword reverberating in Kasiga?’ Listen in! It is a plunge

into the scholastic depths of world affairs. ‘Did I hear clearly or was it a figment of my imagination?’ This was my very initial reaction when I heard the acronym - MUN. I soon discovered that it stood for Model United Nations. It was indeed an obscure word but I soon found out that it is a simulation of the United Nations and its procedures. It is essentially a forum for young people like you & me to debate on the critical issues in the world. In this journey you learn about burning issues & flash points in the international arena. Believing in consensus and coalition, ‘MUNners’ find pragmatic solutions for each of them. At this conference, each participant represents a particular country and acts as a delegate of that nation. Let me take you for a walk down memory lane! Last year I decided to go for Cathedral Model United Nations Conference, one of India’s first MUN, hosted by Cathedral and John Connon School and held in August each year, at the Trident in Mumbai. After hours of hard work and research with our faculty advisors, we finally landed at Mumbai on the penultimate day. The next three days that followed can only be described as exhilarating and unforgettable. We were exposed to a variety of new thoughts, cerebral peers and to expound on the learning that happened would run into pages galore! It has not just enhanced our linguistic ability and recognized the ‘diplomat’ in us; it has also sensitized us to the critical problems the people of the world face today. It is imperative that today’s youth leads from the front and works towards the betterment of society at large. Last but not the least; we feel highly motivated to work for the realization of peace and harmony in the world through deliberation and talks. Further-a-field, at CMUN, I was awestruck by the fact that an event of such magnitude was run solely by the student body of the school with very few facilitators We also learnt the key to progress, which is ‘pupil ownership’. Sixteen to seventeen year olds found themselves well-equipped to handle

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superbly an event of such magnitude as well as hone in their managerial skills. It reflected in their handling of food, allocations, transportation and nitty-gritty of the conference in a very meticulous manner. ‘MUNners’ learn specific procedures and protocol; speak in formal manner and in politically correct parlance. Attired in formals, looking debonair and confident they sail through the three-day conference with dignity. It is a fact that this new-age debating is an activity which comes strongly recommended.

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The Practicality of Theory

BY NAREN NAGARAJAN

What is Theory?

A Theory is a framework that lets us analyse and predict consensual objective reality. The success of a theory is based on its predictive value. The theory of relativity is more successful than Newton’s gravity, because it predicts Mercury's orbital precession which the Newtonian Theory of Gravity cannot. A theory is valueless when the predictions cannot be measured - My theory of pink invisible unicorns frolicking in space predicts that you can never see them! The analysis is also critical - Without explaining the process of prediction, a theory may simply be a statistical correlation and a probability function. Also important is a description and an understanding of the exact circumstances under which the theoretical model is accurate, thereby pointing to its weaknesses.

Are theories important? Theories are important empirically and temporarily to get stuff done. We chuck them into the dustbin when something better or simpler comes along, which given the way things have played out till now, seems certain to occur. It's like clothing, as long as it suits the occasion (pun intended) and no visible holes exist, anything goes. Getting wedded to theory can be detrimental to the ‘Pursuit of Knowledge’. The trick is to know when to move on.

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We can speak of theories as evolving continually and in the battleground for supremacy (in logical perfection), (natural) selection will favour some over the others- That does not mean those theories are the truth, just that they won the war of logic at that time (just as we are not the ‘best’ species that ever evolved, only successful at this time).

What is Science? Science is just the compilation of theories about the material world where the predictions have been verified enough times - they call it statistically significant data. A lot of science is rejected or mistrusted by folks because the analysis->prediction is not possible to grasp without comprehension of the math involved. Anyone can see things falling, evolution has given us the hardcoded awareness of gravity. Talk about wave/particle duality or relativistic contraction, something counter-intuitive, and the human mind feels it's too fantastic and unbelievable, and bins it in the same container as irrational stuff. Thus often we hear from theists "Have you seen on electron? No? Then why do you believe in it? In the same way, I believe in God!" Thus modern science has been relegated into the same category as witchcraft - You don't want to know how it works, as long as it's working, and you mistrust it because it's impossible to understand fully.

Is Science valuable? Exactly the same reason theories are valuable - see above Explaining and predicting with accuracy, the happenings in our universe are generally a matter of life and death for us individuals or as a species.

What's really important? Neither science nor particular theories (including religion) are the real point. What is important is the theory of theory and the science of science.... meta-theory and meta-science

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The ability to take in a number of theories and treat them objectively, the ability to understand how science works rather than just the facts of science. These are the tools that evolution favoured, you cannot argue against evolution’s solution.

