What Makes A Great Teacher

Today is teachers day . Happy Teachers Day to all the teachers .The day is  celebrated in honour of a great scholar and teacher and a former President of India - Shri S Radhakrishanan .Its a honor well deserved -he was a great teacher .I still remember my father very copiously reading his speeches and explaining them to us .My father did not appear to be a very voracious reader because i did not see him read too many books -he was perhaps too busy treating patients and performing surgery becoz he was a much sought after doctor .So when he bent over newspapers and strained his ears to listen to the great man speak on radio -it meant something !! ( the only other books he recommended me to read were Daphne du Mauriers's .(Rebecca ,Jamaica Inn and the other classics written by the great lady).Once i read Rebecca -i was hooked on to reading .And i read lots and lots .My father in that sense was a great teacher -he inspired me and recommended me something which set forth a chain of events that ultimately set me to indulge in a activity which was priceless .!!

Most of us will go overboard today .The day is dedicated to the greatness of Radhakrishnan .Most of us are no where near him as far as teaching and scholarship is concerned .He is a benchmark .Children spoil us rotten today -they will bring cards ,cakes ,hand made drawings ,they will sing paeans about us !! And we will lap it all up .None of us should mind the praise-we all love praise dont we .Even at my age ,after getting fair amount of compliments throughout my life -i want more !! But should we believe blindly what the kids tell us ? No - false praise can be damaging to ones growth .There have been great teachers who taught me .All of them had a great passion , great personalities ,and great energy .A scholar may not not be a great teacher .Having knowledge and transferring it are different things .But energy ,personality , and passion are certainly very important trademarks of great teachers .Mr GC Gupta had great energy .Prof Randhir Singh had a great personality , great energy and passion . APJ Kalam had great energy and passion .Mr HP Sharma had great passion and energy .Forget the Bed and other degrees .They count for very little ..Do we have energy , personalities , and passion ?.
Thats a question which only a teacher can answer.If the answer is "yes" ,then you are in hallowed company and a great teacher . If the answer is "no" -keep trying because your benchmark is not a "day" but a person.
I was asked to speak in the special assembly in school yesterday .I was presented a big bouquet and a big big card on the stage .Every Principal and teacher must have got such tokens of affection in their schools .But a question kept nagging me while i spoke .Why do so few people want to come into the teaching profession ?
I ended my speech by expressing a wish -that maybe in the future ,a better gift to give teachers would be children telling them that they all wanted to be teachers !! A far better compliment than a bouquet and a card .And of course lots of samosas ,dhoklas ,gulab jamuns .
But we love praise .Let it keep coming !!And thank you very very much for the wonderful wishes that have not stopped flowing in !!

Principals Must Get Real In India .

As a Principal , I was terrible at networking through the phone .In 99 percent of the cases I got a bad press because I just did not know how to please a set of people I had no respect for . I was not too successful in pleasing the managements at most times .But yet I was a fairly successful Principal I would say .And certainly not a disaster .
I was very clear about certain things .I was certain that the only way for children to climb the socioeconomic ladder and find secure work was to take an examination. These examinations required a thorough command of knowledge, and taking them was a grueling rite .The systems I created were all geared to promote excellence in in taking exams and scoring well .Not for me –sending children to China ,Brazil ,NASA ,Singapore etc . And having 6 inter class dance and other activities per day !! All that could wait .Foreign trips don’t get you into St Stephens , Hansraj ,LSR or Shriram College !!.Marks do .
I knew that students would be under enormous, unrelenting pressure to perform. Talent is not a consideration — because the culture believes in hard work and diligence and above all, there is no excuse for failure. Children have to study year-round, both in-school and with tutors in extra classes .I believed - if you study hard enough, you can be smart enough.
I was also convinced that it’s a question of short-term unhappiness and long-term happiness.Dont fall for this “jargon” that “oh my child is very happy in school” .The chances are that he could be unhappy in life if he does not perform in a country like India . It’s not just the parents pressuring their kids. Because this culture traditionally celebrates conformity and order, pressure from other students can also heighten performance expectations. The class sizes are very large — which would be extremely undesirable for, say, an American parent. But in India , the goal is for the teacher to lead the class as a community, and for peer relationships to develop. In American preschools, the focus for teachers is on developing individual relationships with students, and intervening regularly in peer relationships.
I know that there are better and worse way to educate our children. At the same time, if I had to choose between an average US /UK , education and an average Indian education for my own kid, I would choose, very reluctantly, Indian model. The reality is, in the modern world the kid is going to have to know how to learn, how to work hard and how to persist after failure. My Indian model teaches that.And Principals who are indecisive and trying to mix and match the two models are in my favourite phrase –running with the hare and hunting with the hound !!!.

