It is believed that the Dravidian civilization began in the Indus Valley. Early Indus civilization showed high level of architectural talent, farming and religious believes.
They did not have many weapons but had many musical instruments and variety of dances. This was evidence to the historians that they were peace loving people.
There is no clear evidence on why and when this people migrated to the South India. Now the Dravidians are four major languages, they are Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.
The Dravidians culture was bastardized by the invaded Aryans, and the former being god fearing people, Aryans penetration through religion was much easier.
These Aryans, were not good agriculturist. With the knowledge of religion and better origination skills they were able to convince the Dravidians kings and remained in the temples. They did not teach the religion to the Dravidians. Dravidians followed whatever the Brahmin priest said. Any questions rose on their practices, considered meant challenging the god. As they are not agriculturist they will receive uncooked food from the Dravidians for their religious services but considered sin to receive any cooked food.
Aryan (Brahmin) dances were allowed to be practiced and performed in temples but the Dravidian dances and musical instruments were allowed out side the temple building.
I do not know why then the Dravidian Kings allowed this privilege to the immigrated race and subordinated their own.
With the Kings support, the Aryan felt superior to the Dravidians and the later began to loss confidence, leadership and organizational skills, talent and discipline to accumulate knowledge.
This contributed to the high level of illiteracy among the Dravidians. The Dravidian culture was looked down not only by the Aryans but later by the Dravidians them selves, which probably can never be seen anywhere in the world.
However, some privileged Dravidians who practiced the Brahmins cultures were considered favoured group of the Aryans and the become the higher class of the Dravidians.
The above was history. Now the education is for all. The Dravidians had bounced back. In fact they have done it in the IT field in India as the giant IT parks are in the Dravidian dominated south. The four Dravidian dominated states show higher level of growth then the northern states. They contribution to accomplish India to become future superpower is higher then any other part of the country. Their economic growth is second fastest in the world.
In Malaysia the Dravidians Indians form 90% of the Malaysian Indians. We too had to bounce back. We have run to catch up the lost distance and time. If we run at the same speed of economic growth, then we will be running at the same place. We have to run faster. We have to acquire world class education and become world class entrepreneurs and brand creators. Our ancestor land is moving fast with the new mind set.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
60 - 40 (Part 2)
The science revolution started in Europe 500 years ago, Peter the Great made science important in Russia to which he himself was a learner 300 years ago, Meiji did in Japan 150 years ago, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew did in Singapore 40 years ago, but we still see many Indian teachers in secondary schools have negative attitude towards science and science and science related subjects.
Many feel that they are doing a service to the community by telling the students to go to arts even if a student is capable to be in science and to pursue engineering . Will they do the same to their own children? To their child they will advice them to remain in science and work hard but to other children the advice seems to be different.
Human history is largely a history of progress; Human beings can be improved through education and the development of their rational facilities to which science, mathematics and technology are inevitable. To transform any traditional society to modern, developed and competitive community, they have to equip themselves with science, technology and trade talents.
There is an ever increasing demand for skill workers in the modern and global environment. Earning power of the technology based skilled workers is higher and increasing. His employability is much higher. A person, say with qualification of Diploma in Mechanical engineering can earn more then a arts graduate with a degree.Further more, the chances a person with engineering qualification to be self employed is also much higher.
Indian teachers in the secondary schools must realize this. It is very sad to say, many of the secondary school Indian teachers don’t even know details about certain engineering courses like say Machatronics. This group would have last up dated their knowledge in the last semester of their degree course. Many of them only know Tamil and Malay languages and both the languages does not give sufficient information pertaining to global economic changes speedily as English language.
With insufficient knowledge, but with information acquired through ear says, and their own bitter experience of being poor in mathematics and science, they will advice students not to take the engineering courses even in diploma level.
The trend should change. Teachers must change their attitude first, then change the students. Work of a teacher not just teaching, it’s about empowering students to be an integral part of smart net generation.
Many feel that they are doing a service to the community by telling the students to go to arts even if a student is capable to be in science and to pursue engineering . Will they do the same to their own children? To their child they will advice them to remain in science and work hard but to other children the advice seems to be different.