Logic and emotion... There are primal emotions and there are artificial emotions - The 4 F's of evolution (Fighting, Fleeing, Feeding & Fornication) are more drives than "emotions" - Rage, Fear, Hunger& Lust - Lets not call them emotions here. The primal responses that allow creatures to survive and to outcompete one another. Over the course of evolution, when we crawled out of the swamps, these drives alone helped organisms survive. They are termed primary drives. Once we stopped laying eggs, before we had thoughts/language/emotions, logic already had survival value. There is precise logic in the hunting methods of a pack of lions, logic even in the foraging of pastoral animals. No one has ever seen a sad or happy rat, but a slight training can make it behave in a logical fashion (albeit hard-coded)

Where does emotion come in? In the brain, when there is sufficient complexity, subjective thoughts, language and secondary drives get activated. These drives are fulfilled by conversations and actions that may not really have to do with survival. The rise and fall of these secondary drives is what we call emotion. As human society evolves, newer emotions will come into being in response to interpersonal dynamics of behaviour. To give a good example, the insanity of current societies man/woman social dynamic has given rise to a range of emotional states - Crush, Limerence, Love, Romance, etc. etc.

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These probably never existed in the heads of Homo erectus because in those days things were pretty simple. But I'm sure their brains were capable of experiencing these states. They probably never had a social-evolutionary need to.

To summarize: Logic is a powerful tool, In fact it is the only tool we have to deal with our universe, real or otherwise. Intuition is just the result of unconscious logic applied by parts of your brain that you are not directly aware of. Logic gets trained into the unconscious automatically. Even a person with apparent mental instability and total lack of sanity will not lose the fundamental faculty of logic that lets them open a door or unscrew a jar to reach food inside. Finally: The ability to reason about experiences/facts/theories is more valuable (Note that I'm not saying significant) than those experiences/facts/theories themselves. Meta-knowledge is more valuable than knowledge. The means of acquisition of knowledge and the reasons behind it are more important than the actual knowledge itself. Knowledge that is purely Empirical is transient and has no value beyond a narrow temporal window (measured in seconds, days, centuries or epochs even); the skill of interpreting data and analysing information leading to the ‘production of Knowledge’ is eternal in comparison. Any physical theory is always provisional, in the sense that it is only a hypothesis; you can never prove it. No matter how many times the results of experiments agree with some theory, you can never be sure that the next time the result will not contradict the theory. On the other hand, you can disprove a theory by finding even a single observation that disagrees with the predictions of the theory. This underlines the ephemeral nature of knowledge (all our qualifications notwithstanding) and a failure to acknowledge this can be lethal.

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Why speak about this in the context of education? The purpose of education is the acquisition of the skills that can be used to interpret and understand any event that occurs and to this end, the refinement of the process of learning and understanding is probably the most significant skill one can attain as ‘Homo Sapiens’. There is a disturbing tendency among educators to focus on memorization of facts, elevating information to a sacrosanct position, subjugating the process of understanding. On the contrary, the tools of knowledge acquisition and interpretation are more significant and should receive more attention in education. Nurturing the ability to think, question and even challenge conventional knowledge is probably one of the most important roles of a

teacher. A reduced use of authority in teaching, replacing ‘absolute knowledge’ with analysis of empirical data using a priori logic, leading to an ‘educated conclusion’ will go a long way to developing these traits in learners. In a changing economic, political and environmental world, reinterpretation of knowledge has been and will be the dividing line, the last frontier to our continued existence on the planet………

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How Do I Pick The Right Career? BY CHRISTINE WOODWARD

“Education is helping the child realize his potentialities” - Erich Fromm

“Education is the kindling of a soul, not the filling of a vessel” -Socrates

“Education is the manifestation of perfection already present in a man” - Swami Vivekananda

Choosing a Career is perhaps one of the most important milestones in an

individual's life. Many students don't have much time to spend in career planning for a variety of reasons. Some don't feel the need to plan a career, as it is considered a waste of time or it is for those with high ambitions. Others come from wealthy backgrounds and hence feel that they have no cause for concern. Some of us are just lazy and do not want to make that extra effort. Whatever the case may be, it is important to remember that a career choice is a decision that would affect the rest of your life. Choosing a life’s vocation is not a decision to be taken lightly. Often wrong choice of careers guidance or poor choice leads to frustration and stress related problems. However, with patience and determination, our dreams and goals in life can come true. How to make the Correct Choice. “Your outlook upon life, your estimate of yourself, your estimate of your value are largely coloured by your environment. Your whole career will be modified, shaped, moulded by your surroundings, by the character of the people with whom you come in contact every day” - Orison Swett Marden Some of the chief influences that have a bearing on a career choice would be the views of role models (parents, relatives, friends, and teachers), peers,