Principals Needed -Not Che Gueras !!!!

Being a Principal of premier schools in India (and may I add abroad as well!), has exposed me to some extraordinary human beings ,with very different mind sets than mine .Principals as a class of people are highly self opinionated. They believe that they are always right .The quicker they get out of this fantasy and dream world –the better they will be as Principals .There are some very basic things a Principal must adhere to .First and foremost is to avoid being a rebel .There are no Che Gueveras in education .Its impractical to have them .Managements and Prncipals will differ in their objectives .The management will always look at the revenues( and rightly so ) –the Principal will look at academic excellence .Thats the only thing that will save his skin in a very complicated social activity like education .In schools there are children whose parents are buruacrats .politicians ,policemen ,income tax officials ,land and liquor mafias etc.He is answerable to them .He has to manage them .The pressures on him are enormous –to conform to a system that is far removed from the idealism of the books .The Principal cannot take on the management and ignore what is a different perception altogeather .Here is where communication skills could help .If you are a good communicator ,then perhaps you can change a degree here or there about how your boss thinks .But by and large –you have to deliver .Admissions must keep happening .It brings in the money .Excellence get you the admissions ,but sometimes you have to admit some children who are not so excellent .Its a catch 22 situation .It is tightrope walking .And a excellent Principal is a trapeze artist !!
Forget about “revolutions” in schools .Thats alright when we used to sip coffee at the Indian Coffee House while we were in college . Concentrate on what you can do which does not cross anyone elses path .Do the things that only you can and are authorized to do .Make sure that there is conformity to the rules of the school.Make sure that what your expectations are from the teachers are clearly spelt out in terms of tangibles .Dont use too many adjectives –“ I want the result in English to be good .” – instead say “ I want the average aggregate of English this year to be 85 percent .Last year it was 82” .Make sure teachers are going to classes in time .Make sure that teachers are improving their skills .Motivate them -teach them .They may know more than you ,but you have more experience .Experience cant be learnt or bought -one acquires it with age .Avoid having sycophants –oh they are such a spineless and despicable lot. Make sure you are in charge of the situations .Are the school kids coming in uniform ? If yes ,they respect the rules of the school ,if no the school has a problem of non compliance .Get these kind of things in place and the chances are you will make a excellent Principal .
In short –avoid being a Arvind Kejriwal .Be a Amitabh Bacchan who respects what a Director tells him ,but does his part of acting ( which only he can do ), to perfection .Thats why he has lasted so long and made such a huge impact !! Principals who are rolling stones make the least impact .Longevity is the hall mark of a good Principal .!!

( The above views are personal .I am sure every Principal has his /her view about how a Principal should manage their schools .I respect their views ! I have at best been a very average Principal .)

CCE In Schools -Why It Needs To Be Done Away With !!

The Central Advisory Board of Education will be meeting today to discuss the following points

1.Whether the CCE (Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation ), should be scrapped in the 9^th and 10^th Classes , and whether the  Board Exams should  be reintroduced again .

2.Whether to do away with the “No DetentionPolicy”  in schools

3.Whether to extend the 25 percent reservations for the economically weaker sections to pre primary and secondary classes .

My views on the CCE have been very clear from the beginning. It’s a no nothing policy and leads to a huge amount of file work .The teacher is reduced to a clerk ,maintaining mark lists and grades of very complicated “tools” for Formative Tests as well as maintaining registers and computer records for Summative Exams .I have always felt and argued that in the education system ,teaching must form the bulk of the process –rather than the assessments.In one school which I headed ,I noticed that out of 180 teaching days -65 days were reserved for assessments !! (they had 5 exams in a year !!).I immediately reduced it to 3 ,thus giving the teachers 26 days more for teaching .The results in the board exams showed a phenenmonal increase –from a average aggregate of 75 it jumped to 82 .!!There was no magic involved –just a bit of commonsense .I just placed the horse ahead of the cart and not the other way around .

