The last days of schools before long vacations are the most interesting ones. You know it would be the last meeting with your friends until the school reopens. But then, there is a joy within, of getting a break. A break which is most important. You have plans for holidays, outings with family or a long tour to some exotic destination. The last day has a mixture of feelings, excitement about what's gonna happen and a bit sorrow for not having that regular fun at the school. But there's a feeling which comes up additional to these two. It's fearful, a barrier between you and your trips, fun and joy. It is the holiday homework. Holiday homework is the thing I have been hating the most right from my childhood. Its amount and size was one of the reason. Unnoticed, and I really don't know how, it has done a great job. But this time, the homework was of different form.
A similar day was when the Diwali holidays were to begin. I had nearly 10 days of holidays for the festival and my teachers hadn't left any opportunities to prevent us from enjoying! Till the last day teachers hadn't talked anything about the homework and everyone had that 'let-the-time-pass-away-fast' feeling so that we get holidays without any homework. The most 'sincere' and 'studious' students were made quiet and asked not to talk about it. Three periods passed away. Time had rather become slow! We waited for the day to end but something else was waiting for us, already. The fifth period started and our wish was shattered! Ma'am came with some papers to be distributed. They were called 'worksheets'. They had to be completed in the vacation. We got Maths and followed by Chemistry. Next came Physics. But here it was, where the worksheets were different! When I read the question I gave out a laugh! The worksheet was something like this..
Physics Worksheet
Q. Kamala bought new Polaroid glasses. She was a physics student and knew how Polaroids functioned. Mention the working and also write the values possessed by Kamala.
I myself had bought Polaroids last month and so I started thinking what values I possessed! Values because I bought Polaroids! I heard my friends telling me to read the question which I already had. The whole class was laughing including me! It was very funny! Moreover it was not the only one! There were 12 such questions! We all were amazed how these questions came under the heading 'Physics Worksheet' which was always known for its mind boggling questions on Magnetism or Electronics. Very soon to make us know, a friend shouted, 'Read the sub-title guys'!! And every one moved back to the paper. I could read it..
Physics Worksheet
[Value Based Questions]
I quickly remembered what our class teacher had told us some 5-6 days before! Yes! She had told us about it! The value based questions! And I was not the only wise one. Everyone recalled what ma'am had said..
The board has made recent changes in the question paper pattern. Now onward you will have a value based question in each of your three main subjects; Physics, Chemistry and Maths. These questions will test the moral values you have and would own you marks out of 3 or 5, yet to be decided. But yea, they are going to be there for you in the final board exams.
So these were they! The 'Value Based Questions'! The whole class was shouting funny answers to the question. It was a joke. A mere joke or..?
It kept me thinking why had the Board included such questions in our papers. The question would have made anyone laugh. The Board said that it wanted the students to have moral values. The students going out of the school must have a good social and moral basis. It said, the questions would make students think of what various values are and would try to inculcate in them. The Board's statements were seeming right to me. Because seriously we needed individuals who are responsible. Watching the anti-social activities happening outside, it is good to make students aware what is right. But a big question came up..At this age??
It actually made no sense, moreover proper to be called a joke, teaching students of class 12 moral values. It is the last year, according to our conventional schooling system, a student spends in a school. And at this time of life, the Board is trying to teach values?! It sounded weird to me. I went on thinking as to why. I was soon struck by an answer. I referred the CBSE board's previous modifications in the education system. What I concluded was not expected in a country like India, where millions of children get their education daily! The modifications included Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation(CCE) and the inclusion of Value Based Questions. Both pointed toward the same end..
CCE was implemented at 9-10 level in the year 2009 in all the schools affiliated to CBSE. It was a very good change which our schools needed. Boring teaching had to be replaced with interactive learning. This step was a very good one. Now Class 9-10 have FAs where students do not give pen and paper test, instead a different form of testing is conducted. It may be a group discussion, a project display, skit presentation etc.. Students too enjoyed it a lot. But not everyone gave positive response. There were many children and parents who did not like CCE, considering it a waste of time. Also the other Boards discouraged students qualified through CCE in their institutions. The Maharashtra State Board considered that the marks such obtained did not present the real merit of the student, which conventional Board exams very well did(the same board went on to give marks out of 25 for sports leading numerous students getting 100% in their Class 10 exams). This was a real failure in the implementation of CCE. The board still hasn't satisfactorily made parents to agree upon the thought that CCE mode is better than the conventional one.
The similar problem comes up for the Value based questions(VBQs). CBSE has made this decision in a hurry it seems. Class 12 is the time when students take vital decisions of choosing their career. Is this time right for teaching values? Friends, don't you think it is quite late now? It is seldom possible that a student gets some values while answering a VBQ, one which comes as break during the tedious(mark that word) process of question solving. Many would rather love writing them! 3 marks fetched for free! And if you get full 3, you are full of moral values! Aren't you?!
What CBSE and almost every board fails to understand is that, there is no such ideal student(science students know very well what ideal means), who would take up values once he answers a VBQ! I remember one of my teachers scolded me for a mistake of mine. I was in Class 9 then. She said
"You are old enough to be taught morals dear, and I am young enough to teach you the actual ones. What I can do is only guide you right.."
What we need is moral education at the primary level, as well as the intermediate level. Expecting good results out of teaching moral education at secondary level is just waste of time and resources. Our primary education system needs to be stronger. Better teachers should be appointed at the basic level, because that's when the child's molded. The way the teacher designs him, reflects what human being he becomes. That's the only time when any morals have to be inculcated. There's a proverb in Hindi 'Baked earth has no effect of any scratches after, if it has, it has the extremest, it cracks', it very rightly compares human mind with earth(mud/clay). It's easy to mold at the beginning, but difficult once it's well prepared. We in India require a stronger base in education. Friends what I ask is, let only willing people be teachers, because they shape lives. And these lives are best only if they put their heart in. These toppings of value based questions are of no use if you are raw within. Teach, develop your siblings, your near ones, who are yet younger, so that they have better values and are capable of leading the country.
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