വിദ്യാർത്ഥികളെ, ഇതിലെ,ഇതിലെ

വിദ്യാർത്ഥികളെ, ഇതിലെ, ഇതിലെ

The title sounds familiar, doesn’t it? The reason for starting this with the name of a Malayalam movie (by John Abraham) which means something like an exhortation for students to choose a particular path, a direction is precisely that. To choose, to follow a path, a direction and stick to it in the midst of all this uncertainty which unfortunately is the case with the UG program for Functional English which seems like a rudderless ship for many new entrants in this pandemic era.

First hurdle for a UG student is to get out of the plus-two mindset. The fissure is too big, the gap too yawning between the two methodologies of pedagogy. I guess it is a disaffection every college student and even new faculty members will have to cope with. College is no fun If one cannot cope with some kind of disorder, some kind of chaos, some measure of uncertainty and some kind of un-belonging or alienation.

The second of course is the tryst with language. One may not find teachers explaining everything in their mother tongue. The tongue is Other now. So is the warm, friendly, nurturing motherly treatment one may have experienced in schools. How to cope with this Other tongue the lack of mastery of which is eating into the peaceful hours and spoiling the fun and frolic one should associate with the blooming years? The language conundrum is a big puzzle which takes eons to solve for the uninitiated!

Then comes the arch-villain. No text books for the main paper! Imagine the plight of a student who comes up through the school and plus two system to find oneself in a no (Wo)Man’s Land with no text books! Think of the audacity of the syllabi framing, God knows where sitting bunch of experts who have no expertise on what goes through the minds of the naïve, college wannabes and hopefuls!

Then there are others! Eternally discontent with the specialization one has to opt for and the courses one is destined to pursue. In Schools and plus –two one hopes one can branch out to different vistas. Once in college after the cut throat competition for Science subjects and the grueling entrance tests many feel like they have missed the boat so much so that mid-term transfer is the new buzzword.

Then there are the teachers! The perennial bores whose only concern is to finish the sylla--bus. How fast they drive and how reckless they are causing all the wreck. Do they spare a thought for the tender feelings of the students? What sleepless nights they cause with their bombarding of assignments and assignments! Be it online or offline the line belongs to the teacher and students are either on or off which never seems to be a concern for the syllabus finishing, running amok faculty.

And there is this talk of the end of the first year of college life! Too little too soon! The campus life which was a dream remains a dream. One has barely put once feet on campus and it is the end of not one but two semesters! They have literally gobbled up one semester! Where have all my dreams Gone!

After all these one has to cope with the lethargy of going to college and attending to classes in this hot weather after the long hiatus imposed by Corona virus. One does many things despite not quite liking them. Dear fellow sufferers when one is bereft of choice one has to accept what is on offer. Things can only improve from here on. Divided we stand, divided we fall! Let’s have a lot of differences in our opinions, in our attitudes and in our fates! Let the classroom be a space where we weave our different yarns in different colours!

- Anonymous