Sex Education and Society

Sex education is educating about reproductive system, sexual interaction and other aspects of human sexual behavior. It is the method of teaching essential knowledge about sex, sexual identity, human relations, gender roles, contraception methods and prevention of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs). Sexuality education is not an optional topic. Actually young people deserve information about their own bodies and know that the changes that occur physiologically and psychologically are normal.

   

Sex education has not been a very welcomed issue in the Indian society. The so-called moral police argue that introducing these topics into formal education will corrupt the culture of India. But ignoring the influences that media and internet has on them and leave them to sort all the incomplete and inappropriate information they get from various sources will be more dangerous.

    

The primary goal of sex education in the schools should be to help young people to build a foundation as they mature into sexually healthy adults. While children reach teenage level, lack of sex education may lead the way to their unusual behavior. Following are some of the reasons for which sex education should be included in the school curriculum:

• to reduce cases of teenage pregnancy

• to make students aware of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and prevent them from occurring

• to make them conscious of crimes such as sexual abuse and rape

• to tell them essential facts about their own bodies and sexual orientation

Child marriages and teenage pregnancies are very much prevalent in India. Child marriage means the adolescents are socially being permitted to have sex. If these teenagers are educated about the appropriate age to have sex, the precautions to be taken and also the dangers of unprotected sex, they will be better prepared to deal with the choices that they make. This is particularly important for girls because the maternal mortality rate is high as a result of their unprepared and poorly nourished body for conceiving.

  

Sex education is also an effective way to bring down the incidences of AIDS. In India 15 percent of the HIV patients are children below the age of 15 years. Teens should be made aware of the different ways through which the STDs are transmitted and how to prevent them.  The stigma surrounding AIDS can also lead to unjust treatment of the HIV positive person by society and sex education should address this with sensitivity and emphasize on normal and fair behavior with HIV positive patients.

   

With the increasing number of people with homosexual orientation, it is inevitable to let children know that even if the male-female relationship is considered to be normal in society, they should not disregard the fact that there are people who may have attraction towards people of same gender. They should behave with them normally and never look down on them or treat them with hatred. Teachers should not place their own views about it which may influence and affect the children’s opinions in a negative way as well.  

  

There has been a rise in incidents of physical abuse to children. The terrible truth is that most of the abusers are familiar to the child. The children need to be taught the difference between affectionate touch and abusive touch. Children especially girls are most vulnerable to such heinous acts as mostly they cannot oppose and complain against it. In most of the recent rape cases including the Delhi gang rape incidence, the accused are mostly juveniles. This brings to our notice the dangerous mentality of teenage boys about girls as sexual objects. Thus it is very much the need of the hour to teach the youth about equality of both the genders, to control their sexual desires and channelize their energy in constructive things.

Sex education at home and school

Parents and guardians should take up the responsibility of educating their children about sex from an early age. However, most of the parents and guardians are very uncomfortable to talk about or provide information about sex. Parents should talk with their children frankly about issues related to sexuality so that the child feels comfortable in discussing not only his feelings but even the problems he may face. This will help the child to grow as a matured adult in all aspects of life with proper guidance of parents.

   

School life remains an integral part of every child's development. Teaching children about sex in classroom would encourage them to view it as a natural, normal and healthy part of life. If children and youngsters learn about sex in scientific and objective way, they would be more careful before indulging in sex. Teachers should be trained in this regard, doctors and psychologists should be consulted about the proper age and the content appropriate to be taught at that age. Schools and colleges can work in collaboration with NGOs which create public awareness programs and materials for HIV prevention and treatment.

The curriculum

Sex education comprises of physiological, psychological and social issues, and all of these need consideration especially when including it as a part of academic syllabus. The content of the subject should be decided by specialized doctors and psychologists of the respective field. Discussions on important topics such as puberty, sexual health and hygiene, reproductive systems, pregnancy and contraception will not only make them aware of the myths and facts about such things but also make them realize that these processes are normal. Abstinence, use of condoms, contraceptive methods, pregnancy related issues, safer sex and sexual behavior need to be talked about freely so that they do not keep any misconceptions and later commit mistake that may harm them. Recommendations of the

  

National Curriculum Framework 2005 emphasizes provision of knowledge to children so that they have a proper perspective of sexuality and the matters like sexuality, gender, sexual orientation, etc which are important in the process of growing up.

Conclusion

     Thus imparting appropriate information regarding sex to children at an appropriate age right from elementary level to the high school level is very important. Society needs to understand that keeping the children away from the inevitable truth that sex is a normal part of life will only make them ignorant and they will be more vulnerable to the risks that we have discussed above. It can be kept as an optional subject if not compulsory so that parents who want their children to get sex education may choose it and eventually other children will also get knowledge about it from those who are studying it. Dramas based on the dangers of being ignorant about sex can be done in school as a part of some events where parents are also present so that they become aware of its importance. Real-life cases of teenage pregnancy,HIV positive patients,rape survivors can be included in the curriculum in a subtle way so that children get alert and aware instead of becoming afraid. Government along with the educationalists should take effective measures for implementing the inclusion of sex education in school curriculum and not let the orthodox and hypocrite sections of the society take away the children’s right to know such an essential part of their lives.

