tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10539912.post360165678763630549..comments2024-03-09T20:09:10.016-05:00Comments on Heartcrossings: Cram JunkiesHeartcrossingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11611681863892546438noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10539912.post-13758221475558432022008-07-09T02:54:00.000-04:002008-07-09T02:54:00.000-04:00Last anonymous,I agree with you. How many third-wo...Last anonymous,<BR/><BR/>I agree with you. How many third-world countries of India's size, diversity and magnitude of challenges can really call themselves democracies? Sure, India has huge problems, the biggest being an utterly self-serving political class. The ordinary Indian, however, is a hero, given the odds that he or she has to deal with and succeed in the face of. I'd rather live in pollution-and-garbage-infested Bangalore than Shanghai. My freedom is more precious to me than the golden bars of an economic miracleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10539912.post-46981228827242549672008-07-01T17:04:00.000-04:002008-07-01T17:04:00.000-04:00So, a person by the name of Miguel says, "I still ...So, a person by the name of Miguel says, "I still see India as a third<BR/>world country....Not all countries<BR/>want to be like States...".<BR/><BR/>I feel like blasting it right<BR/>away but I would save it for<BR/>another day. What really hurts<BR/>me is Heartcrossings's reply : <BR/>"Miguel - I would agree"<BR/><BR/>Now this person Heartcrossings,<BR/>was educated in one of the best<BR/>engineering colleges of India,<BR/>as she has said in the previous<BR/>comment, where education is subsidized just too heavily, in<BR/>the false hope that may be<BR/>these students would do some good<BR/>to their country. And what she<BR/>chooses to do instead is, sit<BR/>on the fence, in her case - in<BR/>United States, and agree to the<BR/>fact that India is indeed a third<BR/>world country. You know what,<BR/>you are the reason why India<BR/>is still a third world country.<BR/><BR/>Can anyone tell me how many<BR/>third world countries have <BR/>a democracy and a <BR/><A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_Information_Act" REL="nofollow"><BR/>"Right to Information Act"</A>?<BR/><BR/>And before you point out the caste<BR/>prejudices and such, tell me<BR/>how are the Blacks treated in your<BR/>beloved States? And the Muslims too?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10539912.post-46558262839924649042008-06-29T11:37:00.000-04:002008-06-29T11:37:00.000-04:00oneandonly - As it turns out, I attended a so-call...oneandonly - As it turns out, I attended a so-called elite engineering college myself and did sign up at a coaching center right after 10th but stayed there only for a couple of months. <BR/><BR/>This man had the record of converting 70% or more of his class into successful entries to engineering schools so getting placed in his center was tough - you had to qualify his test. <BR/><BR/>I figured in two months that I would never have the concepts down but would have mastered problem solving techniques that would help me in the test. <BR/><BR/>I cared to learn more than I cared to test well so I left. Most of my batch in his class made it in and some with all India ranks within the top 100 in the IIT-JEE. That said, I think I know what and who I am talking about. <BR/><BR/>I've been in the belly of the beast myself along with a whole bunch of other kids who I grew up with. I have seen who failed and who was able to succeed and in my mind it defied logic.Heartcrossingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11611681863892546438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10539912.post-36051743220819836722008-06-29T10:43:00.000-04:002008-06-29T10:43:00.000-04:00Or, to just think of it, maybe we take the formal ...Or, to just think of it, may<BR/>be we take the formal education<BR/>way too seriously. There is a guy<BR/>Sridhar Vembu, who gives almost<BR/>an year of training to the plain<BR/>vanila B.Com. and B.Sc. graduates,<BR/>and with their help has created<BR/>Zoho, the "official" competitor <BR/>to Google Docs.oneandonlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17637779233334120042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10539912.post-49458608899510219142008-06-29T10:38:00.000-04:002008-06-29T10:38:00.000-04:00To keep things simple, I wouldbe very specific. Ta...To keep things simple, I would<BR/>be very specific. Talking of IIT-JEE,<BR/>very few people in this world<BR/>can get through that exam, simply<BR/>by cramming the formulae and stuff,<BR/>since as you yourself agreed the material is too much. So, the<BR/>kids are learning the concepts somewhere...<BR/><BR/>Secondly, even if we agree that<BR/>coaching centers don't lay too<BR/>much emphasis on concepts, tell<BR/>me someone who does. Schools?<BR/>How many of them? Teachers who<BR/>wouldn't even show up in the <BR/>classes, so that their tuitions <BR/>can thrive. So coaching centers<BR/>are a natural extension for them<BR/>if you are so adamant about that.<BR/>One thing that makes them inferior to schools is lack of practicals,<BR/>but honestly, very few schools take<BR/>them seriously.