The CCE similarly bogs the teachers in a huge pile of records .Come on –let them teach .Dont convert them into babus .Apart from that ,the CCE IN THE 10^TH GRADE has spawned a culture of manipulation .Since all the assessments and evaluation  are  “inhouse” and since some tools of assessments ( for example speaking ,projects etc) ,are subjectively judged and no tangible criterion are there ,schools fall into a trap !! They aim to give lots of marks to kids and try to compete with other schools  on the basis of how many kids get a CGPA OF 10 .Sometimes out of 200 kids -180 get CGPA of 10 !!!.One Principal went on Facebook and pasted a photograph showing herself eating  a rasmalai at a legendary sweet house and commenting “ Enjoying ras malai in celebration of 90 percent of children getting a score of 10 CGPA” . Congratulations and “likes”  were splashed all over . Very good !! The tragedy struck 2 years later when the same kids were assessed by the CBSE -5 of the kids with 10 CGPA got  compartments, a nd 3 failed .Obviously they were not the 10 CGPA types but had to be allotted Science and Maths because “technically” they were brilliant!! .

This twin cancer of too much assessment and manipulation ,must be done away with .Otherwise ,we are looking down at the barrel of the gun .

I am also not a great fan of the “no detention” case .I think children have differentiated learning patterns and  even after extra  efforts if a child is not able to cope with the curriculum –he must be given the “privilege” to repeat the class .It can only do him good .

As far as extending the reservations of seats (25 percent ), I feel very strongly that that’s not the job of the private schools .The government must do its job of running the government schools much better .There is no reason why it cant –the teachers and Principals are paid better than the private school teachers and Principal ,the government has lots of avenues to raise finances (private schools can only do so by raising the fees), we pay taxes for these services –so where is the problem ? Now don’t tell me that the government compensates the private schools by giving them “ vouchers”  for the education of these 25 percent kids .I am in it , and I know how much schools get –PEANUTS !!Only monkeys can live on peanuts !!

''I Dont Want To Meet You Again '' Part 1

SUNDAY, JULY 31, 2011

''I Dont Want To Meet You Again '' Part 1

It was like any normal call on my cell phone .It was the number that was being displayed and not the name .I tend to ignore such calls most of the time .So I let it pass .But it rang again .And again .I usually don’t pick up even after 3 attempts by the caller in the hope it tires him/her out .But when I got the call for the 4^th time I received it .Anyone who was so insistent deserved to be heard .I waited for the caller to start .

‘Hello,is that 9909812663.?’It was the voice of a lady .

‘Yes,it is .Can I help you’?

‘Am I talking to Kulu Kain ,the Principal of DPS’?

‘Yes you are.Could I know who you are ?’,I asked .It was obviously someone who knew me very well to call me by my pet name .

‘I am Vinita (name changed ).Remember ,we were in the University together ?’.

My memory is good ,and Vineeta was too important a person in my University days for me to forget even if I had a failing memory .I did not want to go overboard with the excitement of a reconnect .I was talking to her for the first time in 35 years .I had to make sure I was talking to her .Strange things happen in the world these days .I hold a responsible public space –I have to aware of that .

‘Oh yes .What a pleasure talking to you .How did you come to know about the fact that I am here .?’

She laughed .From the laugh I could make out it was Vineeta .Almost childlike and  loud enough for me to have told her once at the Tibetan Monastry where we used to go out for Tibetan food ,that she was attracting stares of the people sitting there .’I like attracting people’,she had said ,and had let out a even louder laugh .!!It was the same laugh .And then she spoke .

‘You are a celebrity in the city yaar .The papers have you all over on page 3’.OK ,so she had come to know about me from the reports of the newspapers about a interview and photograph that accompanied it about me taking over as the  new principal of DPS Ahmedabad .I stuttered and said ‘No ,No ,nothing like that .And in any case who can be a celebrity in your presence’.I was now rolling back the years .And Vinita had not lost the knack of picking up the gauntlet .