Human history is largely a history of progress; Human beings can be improved through education and the development of their rational facilities to which science, mathematics and technology are inevitable. To transform any traditional society to modern, developed and competitive community, they have to equip themselves with science, technology and trade talents.
There is an ever increasing demand for skill workers in the modern and global environment. Earning power of the technology based skilled workers is higher and increasing. His employability is much higher. A person, say with qualification of Diploma in Mechanical engineering can earn more then a arts graduate with a degree.Further more, the chances a person with engineering qualification to be self employed is also much higher.
Indian teachers in the secondary schools must realize this. It is very sad to say, many of the secondary school Indian teachers don’t even know details about certain engineering courses like say Machatronics. This group would have last up dated their knowledge in the last semester of their degree course. Many of them only know Tamil and Malay languages and both the languages does not give sufficient information pertaining to global economic changes speedily as English language.
With insufficient knowledge, but with information acquired through ear says, and their own bitter experience of being poor in mathematics and science, they will advice students not to take the engineering courses even in diploma level.
The trend should change. Teachers must change their attitude first, then change the students. Work of a teacher not just teaching, it’s about empowering students to be an integral part of smart net generation.
Friday, July 4, 2008
60 - 40 (Part 1)
60 -40 ( Part One)
Malaysian Education Ministry introduced a formula 60 – 40 which means 60 percent of students who pass out from secondary schools in the country must be from science or technical streams.
This policy was introduced based on the relevance of the both streams for national development.
If Indian teachers who are teaching languages (Tamil, English and Malay) and counseling teachers are removed from secondary schools the left over could be hardly ten per cent. Of the ninety per cent teachers, many would advice Indian students not to enroll to science classless but would not do the same for their own children. Why? Are they selfish?
Before I go further on this I would like to write on epistemological transformation taken place in other parts of the world.
Scientific revolution started in Europe in the sixteen century with Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolaus Copernicus: Copernicus (1473-1543) was the first major astronomer to challenge the Ptolemaic universe.
The Scientific Revolution was not marked by any single change. The following new ideas contributed to what is called the Scientific Revolution:
• The replacement of the Earth by the Sun as the center of the universe
• The replacement of the Aristotelian theory that matter was continuous and made up of the elements Earth, Water, Air, Fire, and Aether by rival ideas that matter was atomistic or corpuscular or that its chemical composition was even more complex.
• The replacement of the Aristotelian idea that by their nature, heavy bodies moved straight down toward their natural places; that by their nature, light bodies moved naturally straight up toward their natural place; and that by their nature, aethereal bodies moved in unchanging circular motions by the idea that all bodies are heavy and move according to the same physical laws
• The replacement of the Aristotelian concept that all motions require the continued action of a cause by the inertial concept that motion is a state that, once started, continues indefinitely without further cause.
• The replacement of Galen’s treatment of the venous and arterial systems as two separate systems with William Harvey’s concept that blood circulated from the arteries to the veins "impelled in a circle, and is in a state of ceaseless motion".
In the seventeenth century there was changes European thought which is known as “Seventeenth Century Enlightenment Thought.
So in the spirit of not dating the Enlightenment, we will simply refer to the changes in European thought in the seventeenth century as "Seventeenth Century Enlightenment Thought," with the understanding that our use of the term may invite criticism.
The main components of Enlightenment thought are as follows:
1. The universe is fundamentally rational, that is, it can be understood through the use of reason alone;
2. Truth can be arrived at through empirical observation, the use of reason, and systematic doubt;
3. Human experience is the foundation of human understanding of truth; authority is not to be preferred over experience;
4. All human life, both social and individual, can be understood in the same way the natural world can be understood; once understood, human life, both social and individual, can be manipulated or engineered in the same way the natural world can be manipulated or engineered;
5. Human history is largely a history of progress;
6. Human beings can be improved through education by and the development of their rational facilities to which knowledge of science is vital;
7. Religious doctrines have no place in the understanding of the physical and human worlds.
Even though there were much criticism towards this thought but it has brought much changes. Then, followed by the Industrial revolution in the 18th century. The development of industrial revolution owe much credit to the development of science, mathematics and technology.