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grades and financial needs. Some of the important aspects that we need to keep in mind when choosing a career are as follows: 1. Self Appraisal. “The first essential in a boy's career is to find out what he's fitted for, what he's most capable of doing and doing with a relish”. - Charles M. Schwab Choosing a career is all about you, and knowing yourself as an individual. What is really important to you? One of the key elements is your core Values (beliefs and ideas that are important to you) both in your personal life and at work. It is important that you discover your primary interests and passions. This can also open doors to careers that you might not have considered earlier. 2. Know your Abilities. “Talents are common, everyone has them - but rare is the courage to follow our talents where they lead” - Anon You must figure out what you are good at and what brings out the best of your Abilities (skills and talents). A skill is your ability to do something, whereas a talent is an ability that you've been born with or something that comes naturally to you. There are many ways to determine what you are good at, simply just by asking yourself what are your likes and dislikes, your expectations for your dream career, and what steps you would have to take to get there. 3. Determine your preferences. “We are prone to judge success by the index of our salaries or the size of our automobiles rather than by the quality of our service and relationship to mankind” - Martin Luther King, Jr. We all have a certain personal preferences- how we perceive others, how we think and make decisions, and the extent to which we are comfortable with uncertainty in our lives. For many of us these preferences strongly influence the way we function with others. This could have a bearing on your preferred working environment.

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4. Research. “Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it” - Buddha Learn about your career options. While choosing a subject stream in High School, or a career, you should know your abilities, interests, aptitudes and personality. Besides these you should gather information regarding different career options, the eligibility criteria, the premier institutions/universities, and other criteria of selection and the market demands. There are different online tools that can guide you through this process. Get support and information from others by extensive research, networking or just speaking to people who are already working in the field in which you are interested in. There are career advice books with tests that you can take as well. The tests can help you to discover your strengths in the workplace and also find a profession that matches your personality. Once you have spent time on this aspect of your research, you will find that some of your strong preferences may start to emerge. Sorting out your priorities would assist you in determining the field that is right for you. “Think not of yourself as the architect of your career but as the sculptor. Expect to have to do a lot of hard hammering and chiseling and scraping and polishing” - BC Forbes Conclusion. “The person who has found his vocation in life is a blessed human being. Let him ask for no other blessedness” - Thomas Carlyle Selecting a career is always a difficult issue which makes many young people worried and confused. There will be some mistakes and many regrets if we select careers which are at variance with our hobbies and our abilities. Finding the right career can often be a difficult and frustrating journey in life, and trying to find the right career after you have already pursued another can

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be even more overwhelming. However, taking the time to find a career that matches your personality and natural abilities can make the difference between being successful and fulfilled or not. Robert F. Kennedy said in Promises to Keep "....if this is the vision of the future---if this is the direction in which we want to move---the next thing we must consider is how we want to get there, and what obstacles lie in our path. For such a vision is never self-fulfilling. We cannot stand idly by and expect our dreams to come true under their own power. The future is not a gift, it is an achievement." Good Luck!

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British Policy Towards The Development of Indian Constitution. (1927-1937)

BY SONIA AHUJA

The proposed topic British Policy towards the Development of Indian

Constitution. (1927-1937) is to study the conflicting viewpoints in British Parliament and its complex relationships with contemporary Indian political parties regarding the issue of constitutional development in India during 1927-1937. The Political scene in India was full of unrest since the partition of Bengal by Lord Curzon in 1905. The Congress began agitation against the government for an annulment. The unrest in India was countered by repressive measures by the Government of India. It was when the partition of Bengal had been annulled in 1911 that the agitation subsided. In the meantime, Morley-Minto reforms became law as the Indian Councils Act 1909. The objective of the reforms of 1909, according to Morley, the Viceroy, was greater association of Indians with the Government. The Labour Party had little influence in the passage of the Act of 1909 during the Asquith government but did raise opposition to the clause pertaining to communalism and criticized the limited scope of the self government granted to India. The reforms of 1909 did not live up to the expectation of the Indians. The period between 1909-1917, Indian witnessed great political upheavals. When the First World War began in 1914, the first reaction to this tremendous event in India was a spontaneous rally to England’s cause. The war effort made by India came as a great surprise to both the British people and the British statesmen. India’s reaction to the war brought the nationalists to the forefront of Indian politics. The Home Rulers demanded self-government for India while retaining the British connection. For the time, in 1916-17, the agitation spread on a nation-wide scale and a network of political committees covered much of India.