‘When do we meet.?’.And then left me with no choice ‘Tommorow.At the Fortune Hotel’?

‘No Vinita ,the GM of the hotel is a parent of of a boy who studies in the school.I will be under pressure of scrutiny’,I told her. ‘Lets meet at the Marriot.Its a good hotel’..i said

‘Then you pay ,because its expensive ‘

I told her not to worry and we fixed our dinner for Saturday .

I was exited in meeting a old friend .She was a brilliant student and I had heard that she was in the banking sector .She was supposedly a financial wizard .And she was from one of the best schools in the country .But that was in the 1970s and 1980s .A lot of water must have flowed under the bridge by now .I had asked her how she would recognize her .She had told me not to worry .She would recognize me .She told me that the last time I had met her ,I was wearing a pair of grey trousers with a white shirt and suspenders (braces/garters).Yes ,she must be correct because there was a phase when I was very fond of wearing suspenders .I had many of them –though those days we had them in plain colours which were either black or brown .I wish we had them in psychedelic colours in those days –I would never have given up wearing them .!!

But Vinita clearly had her memory intact and was as sharp as ever .Always a very potent combination to attract someone like me . I needed to be at my best –no one should go away with a impression that life had not refined me or that I had not grown into a more attractive human being .That has always been a constant endeavour of mine .Each year must add value to my being .The day it stops (value addition),then  I am on my way out of the world.!!Thats the way I look at my life –and maybe at others as well .!!

I did not know how Vinita would look .35 years is a long time ,even though we were very good friends while at the Univ and met everyday .She had the advantage of having seen my photograph and as I came to know later knew everything about me through my blogs .She had also seen my profile pictures on my blog .But as far as I was concerned ,I had no idea of how she looked .I had to draw from the deep recceses of my memories ,and that too of many years back .But I am good at that ,and I had a picture in my mind of her –with grey hair and weight that one accumulates with age .I thought that it would not be much of a problem in picking her up in a crowd .

I entered the Marriot Hotel .It was the second time I was going to it here at Ahmedabad .When I had gone the first time I had felt cold –the airconditioning was a degree lower than what it should have been .I carried a coat with me this time .Just in case .

The man at the gate greeted me with a big smile .He opened the door for me .The airconditioning was as usual colder than what it should have been .I put on my grey striped coat .There was some party that was scheduled at the hotel .There were a lot of people smartly dressed in the lobby .There was a waft of perfume in the air .I looked around for Vinita .

(To be concluded )

My Tryst With Destiny -Meeting The Great APJ Kalam !!

How many of us meet someone who is identified with a project –someone who gave birth to putting a rocket into space ?How many of us meet someone who is the ex President of India ?And how many of us meet the “Bharat Ratna”.?The answer to the above questions is –very few .And if I ask the next question which is –how many of us are invited on stage to meet him ,touch his feet and shake hands with him ,talk to him and being photographed by hundreds of cameramen ,then the answer is –only the chosen ones .!!

I had the great privilege of meeting the ex President of India Dr Abdul Kalam ,the other day at the prestigious Rajpath  Club at Ahmedabad .I was invited to be witness to the YUVA prize giving ceremony .YUVA is a NGO which is doing a fantastic job and getting into sectors which are hitherto neglected .The theme this time around was how to make your mother smile .!A fantastic theme considering the fact that in most parts  of the country ,women are  under the yoke of gender discrimination .As the Bharat Ratna put it “If a mother is happy,the family is happy .And if a family is happy ,the nation is happy”.Brilliant summarization of the health of any nation .

I am not going into the details of his message –that is available on youtube and newspapers.I am going to try and explain what the atmosphere was like when he was amongst  us .