Manifestation of Gender in Society

Sex is a biological labeling done on the basis of difference in genitalia while gender is a social construct. The social institutions, behaviour of people, different needs make gender very naturally rooted in our minds. The way in which we talk about the people of opposite sex, the jokes me make, the conflicts which occur, the judgments based on the choice of colours, movie genre, food preference, etc explain how gender is exaggerated even though it is just an elaboration of the biological construct, i.e., sex.

   

We get to know the importance of gender from everywhere.  It is evident from all the symbols and representations – in public spaces where there is a separate place to sit for women. In art forms where women are mostly shown as beautiful, delicate as in Raja Ravi Verma’s paintings and at times oppressed, clothing codes in workplaces etc. Gender is experienced in all settings from government offices to street games.  It is obvious in the family, the neighborhood, temple, school, the media, walking down the street, eating in a restaurant, going to the restroom.

 

Even before a child is born, people around begin to guess if it will be a boy or a girl. If a boy is born, all the clothes bought for him are mostly blue in color while that for a girl is pink. While this has been accepted as natural by society, this does not make any difference in the treatment meted out to them. It is difficult to say if the qualities of the two sexes were attributed to the two colors or vice-versa but apparently pink is considered as a more delicate color than blue and so it is thought to be suitable for girls. Right from their childhood, boys and girls are understood and interacted with in different ways. While females are handled more gently, the baby boy is dealt with more teasingly.

  

Seemingly, male and female infants cry the same amount but as they mature, boys cry less. Children learn to behave in a manner which gets them favorable response from adults. If a boy cries, adults tell him that boys are supposed to be strong and not meek like girls so they cry less as they mature whereas a girl is pampered even if she cries for no reason. It is a fact that unless we can attribute a gender to a person, we do not know how to interact with another human being or how to judge them and talk about them. Gender prejudices decide what we think of ourselves, about others and thus our behaviour towards them.

Educational institutions also reproduce the gender order in numerous ways. As prime sites for socialization, schools are key institutions for the construction of gender. Elementary schools not  long  ago  were  known  for  keeping  girls  and  boys  separate – lining  them  up  separately  to move  about  the  school,  pitting  them  against  each  other  in  competitions,  separating  them  for physical  education.  Throughout  the  educational  system,  men  are  more  likely  than  women  to  be  in  top administrative  positions.  But  also,  the  gender  balance  of  people  in  teaching  positions  changes dramatically as one moves from preschool through elementary and then secondary school, and on to university, with women primarily responsible for the education of small children, and men gradually  taking  over  as  the  pupils  get older.

  

The  view  of  women  as a nurturer is  deeply embedded  in  the  common  belief  that  women  are  more  suited  than  men  to  teaching  small children. In  a  fashion  analogous  to  women’s  entrance  into corporate  management,  men  can  enter  the  female  educational  workplace  not  because  they’re capable of being nurturer, but because they can bring important male changes to educational practice. A similar gender shift occurs in educational institutions and workplaces as the subject matter gets more technical.  Men  in  our  society  are  more  likely  to  teach  science,  math,  and technology while women are more likely to teach humanities and –to a lesser extent –social science. Even within the sciences, women are more likely to be biologists than physicists. In this way, essentialist views of women as more nurturer and men as rational are embedded in our institutions of knowledge and the ways we talk about them.

   

The  complex  institutional  status  of  the  family  is  underlined  by arguments  about  what  actually  constitutes  a  family.  Some  insist  on  marriage as  the  legal  and moral  foundation  of  a  family.  Marriage,  on  this  view,  officially  sanctions  heterosexual  union between  one  man  and  one  woman;  it  makes  them  responsible  for  rearing  any  offspring  they might  have,  and  the  family  is  then  the  unit  consisting  of husband,  wife,  and  children.  

 

The debate about same sex marriage does not focus primarily on children and families, but on civil rights –on the relationship between two people and the right of same-sex couples to enjoy the legal and fiscal benefits of marriage. The parenting issue began earlier with the right of gay and lesbian couples or single gay men and lesbians to adopt and raise children.

Women are treated as inferior to men and are regarded as weak-minded human beings who are vulnerable to all sorts of unconformities. The society believes that their physical attributes make them even more delicate and that they need protection all their lives. In Indian society, women are considered as Goddesses but on the other hand they are treated like animals and not given any respect in family as well as in public life.

  

The relationship organization of a society also plays a significant role in shaping gender relations and roles in most societies. Societies that are strongly patriarchal are very widespread. “Such societies are usually among those that are most unfavorable to women as they tend to markedly differentiate between the sexes. In such a system, there is a high value placed on the male offspring and men largely inherit property.”(Anuja Agrawal)

   

Women are treated as temporary members of their parents’ household and their husband’s household may or may not accept them as a member who has any right in the property or in taking decisions. Gender issue cannot be kept separate from class, caste, race and ethnicity structures. An urban middle class woman holds a different social position than that occupied by an urban middle class man. But her position is also different from that of a poor rural woman who works at her place. In India, a woman who is an administrator at office has no say at home when making decisions, whereas the man who holds the authority to take each decision at home may not have the same power at office in front of his lady boss. The infusion of class distinctions with gender distinctions eliminates the possibility of gender consciousness to rise above class consciousness.