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While the Home Rule movement was going on, the British Government made a historic announcement regarding the future policy in August 1917. The Secretary of state declared in the House of Commons that the policy of His Majesty’s Government was the gradual development of self-governing institution, with a view to the progressive realization of progressive governing institution, with a view to the progressive realization of the responsible government in India as an integral part of the British Empire. The declaration, which become the preamble of the reforms Act of 1919, was the response to the insistent demand of patriotic Indians for a goal and a policy. Although the Lloyd George coalition and the subsequent Conservative Party government denied that the declaration of 1917 bounded British to the granting of responsible government and Dominion Status to India in the near future, the Labour Party was convinced that the Declaration did pledge these very things, and acted accordingly. The Labour Party was highly influenced in its interpretation of the 1917 Declaration by the London branch of the Congress party, on which it relied primarily for its information on India. The Secretary of State, Montagu visited India about three months after the August Declaration. He toured various parts of India and along with Chelmsford, the Governor-General, met various Indian leaders. They received many deputations and considered various proposals for constitutional advance. The Montagu-Chelmsford Report containing proposals for constitutional reform was published in 1918. The report recommended that a system of diarchy should be introduced in the provinces. The report proposed a legislature of two houses and disapproved of communal representation. The object of the reforms of 1919 was to replace the system of Government, then obtaining by a system, which would ultimately be developed into responsible government. The reforms represented a turn from the Minto-Morley policy of associating Indians in Government by the British towards a policy if giving Indians responsibility for governing themselves. The Labour Party maintained that self-government should be granted to India by stages. It means that the Indians were not fit for full self-government at that time and which was why the Labourites wanted that she should have self-government step by step. Besides, the Labour Party favored the

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extension of the right of self-determination to the Indian people within the framework of the Empire, which meant that the Indians would not be able to secede if she so desired. The Labour Party, of course, at a later stage withdrew this condition. On the other hand the ruling Conservative Party at that time, with its leader Stanley Baldwin, stressed on the fact that would pursue a policy of progressive self-government within the British Empire resisting attempts at separation. The progressive grant of constitutional liberties depended upon the loyalty and capacity of the people. Political reforms in India were accompanied by coercion. The repressive Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala massacre poisoned the Indian political atmosphere. Mahatma Gandhi then started the Non-Cooperation Movement. After the Chauri Chaura incident in 1922 in which twenty-two Indian policemen were burnt to death by an angry mob, Gandhi suspended the movement. Although the Labour Party condemned the Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, it did not offer support to the non-cooperation movement. The Labour Members while criticizing the non-cooperation movement of Gandhi held the view that the Indian should confine their agitation for freedom within the constitutional limits. It is surprising that the Labour Party, which claimed to be, the torchbearer of anti imperialism condemned the principle of non-cooperation to obtain self-rule by legitimate means. But the radicals of Labour Party supported the non-cooperation movement. In England, the government of Baldwin was turned out of office in January 1924, and James Ramsay MacDonald, the leader of the Labour Party formed the first Labour Government. The Labour Party came to office with the support of the Liberals and it remained in office as a minority government for a period of only nine months. The main objective of the Labour Government’s policy was to achieve Indians cooperation. After the termination of the non-cooperation movement a branch of the Congress Party formed the Swaraj Party. The objective of this party was to resort to a policy of a uniform and consistent obstruction in the Assembly and

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make government impossible until the right of Indian people to control the machinery and system of government was conceded. The Labour Prime Minister, MacDonald took for granted that the Indians would cooperate with his government. Accordingly, he appealed to the nationalists for cooperation in finding a solution to the constitutional problem. When the Congress Party did not respond favourably, the Government was at loss. The Labour Government was severely criticized by both the house of the British Parliament for its indecision in formulating an Indian policy. The only step that the Government took was to direct the Government of India to examine the working of 1919 Act, for making recommendation for amendments. Since the Labour Party was out of office when the reports were completed, the Conservative Government ignored the recommendation. It is to be noted that during the Labour administration Gandhi was released from jail after serious illness, having served two years of a six-years sentence. But, McDonald’s government gave a blow to Indians by sanctioning the infamous Bengal Ordinance. McDonald’s liberal professions, particularly of the doctrine of self-determination, won for him admirers among the Indian nationalist leaders. They looked up to MacDonald’s advent to office as the beginning of the era when the principle of self-determination, would be put into practice in India. But MacDonald’s Government did nothing to prove their sincerity of purpose. The nationalists asked the labour Government for a round table conference to discuss their position, which was denied to them. The repressive Bengal Ordinance was not expected from the Labour Party. So it is clear that their existed a gulf between the prophecy and practice of the Labour party. The nationalists leaders lost faith in MacDonald. Although he wrote much about India but he never ardently advocated self-determination for India. The message that MacDonald sent to India upon his accession to office is well known. In his message he declared that no British party was to be cowed down by threats of force or by policies designed to bring government to a standstill. Any other Prime Minister might have attached his name to such a communication. It was wondered, why he sent such an excessive discouraging message. There was sufficient reason. It was to counteract the effects of some of the statements on India made by colonel Wedgwood, an