I was not sure as to what I should wear .Its hot in Ahmedabad ,and I don’t have a summer suit .!!Should I dress up formally?Or casually ?The invitation was not specific about the dress code .I asked someone as to what I should wear .She told me to wear a suit .The hall will be airconditioned and even if it not ,you can always remove the coat ,she advised  .Hence I dressed up in a suit .I was escorted to my seat and I found that the hall was overflowing  with people.There were hundreds who were jostling for space .Others just did not leave their seats .!!The hall was wonderfully airconditioned and youth power was everywhere to be seen –after all it was a event organized by YUVA UNSTOPPABLE .!!Television crews were randomly interviewing people for their views on various issues .When one of them asked me why I was present ,I started by saying “In order of preference –Firstly to see Mr Abdul Kalam and” ……….a number of other reasons.To be very honest ,I am a great fan of his ,and like a excited schoolboy ,kept looking at the  point from where he was to enter .The moment came soon enough when the  lady  who was speaking to keep the huge crowd engrossed  was signaled to wind up because Mr Abdul Kalam was on his way to the hall .There was a huge flutter near the door ,as his security men formed a circle around him to keep off intruders .And then there was a  loud round of applause as he climbed the 4 or 5 steps on to the stage . Once on stage ,he folded his hands in a “Namaste”.He looked  just the same as we see him on television so many times .Visibly aged now ,with the craziest hairstyle one can ever see anywhere .!!Hair parted down the centre and from each half of the partition ,two locks brought  forward  to the forehead to form a small kind of a circle .For someone like me who also does not have a rational hairstyle ,Mr Kalaams hairstyle defies any logic .Why would one have a hairstyle like that ?And how must he be getting it into place ?It appears almost impossible to even style it like that .Is it natural?No-it appears very well combed and oiled .!! He wore a light brown bundgallah suit(Kalam Suit) .He sat down .His eyes darted and he picked up someone in the front row .He smiled and waved .All this ,while someone was introducing him .All of a sudden he heard her say something wrong .He corrected her “Not 40 ,but 42”!!he said with a smile .This was in reference to the number of awards he had won .Everyone enjoyed the sharpness of the ear and the mind and  his naughty smile .We all clapped .Sometimes he looked into space .Imagine how much he must have thought about space to have been called Indias “MissileMan”?.Imagine ,how much he must be knowing about space ?Imagine how different his world is as compared to ours .!Imagine how different his desires are as compared to ours ?I was not just looking at a human form –I was looking at a different human soul .

He gave away the prizes.And then my name was announced to come on stage .It was my tryst with destiny .I collected myself ,straightened my coat and walked up to the stage .And ,I was face to face with him .He was seated .As I approached him ,he got up .I gently put my hand on his shoulder and asked him to remain seated .I had touched the great man .!!But he was on his feet .I bent and touched his feet .There was a eerie feeling that went through me .It appeared so unreal .He then shook hands with me .Asked me something .The cameras clicked furiously .I was very aware of the occasion .I froze it in my mind .It will remain so till I die .!!

What happened after that (there was a dinner ),is a long story .To be told on another day .As I got back to my seat ,the two gentlemen on my left wanted to shake hands with me . “Let us shake hands with the hand that shook hands with Abdul Kalaam”.I looked at my hands.They have done so much for me throughout my life .I cant thank them enough .And least of all ,for shaking hands with Bharat Ratna ,Dr Abdul Kalam.!!

DPS Jaipur-Some Recollections of Raviji !!!

Its been a long stay for us at Jaipur .When you are about to enter your tenth year at one place ,then you realize how much of time has passed  you by .In terms of percentages its nearly 20 percent of your life away from where you came from and where you plan to go to .At some point of time this fact started to knock softly into my ears -urging me to listen to something that i could not wish away .