The most far-reaching, influential transformation of human culture since the advent of agriculture eight or ten thousand years ago, was the industrial revolution of eighteenth century Europe. The consequences of this revolution would change irrevocably human labor, consumption, family structure, social structure, and even the very soul and thoughts of the individual. This revolution involved more than technology; to be sure, there had been industrial "revolutions" throughout European history and non-European history. In Europe, for instance, the twelfth and thirteenth centuries saw an explosion of technological knowledge and a consequent change in production and labor. However, the industrial revolution was more than technology—impressive as this technology was. What drove the industrial revolution were profound social changes, as Europe moved from a primarily agricultural and rural economy to a capitalist and urban economy, from a household, family-based economy to an industry-based economy. This required rethinking social obligations and the structure of the family; the abandonment of the family economy, for instance, was the most dramatic change to the structure of the family that Europe had ever undergone.
Similar change was brought to Russia by Peter the Great.
Peter the Great is credited with dragging Russia out of the medieval times to such an extent that by his death in 1725, Russia was considered a leading eastern European state. He centralized government, modernized the army, created a navy and increased the subjugation and subjection of the peasants.
He made Russians learn navigation from Britain, ship building from Holland. He built St Petersburg. He made Russia a military power of Europe. He himself learnt many skills.
He achieved all this by forming an strong foundation of science and mathematics among his people.
This list can be elongated by transformation of Japan to Modern Japan by Meiji and the presently the living example our neighbour Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew who transformed from a small port to developed Island state.
Malaysian Education Ministry introduced a formula 60 – 40 which means 60 percent of students who pass out from secondary schools in the country must be from science or technical streams.
This policy was introduced based on the relevance of the both streams for national development.
If Indian teachers who are teaching languages (Tamil, English and Malay) and counseling teachers are removed from secondary schools the left over could be hardly ten per cent. Of the ninety per cent teachers, many would advice Indian students not to enroll to science classless but would not do the same for their own children. Why? Are they selfish?
Before I go further on this I would like to write on epistemological transformation taken place in other parts of the world.
Scientific revolution started in Europe in the sixteen century with Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolaus Copernicus: Copernicus (1473-1543) was the first major astronomer to challenge the Ptolemaic universe.
The Scientific Revolution was not marked by any single change. The following new ideas contributed to what is called the Scientific Revolution:
• The replacement of the Earth by the Sun as the center of the universe
• The replacement of the Aristotelian theory that matter was continuous and made up of the elements Earth, Water, Air, Fire, and Aether by rival ideas that matter was atomistic or corpuscular or that its chemical composition was even more complex.
• The replacement of the Aristotelian idea that by their nature, heavy bodies moved straight down toward their natural places; that by their nature, light bodies moved naturally straight up toward their natural place; and that by their nature, aethereal bodies moved in unchanging circular motions by the idea that all bodies are heavy and move according to the same physical laws
• The replacement of the Aristotelian concept that all motions require the continued action of a cause by the inertial concept that motion is a state that, once started, continues indefinitely without further cause.
• The replacement of Galen’s treatment of the venous and arterial systems as two separate systems with William Harvey’s concept that blood circulated from the arteries to the veins "impelled in a circle, and is in a state of ceaseless motion".
In the seventeenth century there was changes European thought which is known as “Seventeenth Century Enlightenment Thought.
So in the spirit of not dating the Enlightenment, we will simply refer to the changes in European thought in the seventeenth century as "Seventeenth Century Enlightenment Thought," with the understanding that our use of the term may invite criticism.
