It's not just on paper

Photo Credit: www.teacherspayteachers We have all grown up learning our nursery rhymes like verses of the Bible, unquestioning about their implied meaning and subtle reinforcement of conservative social structures - like the role of each parent in the family and the family's primary provider aka the father.  "Hush, little baby, don't say a word. Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird.  And if that mockingbird won't sing, Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring." Notice how the baby is being soothed by promises of all the lovely things that 'papa' will buy for him/her.  While in most Indian families, it is mostly the mother who soothes a wailing child. Imagine the mother singing this to her baby, glorifying papa dearest and with nil reference to the mother who is painstakingly pacifying the child.  The next example is of the very famous and loved nursery rhyme - The Wheels on The Bus Go Round and Round. In this one, when the baby goes 'Wa Wa Wa', th...

It's that time of my life, when the tables have turned for me. A few years ago my parents would be hunting for good colleges and speaking to the Principals to assess if the institute was a good fit. Now, with my little one getting ready for formal schooling, it's my turn to hop around town looking for a good and reputed school for my son to study in! While Mumbai is flooded with schools, a vast majority of them offer the state education curriculum i.e. Secondary School Certificate. This board of education is governed by the state of Maharashtra and is also the board from which I completed my own schooling.  Since my graduation from school, many rules have changed in the SSC board and the curriculum too always had a reputation of being 'easier' compared to the other two prominent education boards - ICSE and CBSE.  ICSE schools were by far the most popular schools in Mumbai. However, they were also slightly premium and intellectual for the ordinary student. CBSE schools, ...