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outspoken member of the labour party, and who was sympathetic to the Indian cause. Wedgwood said that the Labour Party hoped to overcome the difficulties by accelerating the conversion of India into a self – governing dominion. This was too much for the British bourgeoisie. That could not allow a party with such ideas to be at the helm of the country. When MacDonald looked hungrily at the votes of the Liberal minority, he was reminded of those indiscreet pronouncements of his colleague. MacDonald had to inform his Indian admirers that self-determination was all right when it did not concern the Empire too closely, but when the safety of the British Empire was involved he would not tolerate any monkey tricks. Early in 1924, the Indian leaders drafted the Commonwealth of India Bill. This bill would have granted India responsible self-government. But before it was presented to the Labour Party, the labour Government was out of office. The bill appealed to the labour left and became the basis for the principle of policy that all future constitutional changes for India had to have the agreement of the Indians. It received a cool reception in the House of Commons although the Labour Party made an unsuccessful appeal for a second reading. The Conservative Government under Stanley Baldwin, for obvious reasons advanced the date of the Commission of enquiry and announced the Constitution of the Statutory Commission in November 1927. It was to inquire into the working of the Indian constitution and to consider the desirability of establishing, extending, modifying or restricting their degree of responsible government at the end of decennial period. The commission included seven members of British parliament. The Indians resented it because they were not included in the commission. The Indians were all the more shocked because the Labour Party nominated two members in that all- white commission. The radical Labourites, however advocated a mixed commission in Parliament. India’s faith in Labour had been shattered by its action in connection with the Simon Commission. Here again, we see a wide gulf between Labour Party’s word and deed. This commission did not enjoy the confidence of the Indian

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people. On the contrary, it was greeted with fierce hostility by every section of Indian nationalist opinion. The political leader in India at an all party conference formed a committee in 1928, headed by Motilal Nehru to consider and determine the principles of constitution for India. The committee prepared a report, known as Nehru Report, in which it was stated that the primary objective of the constitution was that India should be granted full Dominion Status forthwith. One of the positive contributions of the report was the recognition of the necessity of widening the franchise, thereby accepting universal suffrage and the principle of majority rule in the implementation of any future scheme of constitutional reforms. The contents of the Nehru plan were well known to the labourities, but the labour party that came into office for the second time in 1929 could not proclaim a policy for India until the report of the Indian statutory commission had been published. The Statutory Commission submitted its report in May-June 1930. Full provincial autonomy subject to certain restrictions was suggested and the main conclusion reached commission was that the Indian constitution must ultimately be federal and be attained by continuous evolution. The commission failed to give definite lead on important question and the recommendation failed to satisfy Indian opinion. However, the report was noteworthy for two of its conclusions. It concluded that the provinces were ripe for full responsible self-government including law and order and that British India alone was unsuited for any permanent system of self-government. In the Commission’s opinion, an all-India federation was the only ultimate solution of the problem and it was to this that all the marshalling of their facts and arguments irresistibly pointed. The proposal of the report was of a conservative character and such innovations as they contained had already been discounted by moderate opinion both in England and India. The recommendations did not satisfy the Labour opinion. The second Labour Government remained in office till August 1931. During its tenure of office the Viceroy Irwin, with his famous statement of October

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1929, promising India responsible government and Dominion Status. The effect of the statement was excellent in India; in England the use of the ritual phrase ‘Dominion Status’ become the shibboleth that divided Churchill from Baldwin, and the diehard from the main body of the Conservative party. Prime Minister MacDonald remarked in the Commons the Irwin’s declaration was necessary to establish confidence in India pending the publication of the Statutory Commission Report. Now that the goal was declared to be Dominion Status for India, the Labour Party decided that it would issue a statement of policy as to how that should be obtained. Later, the Labour Government announced that a Round Table Conference would be held between the Indians and the British to discuss the future constitution of India. The years 1930-1931 were marked by events like civil disobedience movement in India and the first two sessions of the Round Table Conference were held in England. The political leaders in India issued the Delhi Manifesto after the announcement by the government that the Round Table Conference would be held. In the Manifesto, Irwin’s declaration was interpreted to mean that the conference would discuss the forming of a Dominion constitution for India. When the Labour Government denied the condition on which the Congress Party wanted to attend the conference, Gandhi began the civil disobedience movement for the achievement of complete independence. Repressive ordinances were introduced to check the movement and the government defended its policy by saying that they trying to maintain law and order. The first session of the Round Table was held in 1930. The Congress Party boycotted it. This session of the Conference could bring no tangible results, except the willingness shown by the Princes to join in an all India federation. Gandhi, on behalf of the Congress could not offer his cooperation to the first Round Table Conference because the Congress had already voted for independence , and, therefore it was not possible to persuade the Party to agree to any proposal which in its preamble did not concede without question that the substance of independence into definite shape; to show for instance, what adjustment must be brought about during the transition period of transference of power from British hands into Indians. This the