The main components of Enlightenment thought are as follows:
1. The universe is fundamentally rational, that is, it can be understood through the use of reason alone;
2. Truth can be arrived at through empirical observation, the use of reason, and systematic doubt;
3. Human experience is the foundation of human understanding of truth; authority is not to be preferred over experience;
4. All human life, both social and individual, can be understood in the same way the natural world can be understood; once understood, human life, both social and individual, can be manipulated or engineered in the same way the natural world can be manipulated or engineered;
5. Human history is largely a history of progress;
6. Human beings can be improved through education by and the development of their rational facilities to which knowledge of science is vital;
7. Religious doctrines have no place in the understanding of the physical and human worlds.
Even though there were much criticism towards this thought but it has brought much changes. Then, followed by the Industrial revolution in the 18th century. The development of industrial revolution owe much credit to the development of science, mathematics and technology.
The most far-reaching, influential transformation of human culture since the advent of agriculture eight or ten thousand years ago, was the industrial revolution of eighteenth century Europe. The consequences of this revolution would change irrevocably human labor, consumption, family structure, social structure, and even the very soul and thoughts of the individual. This revolution involved more than technology; to be sure, there had been industrial "revolutions" throughout European history and non-European history. In Europe, for instance, the twelfth and thirteenth centuries saw an explosion of technological knowledge and a consequent change in production and labor. However, the industrial revolution was more than technology—impressive as this technology was. What drove the industrial revolution were profound social changes, as Europe moved from a primarily agricultural and rural economy to a capitalist and urban economy, from a household, family-based economy to an industry-based economy. This required rethinking social obligations and the structure of the family; the abandonment of the family economy, for instance, was the most dramatic change to the structure of the family that Europe had ever undergone.
Similar change was brought to Russia by Peter the Great.
Peter the Great is credited with dragging Russia out of the medieval times to such an extent that by his death in 1725, Russia was considered a leading eastern European state. He centralized government, modernized the army, created a navy and increased the subjugation and subjection of the peasants.
He made Russians learn navigation from Britain, ship building from Holland. He built St Petersburg. He made Russia a military power of Europe. He himself learnt many skills.
He achieved all this by forming an strong foundation of science and mathematics among his people.
This list can be elongated by transformation of Japan to Modern Japan by Meiji and the presently the living example our neighbour Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew who transformed from a small port to developed Island state.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Enroll for whatever courses in universities
Many Indian motivators motivate students to work hard, produce good results and enter a university irrespective of any courses. All being motivated is to enter a university but choice of courses, prospect of courses and employment opportunity often not being told. Students of lower middle income group, look only to the teachers for all the advices, being also being advised in the similar trend because the teachers also came from the same ecosystem while they were young.
It has being glamour to enroll as a student in universities. Parents are proud their children are in universities.
This trend shows the students do not have particular ambition; all they know is to enroll as a student and be graduated.
This trend needs to be changed. The students should be motivated to prepare for what they wanted to be. Enrolling in to public universities should not be the only ambition. Ambition should be what they want to be in future and prepare students with mind set to enroll for the course they wanted irrespective of whether public universities or any other institutions.
Teachers should guide the students to set quality ambitions. Quality ambitions means student not only enters universities for quality courses of their choice, but give the students global out look. Prepare them to equip themselves with knowledge of globalization. Tell them to be global players and set global brand names.
Implant the mind set of winning and to put their active energies into productive force for social changes. Stand tall in whatever they do. Build mental strength to unearth treasure of opportunity globally.
Motivation courses to be designed to intellectually invigorate and equip the students with the latest thinking and best practices.
It has being glamour to enroll as a student in universities. Parents are proud their children are in universities.
This trend shows the students do not have particular ambition; all they know is to enroll as a student and be graduated.
This trend needs to be changed. The students should be motivated to prepare for what they wanted to be. Enrolling in to public universities should not be the only ambition. Ambition should be what they want to be in future and prepare students with mind set to enroll for the course they wanted irrespective of whether public universities or any other institutions.
Teachers should guide the students to set quality ambitions. Quality ambitions means student not only enters universities for quality courses of their choice, but give the students global out look. Prepare them to equip themselves with knowledge of globalization. Tell them to be global players and set global brand names.
Implant the mind set of winning and to put their active energies into productive force for social changes. Stand tall in whatever they do. Build mental strength to unearth treasure of opportunity globally.
Motivation courses to be designed to intellectually invigorate and equip the students with the latest thinking and best practices.
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