EDUCATION - ARE WE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION ?

Man is on the top of evolutionary ladder. The ability to think put us on the highest pedestal amongst animal kingdom.

In the process of educating ourselves, we evolved a system with an institutional mechanism to tap our mental potential and update the information on the Nature's basket. We formally call it as education.

But I am skeptical of  current educational system where there is a fundamental lacuna on the priority of things to be taught first. Tony Buzan, the father of Mind Maps concept, in his much acclaimed book ‘Use Your Head’ felt that ‘ in our worldwide educational systems we have spent so little time learning about how to learn is that we as a race have not known the fundamental principles of the operation of that bio-computer – BRAIN’ In computer metaphor, we have not known the software for the hardware of our brains.

Myself being a product of this current educational system felt low when I was restricted to read the subject of my interest citing that it is not in my stream of subjects in school/college. At that time, I cherished a system where education is based on individual’s inherent  inclinations and capabilities so that he or she can march forward on the desired path unhindered. But this radical approach pitiably has no takers in the market place where your testimonials matter a lot more than your self worth.

After my graduation, I started my hunt for real knowledge and got an opportunity to read some of the world's greatest books. After somehow grasping the ideas of so many renowned people in the field of education, my perception on education dramatically changed. The education which is now centered on rote learning has not inspired me much.

To strengthen my concept of ideal education, I started culling the ideas of great souls. Swami Vivekananda who is my role model  said that education is the manifestation of  the perfection already in man.

According to Jiddu Krishnamurti  Education is not only learning from books, memorizing some facts, but also learning how to look, how to listen to what the books are saying. Education is also listening to the birds, to see the sky, to see extra-ordinary beauty of tree, shape of hills to feel them directly in touch with them.

I feel that the pinnacle of education is to know the Source of Life or what we call as God , Almighty or Creator. I have great a opportunity to read the book ‘Code Name God by Mani Bhaumik  who is one of the pioneers in laser technology, acknowledged the fact that the deeper mysteries of life remain unresolved.

When you look into the latest research in science, you would find that still we are intrigued with the questions of how an electron gets it's energy to revolve around the nucleus. What you call as solid is not at all a solid but only a light or  wave at sub-atomic level. The latest breakthroughs in science re-affirms the fact that there is a mysterious power beyond the realm of human comprehension that is dictating our destinies.

One notable point is we can’t have direct control of even our bodily processes like heart beat, functioning of brain etc. You could find answers to these nagging questions only at spiritual level.

So, my aim in life is not to accumulate material possessions and go into oblivion, but raise my awareness to get a glimpse of that Supreme Intelligence !

STENOGRAPHER : THE SPECIES UNDER THREAT OF EXTINCTION

The strokes you write hasten your hand. The fingers ride with speaker’s words. It is a perfect symphony of hand and head, an art  which you could master and  chisel  to perfection.

There was a time when the profession of stenographer is considered as middle-class’s breadwinner. It’s charm in 90’s in India is something you can’t find  in this Information Age.  The government sector is still the main  stakeholder of stenographers. But no doubt, it is becoming a dying profession and I doubt its survival in the coming decades as technology replaces maximum human labour.

If you go back to history of stenography, it is believed that the word stenography is derived from the Greek words steno (narrow) and graphein (the art of writing). It is also known as tachygraphy (quick writing), brachygraphy (short writing), zeiglographia and semography.  We find that   hundreds of shorthand writing systems and scripts have been experimented and used for more than 2000 years.

In good olden days, Notarii (reporters) write the speeches of roman senators. The famous writer George Bernard Shaw wrote all his literature in shorthand. Famous novelist Charles Dickens was also a shorthand writer. It is said that Shakespeare’s plays were preserved by means of shorthand. In Mughal Era, Qatibs (reporters) were appointed to take down Shahi Farmaan (orders of the king). These  historical traces indicate the prevalence of shorthand since time immemorial.

Shorthand is no doubt a dry subject. My own impression being a stenographer is : laborious; uninteresting. The primary qualification to win over this art is, patience.  For initial 2 -3 months, you can’t generate interest to go forward and you have to blindly follow the exercises with daily practice. Whether somebody makes it as a profession or not but it is an art that anybody could  learn which immensely helps in note-taking, especially by students in their studies.

The stenographer earns his/ her reputation being exponent in this art. Charles Dickens, the famous novelist says that ‘’learning of Shorthand is equal to learning of 6 new languages’’. George Bernard Shaw felt that  learning of shorthand makes him independent of typewriters, of  Dictaphones and of the immediate present of a Secretary. The Father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi says that Shorthand writers-cum-reporters hold the prestige of public men in the hollow of their palms….

The most prominent stenographic systems is Pitman Shorthand. Sir Isaac Pitman published his stenographic work : soundhand in 1837, later called phonography or Pitman’s Shorthand based on the phonetic structure of the ancient Indian language Sanskrit. History says that till the advent of Pitman phonetic system, nearly four-hundred plus systems of English Shorthand had been experimented in England alone.

There are other stenographic systems in the world as well, like Gregg System which is based on the longhand letters and became popular in United States. There was also a Sloan – Duployan System which is an adoption of French system into English.

The heroic figure for stenographers  in contemporary times is Dr. Gopal Datt Bisht, the first ever Ph.D in stenography in the world, and the Guinness Record holder for the highest shorthand writing speed of 250 words per minute.

There were also proud moments for stenographers in the annals of history. One of the stalwarts who did yeomen service is J.J. Goodwin (1870 – 1898). This British stenographer was initially assigned the task of noting down the lectures of Swami Vivekananda during his first tour to United States.

The credit for transcribing  large portions of Swamiji’s literature goes to Goodwin who painstakingly translated the Master’s  extempore words into inspiring stuff. Within a short span, Goodwin became Vivekananda’s close friend and disciple. The amount of love and respect Goodwin earned from Vivekananda is indescribable. When Goodwin died at a very young age,  Vivekananda wrote that : The debt of gratitude I owe him can never be repaid, and those who think they have been helped by any thought of mine ought to know that almost every word of it was published through the untiring and most unselfish exertions of Mr. Goodwin. In him I have lost a friend true as steel, a disciple of never-failing devotion, a worker who knew not what tiring was, and the world is less rich by one of those few who are born, as it were, to live only for others.

The seeds of interest to learn shorthand were first sprouted in me by my father who is a qualified stenographer.  He impressed upon me that the proficiency of English   is linked to learning shorthand. He  ignited a zeal in me  to hone my language skills.

 Automation, new technological  aids and smartphones completely changed the  landscape of present day office set-up especially in private organizations.  Digital devices replace humans as personal assistants and  this indicates  a danger of extinction of this species called Stenographer,  sooner than expected !