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Labour Government could not guarantee. There would have been little practical difficulty about the Congress view if Labour could command courage to stick to its principles and professions. But it was not prepared to risk its life on the Indian issue. It was perhaps more anxious to carry the British Liberals and Tories with them than the Indian nationalists. The Congress rightly felt that such a promiscuous conference could hardly be expected to yield any tangible results even remotely foreshadowing the fruition of Labour aspirations. The plea of the Labour Party was that it was sincere in its solicitude for Indian emancipation, but that its actual course of action was determined by conditions of political reality, which required a cautious slow movement along the line of least resistance. It is to be noted that the labour handling of the Indian situation was in two respects a departure from the Tory treatment of it. First, it admitted the fundamental blunder of the Simon Commission plan and substituted for it the round table method. Secondly, it ventured negotiations with the Congress Party while the latter was carrying on civil disobedience movement. The Gandhi-Irwin pact was in no sense an agreement between the victor and vanquished-a circumstance, which made it galling and bitter to the Indian bureaucratic throat that was to swallow it. The Congress Party participated in the next session of the Conference on the distinct understanding that all reservations and safeguards period would be demonstrably in the interest of India. The second Labour Government had made two initial mistakes, which it would not or could not rectify. It had made a pact with the Tories and Liberals, and the collaboration with these parties in the Round Table Conference and in the Parliament necessarily meant that the measure of responsibility to be conceded in the Indian constitution would be the least possible, and that of the reservations and safeguards largest possible. By the agreement the Labour Party Consented to move with perpetual Tory halter round its neck. The second mistake was due to its failure to make the Indian representation in the Conference, truly representative in character. Moreover the inconclusive session of the Conference broke up in an atmosphere of vagueness and mutual distrust. In reality there was nothing left for the great constitutional question itself but to wait for the report of the committees.

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The Conservative Party came up with an overwhelming victory on October 1931. The second Round Table Conference also met with failure, despite of the presence of Gandhi as a sole representative of the Congress. Sir Samuel Hoare, the Secretary of State for India, who had promised to continue Labour Government’s policy inspired hopes that in amicable solution, could be negotiated. But the emptiness of Hoare’s promises together with the mutual distrust between Gandhi and the Conservatives rendered a meeting of minds impossible. Gandhi was as uncompromising on the communal problem as were the minorities that claimed communal rights, and the British Conservatives usually supported the minorities against the Hindus, if for no other reason than to preserve the Empire against the threat of Indian nationalism. The Labour Party condemned the National Government for the India policy both outside and inside parliament. It criticized the repression in India introduced by the Government and the imprisoning Gandhi soon after his return to India from the round table conference. The Labour Party requested the National Government to cooperate with the Congress Party in order to a settlement of the Indian problem. After the third and final session of Round Table Conference, which was not attended by both the Labour Party and Indian National Congress, the government drafted a white paper in the light of the conclusions of the Round table conference and the Statutory Commission Report. It provided for an all-India federation, provincial autonomy, responsibility and safeguards. In the debates in the House of Commons on the appointment of the Joint Select Committee, the Labour Party complained that the idea of Dominion Status had disappeared even as the ultimate goal, and that there was no provision in the White Paper for the progressive advancement to full responsible government. Although the Labour Party criticized the White Paper proposal, it did nominate its representatives to the Joint Select Committee. The committee, in general, approved the White Paper proposals. It may be noted that a draft report was prepared by Attlee for the Committee known as Atlee Draft. The conclusions made in the Draft put forward the same arguments as those made by the Labour party members in the debates in the House of Commons at the time of the proposal for the establishment of the Joint Select

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Committee. But the draft proposals were voted down in the Committee. It was expected that Attlee Draft would come into line with the Labour Party policy. Instead the Draft advocated the same principle of veto as mentioned by the majority report of the Joint Select Committee. It did not criticize the principle of veto, and the only real improvement that it did make upon the majority report was try to set up provisions for adult suffrage in India. Later, when the Committee’s Report came up for discussion in parliament as the Government of India Bill, in December 1934, the Labour Party brought forward some amendments to liberalize the Bill, without achievement. The reason for their failure to liberalize the Bill was that the party was a minority in Parliament. The Labour Party pointed out the Bill did not contain the means for the realization of Dominion Status and imposed undue restriction on the exercise of self-government. The leader of the Labour Party George Lansbury, advocated that the Indians themselves should determine the type of constitution that they wanted. The Bill when passed in August 1935, became known as the Government of India Act 1935. After the Act was passed, the provincial elections took place in 1937 in which the Congress Party had a notable victory in five provinces. But after the elections there appeared a constitutional deadlock on the question of the acceptance of office by the Congress. It wanted an assurance from the Governors that they would not interfere with the activities of the ministers. The matter was later settled and the Congress formed the ministries. Thus, throughout the decade (1927-1937) various British governments attempted to deal effectively with the constitutional problem of India but none came with tangible results. The two Labour Governments were expected to live up to the Indian expectations but failed. The performance of the Conservative Government was also disappointing for the Indians.