<BR/><BR/>Thirdly, since they pay so well,<BR/>a lot of talented teachers are<BR/>actually teaching in them. Schools<BR/>just can't match them.<BR/><BR/>Fourthly, have you been to a coaching center? I guess not.<BR/>I have. I am not defending every<BR/>coaching center but there are<BR/>few that I know of. And they are<BR/>not as bad as you make them sound.<BR/>So, the same way I can't defend<BR/>every one of them, you are not<BR/>allowed to slander all of them as <BR/>well.<BR/><BR/>Fifthly, just compare two years<BR/>idly spent at a school studying<BR/>Physics,chemistry,maths and one<BR/>year of complete focus at a coaching center. How different are<BR/>they?<BR/><BR/>Finally, as I had said earlier I would rather have all of them uprooted, but the thing is they are only as bad<BR/>as other teaching institutions. May<BR/>be less.oneandonlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17637779233334120042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10539912.post-45710317929540809132008-06-29T08:00:00.000-04:002008-06-29T08:00:00.000-04:00oneandonly - I am assuming you are from India. If ...oneandonly - I am assuming you are from India. If so, you must know that there has been anecdotal evidence of malpractice by coaching centers for the longest time. It has taken a while to get hard evidence of what many people have long suspected. <BR/><BR/>I am really surprised at your point about coaching centers supplementing poor schooling. The one thing coaching centers do not do is to build foundational concepts in the subject. The focus is 100% on the goal making the JEE or whatever other exam. Concepts don't count. <BR/><BR/>In all fairness, they would never get through the material if they had to actually "educate". None of them promise they will make a brilliant physicist or mathematician out of a kid. <BR/><BR/>The only promise is a seat in an elite school. The buck stops right there.<BR/><BR/>Anonymous - Thanks. The Indian system is exceptional at producing hard working drones with scant imagination. <BR/><BR/>This is not to say that there are no brilliant and creative people coming out of it - but I would argue that these are the kids who are so exceptional that even the Indian system cannot harm them - they would shine no matter where they are and what education they received.<BR/><BR/>Since India has a huge population, even a very very small percent of it being truly exceptional makes for large numbers.<BR/><BR/>Chances are that you will not see this type if your interaction has been limited to the legions of code-coolies in the western world.<BR/><BR/>Miguel - I would agree.Heartcrossingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11611681863892546438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10539912.post-69844855998780544662008-06-27T16:34:00.000-04:002008-06-27T16:34:00.000-04:00First of all, I still see India as a third world c...First of all, I still see India as a third world country and most of this countries are very controling of innovation and crativity. Also, not all countries want to be like the states!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10539912.post-66405469768811373672008-06-26T11:40:00.000-04:002008-06-26T11:40:00.000-04:00Good post.Now, who will tell the likes of Tom Frie...Good post.<BR/><BR/>Now, who will tell the likes of Tom Friedman and Bill Gates that Indian and Korean education is not education in the classical sense? <BR/><BR/>While the corporatists seem to want nothing more than a huge class of desperate and eager worker bees, they forget that what makes a democracy thrive is its citizenry, what makes a culture thrive is its creators, and what makes a society succeed is plenty of opportunities (to fail as well as succeed) and second chances.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10539912.post-65647702237912483822008-06-26T11:29:00.000-04:002008-06-26T11:29:00.000-04:00though I would agree that education in the so call...though I would agree that education in the so called "elite" colleges is way over-rated but then you have to compare it with the options available in India.oneandonlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17637779233334120042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10539912.post-37070829398756282992008-06-26T08:33:00.000-04:002008-06-26T08:33:00.000-04:00Labeling the coaching centers in India as unscrupu...Labeling the coaching centers in India as unscrupulous because one<BR/>of them was involved in a paper leak in 1997 is not a very good example<BR/>of your reasoning abilities.<BR/><BR/>Personally I would rather have all<BR/>of them eliminated but the thing is<BR/>despite the fact that they charge<BR/>an unscrupulous amount of money, they have democratized the admission process in most of the elite colleges of India.<BR/><BR/>Schooling facilities in different parts of India are hardly comparable and thus one way of looking at the coaching centers is that they help students in making up for their poor schooling in the<BR/>past.<BR/><BR/>Of course, that is a biased perspective and the fact is that<BR/>even those with best of the schooling facilities come to those coaching centers, but they are<BR/>losing money due to their own stupidities.oneandonlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17637779233334120042noreply@blogger.com