A lot happened in these 9 years .I came here leaving behind a very comfortable township of the Aditya Birla Township at Jagdishpur ,where i was a Principal , only to find a dusty piece of land .I remember the day very well .There was a strong wind blowing across the field which was not protected by either the walls or the trees that guard it now .There were lots of workers and they were busy doing up the place for the bhoomi pujan .I was disheartened -oh my god ,i thought .Not another school to build!!.I had undertaken a similar mission in setting up a school at Bhopal ,and i knew it required endless thinking and huge physical demands to push the project through.I also remember the chairman asking me how i found the school after i returned to Delhi to debrief him .''But there is no school''i told him .''Havent you seen the model of the school?Havent you seen what you will get to manage once the buildings come up/'',he had replied .It was a lesson i learnt  from a visionary .He was looking beyond the present and into the future .That is why he was where he was -at the pinnacle of a glamorous and successful society .
Now as i look back ,i find his words prophetic .Its a school worthy to run by a king .!!Its got everything that anyone -students ,teachers ,principal-would want in a school .Except a swimming pool .It does not cost much to build a swimming pool for a school like ours .We are not strapped for finances .But ,i have always opposed swimming pools in a state in which people find water difficult to come by for drinking and bathing .And in the midst of such a scenario ,to have a pool in which a select few can splash and have fun ,just does not sound rational to me .
The school has been built brick by brick .The brand did not work as expected .In the first 4 months we had only 123 registrations (as opposed to admission-the 3 stages are form selling,then registrations,then admissions).There were only 197 admissions in our first year .So clearly ,the brand DPS was not on our side .But by the second year once the teachers work got recognized ,we had a flood of admissions.In other words ,DPS Jaipur was built on the reputation of its worth and not on the brand .Its always a better way to build the school .I have seen many schools destroyed because the brand expectations were too high and the school subsequently lost its clientele because of the mismatch .DPS Jaipur overtook all the schools -it produced the best results in every sublect,produced the best debators, dancers , volleyballers,actors who stood first at all India level,and last year produced a student (Hardik Jain)who got a staggering 97 percent in the 12th class .He was placed 3rd in India and first in West Zone .It was only our 3rd batch ,!!From 1000 the strenght grew to 2000 ,then 3000 and now stands close to 3500.We have come a long way from the days of the dusty fields which i saw when i first came to have a look at the school .

With the incomparable Ravi Jaipuria

There are always a few people who drive institutions towards excellence -not neccessarily the teachers ,students or the Principal .They are the dreamers who think big ,who take chances ,and who get the right people to implement the dream .Leading this pack is the exceptionally brilliant Ravi Jaipuria -Raviji as we fondly address him always  .I havent quite met someone like him in my life (and i have met many famous men and women ,believe me ).His grasp over issues is  amazing , he is very decisive and aggressive ,and he takes hardly any time to settle a issue .He works round the clock ,flying in and out of the country to honour his business commitments .And yet he has all the facts on his finger tips .His mind is like a computer .He will be able to calculate projections 5 years down the line by the time you are understanding the question !!He once came to Jaipur late at night when we were in the initial stages of building our blocks .He was due  to arrive at about 5 pm .But he kept getting delayed because of important meetings , and finally reached at 1 in  the wee hours of the  morning .He told me to go off to sleep ,and when i asked him whether he would inspect the site ,he replied in the affirmative ''I like to finish off my work before i go to sleep Mr Kain.Then i  can sleep in peace'' he replied .So i waited for him to arrive at the hotel. He appeared tired ,looked quizzically at me (as to why i was not asleep),and said ''So should we leave ?''.The site was 20 kms away ,he had been travelling ,and i told him that we could go after he had freshened up and had a cup of tea ''Nahi Kain saab(he called he Mr Kain or Kain saab),woh sab baad me karenge.Abhi to chalo''.So off we went .And once there ,he was at his energetic best -overseeing things ,asking the right questions ( a key to successful people by the way) ,waddling through water and debris ,meeting and greeting people etc etc etc .!!It was a lesson that everyone should learn -there are no timings for work ,that this talk of 9 to 5 is crap,and that achievers are obssessed .But then there are only a handful of Ravijis'.Wonderful man ,very close to my heart and too high for my head .I look up at him .On the same trip we discussed about the building of the hostel .I was at my defensive best -what if we dont get children ,what if we dont get a experienced hostel staff  ,do we have enough water to sustain the hostel ,will we get the requisite electricity from the Rajasthan State Electricity Board .Etc Etc Etc .He just looked at me and smiled and ''Mr Kain ,if i start thinking like you ,i would never be able to do anything''!!Oh yes -he is so different.One of my greatest regrets about leaving DPS Jaipur ,is losing a mentor like him.But i have been lucky to have had a glimpse into the mind of a truly remarkable man -generous ,broadminded and a go getter .He runs a number of successful business ventures -from Costa Coffee,Pizza Hut,KFC,Cream Bell and a host of others .And yes -he is Indias biggest Pepsi bottler and thats why we all call him ''The man with the fizz''.I simply love the man .I dream of working with him again once more before i hang up my boots .!!

Posted by kulbhushan kain at 5:01 AM  11th October 2011.