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Educating the Z Generation

BY CHITRA SHARMA

“The difference between school and life? In school, you’re taught a lesson

and then given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson. - Tom Bodett ” In today’s knowledge society, economic growth of a Nation is dependent on the quality of its education system. International research found out that if two average eight year old students were given different teachers – one of them a high performer ; and other a low performer – their performance diverge by more than 50 percentile points within three years. So, a teacher makes all the difference. Teachers make children excited with the wonders of science and the majesty of mathematics. They make students appreciate the beauty of arts and the humanities. They make school the place where students can discover their talents, and aspire to greater heights. Teachers make students believe in themselves and press on in the face of adversity so that they will know how limitless their potential is. Teaching cannot be just an effort to cover content, pass standardized tests, and achieve adequate yearly progress. To serve the next generation well, it must be about helping each student develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to live a uniquely satisfying life in the face of myriad changes. A child teaches himself. But a teacher can help him go forward in his own way. It is true in case of Z generation children, more popularly known as “Digital Integrators”, or the “Facebook Generation”. They are kids with brains rewired by the internet – answers to questions come from Google and YouTube, but they lack the critical-thinking skills to evaluate sources. According to Stanford University, this is freeing up brain capacity to develop such skills far earlier than previous generations. Gen Z are fast becoming the most successful problem-solving generation. They are kids with brains rewired by the internet – answers to questions come from Google and

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YouTube, but they lack the critical-thinking skills to evaluate sources. According to Stanford University, this is freeing up brain capacity to develop such skills far earlier than previous generations. Gen Z is fast becoming the most successful problem-solving generation. Educators are continually and increasingly bringing game design and theory into education through continuous grading, continuous feedback, clear goals, rewards and challenges etc. Teachers have changed their ways of communicating with their learners. Today’s learners are a multi- modal generation and therefore demand communication styles that engage multiple learning channels. Pedagogical issues abound, Gen Z wants two things above all. Flexibility to learn in the way they find works best. As a result teachers give them a diet of varied methods, so their students can choose. Another is Follow with a “learner profile” so students and teachers record this personalization. While in the past the teacher used to be the source of the knowledge, today he/she is a facilitator of the learning. They are supporters rather than educators and also advisors towards parents. Their main task is to set goals and organize the learning process accordingly. One of the biggest challenges for teachers is that their role in the school management has also changed. The school needs them as individuals, who can take decisions and cope with the stress of the changing world of schools. At the same time teachers need to be able to work in teams, co-operate with colleagues and parents, they have to write projects for the school programmes, they have to be PR experts and need to do all the things that suit the learning environment to educate the Z generation. With accepting challenges of today’s world, teachers have proved that they were, are and will always be the main player in the teaching-learning processes of the new age. “The end – product of education should be a free creative man, who can battle against historical circumstances and adversities of nature. – Dr S. Radhakrishnan”

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The Emerging Middle School BY ANITA ROY

Even in professional journals you catch the drift of “middle-school madness”

and yet if truth be told Middle School has a crucial role to play in every aspect of the growth of a child. The middle school is a transitional step for students between junior and high school. The importance of a middle school education is enormous as it lays down the guidelines and the very foundation of a child’s future. “Caught in the hurricane of hormones,” and suspended “between childhood and the adult world, pre-teens have been called the toughest to teach.” Yet the key to this success is all about loving young adolescents who are in a transforming stage in their life, looking at each and every day as a new adventure with students full of energy and with a great ability for risk taking. The real key is to find the dynamism to outline a new focus and organization for the school ‘between’ the elementary and high school. It is important to acknowledge that these young students have their own needs, including more of the freedom of movement, more appropriate health and physical education, more chances to participate in planning and managing their own activities, more resources for help on their problems of growing up, and more opportunities to explore new interests and to develop new aspirations. Many require “exploratory experiences” rather than “greater emphasis on the academic subjects.”Along with regular subjects like mathematics and science there is a greater need for a variety of experiences in the fine arts, homemaking and industrial arts, and for such special interests as robotics, dramatics, journalism, musical performance, scouting, camping, outside jobs, and general reading. For Middle School to be successful we need to set measurable goals on standards based tests and benchmark tests across all proficiency levels, grades, and subjects; create school missions that were “future oriented,” with curricula and instruction designed to prepare students to succeed in a

