GS' Beats

This concludes my three part rant on CA Course and the examination system. The previous two parts can be found here and here . - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - Some time in late 1999 or early 2000, as I was looking forward to my CA Foundation Examination, I bumped into Raja Ganapathy (if I remember his name correctly), a senior from a different College (St. Joseph's, Trichy), CA Inter Student, one among the three or four students who had cleared the CA Foundation Exams some two years back in our town.  There was the typical CA wannabe's question to him "Anna, is the exam tough? How to prepare? Should I study more than four hours every day? Where to attend tuition classes? Is it okay if you don't attend the classes? How did you clear the exam?" etc. And I got a response that I still rate as the best input I have ever received on studies. "I didn't go about asking others. It is not such a great puzzle that you c...

At some point of time, all of us would have heard an assertion on the learning approach that "Children learn the best in their own language / mother tongue." Countless empirical studies on this subject is available on the domain, including published reports and detailed statistical analysis, with one common persuasive conclusion in most of them - It is indeed better for a student to learn in their own language or mother tongue. In the Indian context, the Consultation Themes on New Education Policy issued in 2015 emphasises on the following in this connection - a. Part XI of Policy Consultation on School Education - Deals with promotion of languages  b. Part XIV of Policy Consultation on Higher Education - Deals with promoting cultural integration through languages. My point of interest is the one pertain to school education to begin with. The Higher Education focuses more on cultural integration, rather than medium of education. The Part XI of Policy Consult...

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops - Henry Adams - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - I read that statement a long back. Don't know where or how. But it stuck with me since then, even though I never knew the author's name till I purposely searched for him. It stuck with me since I knew it was the truth. Even today, substantial portion of my beliefs, traits and behaviour, I can trace them back to my first heroes and teachers. Knowing is one thing. Realizing is another. In an interaction with arguably my closest associate, professional colleague, friend and confidante, Sundar Raman, he was pointing out the extent to which people like us, the tutors or teachers, have "influenced" the students attending our classes. "We pretty much shape their thoughts on almost everything - right from the way they learn, what they study and learn, their views on the subject and profession and a whole lot of thi...

Dear President, The substance of this letter is the state of examination and evaluation system of our Institute's qualifying exams. The recently declared result is just the tipping point, and not the substance of this letter. Let this communique not be misconstrued as demanding a revamp merely because the results have been pathetically low. This open letter would have probably been drafted still, even if the results threw out an extremely student friendly outcome of say 100% Pass. Before I move on to present my points, I would like to state that I have been a firm believer of assertion that you get only what you deserve. A person who got "100 Marks" deserved that "100 Marks". And a student who got "0 Marks", deserved that as well. As someone who got both the above extremes during my academic days, I have maintained the above assertion with a certain degree of understanding and conviction. I also would like to make it clear right at the ou...

Why do students fail in the exams? More specifically in CA examinations? What's the remedy? These are questions that I come across every time the results are out. Some times from the student himself / herself. Sometimes from their parents. And often from my colleagues - both senior as well as junior. My seniors have been my own teachers. And my juniors, in a way my own students. And often, the argument veers into an ego battle, with each of us holding on to our posts and unleashing our horses. All of us can be correct. Or wrong. Though I have often put forward my answers and reasons for the same, I have never really tried to put across them in a cohesive and articulate manner. I have never even put all the reasons together ever. Though I have always believed in each one of them. Partly due to me being a bit emotionally charged up when conveying these things, which over a period of time has been replaced with utter apathy for what's happening around. And more oft...