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rigorous high-school curriculum; include improvement of student outcomes as part of the evaluation; and communicate to parents and students “their responsibility as well for student learning, including parent contacts, turning in homework, attending class, and asking for help when needed.” “Every second counts, and there’s no margin for error.”Because children are older doesn’t mean they don’t need that nurturing care of a loving, caring adult. If a kid wants to learn, he will. That motivation comes from the parent, family, teacher, counsellor and administrator. Middle school can be a challenging phase in a child's life. After reaching the peak of elementary school, they are again made to feel at the bottom as they transit into middle school. Children espouse a great deal of confidence in this age, but the confidence is short lived once they are put onto an unfamiliar environment. Coupled with this are issues in dealing with their high school seniors. There is a need for a system that co-ordinates and supports the child in middle school. Showcasing new talents previously hidden and involving parents will help strengthen the bonds further. Middle School is also a time when the importance of sports in the life of a young student is invaluable and goes much further than the basic answer that "it keeps kids out of mischief." While this is true it also instills lessons that are essential in the life of a student athlete. Sport plays a pivotal role in the makeup of a young athlete, especially in the middle school to high school years where student athletes are much more mature and mentally developed. Where else can a young, impressionable youth learn values like discipline, responsibility, self confidence, sacrifice, and accountability? The second component involves coaches and teachers who have the ability to capture the admiration and the trust of these young students. This is crucial because if you can capture a person's admiration and trust you can motivate them to perform at a higher level not only in sports, but also in their own lives. It brings about significant changes in grades and behaviour and helps young students make a smooth transition into society. Lastly, and I believe the most crucial of all, is the support that comes from the community, and administration. In order to accomplish this it's going to take

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investment and the most valuable investment is time. The more invested, the better the results. If we go hand in hand student, parent and school we can ensure a bright future for all our young friends entrusted in our care. Let us together guarantee our child’s future so that we do not have to share the thoughts put forth by Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid “I'll be famous one day, but for now I'm stuck in middle school with a bunch of morons."

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The Power Of An Embedded Curriculum

BY RUMA MALHOTRA

Every instructional method has a curriculum embedded in it. There is a

whole additional curriculum we as teachers deliver each day — a curriculum that holds more value to a student than the explicit academic curriculum. It is often the case that an embedded curriculum will serve our students throughout their life more than the academic curriculum. Let us do a case study. Students work together in teams to create a project on digestive system. They learn and remember the academic content better because they are so engaged. But they are learning teamwork and relationship skills as well. What is more likely to serve most students well throughout their life — understanding digestion or understanding how to work in a team and building a high emotional quotient in the process? What has more relevance, learning a new fact in history, or honing one's skills at analytical thinking? If we can deliver the history content with a lesson that has analytical thinking as an embedded curriculum, we have served our students far better than if we focus exclusively on the academic curriculum. We need to balance our emphasis on academic curriculum with an emphasis on the embedded curriculum. In the face of the breakdown of values and the alarming increase in the rate of juvenile delinquency, the importance of inculcating a sound value system cannot be overemphasized. If we treat character as curriculum, we are likely to teach lessons on virtues such as integrity, honesty, respect, and citizenship. If we teach a lesson on honesty in one semester, even a great lesson, will students actually be more honest when we assess that virtue in the next semester? Not likely. If on the other hand we use instructional strategies all school year which pull honesty from our students, they will acquire that virtue.

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On understanding the power of the embedded curriculum, we are likely to choose instructional strategies that allow students to acquire those virtues. A lesson on the importance of cooperation will not make students more cooperative, but use of learning methods which require teamwork throughout the year, will. Teaching community today has been bombarded with ‘new found knowledge’. Educational reform has been plagued by this. Change has become the name of the game, sometimes leading to utter chaos and confusion. One educational innovation replaces another before the first really sinks in. Effective programmes get shelved in favour of the season’s new flavour. If it is character development one year, it is multiple intelligences the next, so on and so forth. The one answer to this malady is - embedding the curriculum in how we teach and thus make it an enduring curriculum. The ‘How’ we teach and the ‘What’ we teach cannot be divorced from each other. If the virtues (or the intelligences, or cooperative skills, or emotional intelligence...) are embedded in how we teach, we do not need separate lessons. The fact of the matter is, the most enriching and enduring curriculum we deliver is embedded in the instructional strategies we choose on a moment-to-moment basis in our classrooms.

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