Thus the conflicts and the biases because of gender in the society are very much obvious and the construction of this concept begins right from family and then exists in educational institutions, workplace, social life and relations with others.

Early literacy: Knowledge, concepts and skills needed by the child

Knowledge about the uses of print: A child from a family of literate background has already some idea about the uses of print. When the parents make a list of grocery items on a sheet of paper and read out for the store keeper it is obvious that the child gets some vague idea that activity of writing down served as a mnemonic. When it handles currency to buy toffees or ice creams it knows that print on the currency helps it distinguish between its lower and higher worth. The print on the bat that she uses to play cricket and on the toy cars helps the child to distinguish and discriminate among those of herself and her friends. The name of the child written on its birthday cake and greeting cards that it receives with printed wishes all convey to the child some sense of the uses of print. A child with such a sense of the purpose of print adapts to the print rich world of reading and writing easily. The sense of purpose of the print holds some meaning to its activities of reading and writing. It will be very effective for early literacy if the child is consciously exposed to the uses of print.

Narrative skills: Children with narrative skills in oral language find it easier to adapt themselves to the demands of written language. Written language is expressive in nature. It is also different from the language used during conversation. Written language conveys the meaning beyond time and context. When a child is narrating, he or she is trying to do the same, conveying the meaning of events that might have happened in the past or that are going to happen in the future. The child may also be describing something that is no more in front of it. When the child starts experiencing the reading of print material it easily realizes that someone is narrating the story to her just like she does to her parents, siblings and friends. So it is very important to encourage the child to speak up. Adults paying attention to child’s narration apart from just engaging the child in conversation help develop skills that aid the child further in the early literacy development.

Motor skills: Development of fine motor skills in children helps them in early literacy effort. Reading and writing demand visual tracking, ability to make refined movements of fingers, hand-eye coordination and tongue movements. Children should be encouraged perform tasks like coloring the image with boundary lines, solving maze by tracing lines, dressing themselves, tying shoe laces, buttoning etc to improve these skills. Singing rhymes aloud helps with refining the tongue movements. Children’s environment should be rich with play materials and tools that demand fine motor skills like modelling clay, jigsaw puzzles, beads and threads, craft paper etc. A child who has developed fine motor skills does not easily get frustrated when it has to use tools like piece of chalk or pencil to write. Visual tracking too becomes easy and less tiring while reading and writing.

The child should also get skilled in listening and paying attention when others are speaking or narrating. Children who have been told stories are getting their minds trained to pay attention to others’ words for a longer time than they would usually do in conversation. This helps the child to easily track and comprehend when it is being read something.

Phonological awareness: Children who have developed the phonological awareness -- that is, the knowledge that the spoken word is made up of smaller sounds and that each alphabet corresponds to a particular sound -- become proficient in reading and writing. The familiarity of the child with a rich variety of spoken words aids in the development of phonological awareness. Children who had lots of opportunity to interact with adults and other children will be more familiar with large number of spoken words when compared to children who had less interaction. With increasing interaction children learn to make distinctions between spoken words both on the basis of meaning and also the basis of sounds. This in turn helps them in reading comprehension. Phonological awareness further increases the rate of acquisition of vocabulary in the children. Thus a strong base of oral language skills helps children to quickly acquire the ability to read and write.

Knowledge of letters: The knowledge of the letters of the alphabet and the ability to distinguish letters based on their visual form is an essential factor in determining the children’s ability to read and write. Children should be familiar with the naming of the letters which further aids them in remembering the sounds associated with each letter. The variety of visual forms of letters like upper case, lower case, written and printed form poses a real challenge to the child in recognizing a particular letter. There has to be sustained effort in the form of shared reading and writing to expose the child to the complexity of the visual forms of the letters. Shared adult-child writing activities will have a major influence in child acquiring the letter knowledge rather than just shared reading.

Conventions of print: Conceptual understanding of the conventions of print is one of the important aspects that help children to become proficient in early literacy. Things as simple as knowing how the book has to be held, recognizing the front cover of the book, and knowing the direction and sequence in which the words and sentences have to be read or written and the direction in which the pages has to be turned all play an important role in determining the proficiency of the child in early literacy. Not all these aspects are learnt by children themselves. Children have to be consciously trained in these aspects over the time. Adults engaging in shared reading and writing with children help strengthen these behaviors. The behaviors like children moving their finger down the words and sentences, pausing for a moment at the end of each sentence and recognizing the punctuation marks while reading are all good signs of developing reading habits. The ability to differentiate words like ‘saw’ and ‘was’, ‘on’ and ‘no’, ‘read’ and ‘dear’ etc shows the development of healthy reading habits. In the case of English, the child being able to distinguish between upper case and lower case letters also matters a lot. While writing, a child should be aware of the aspects like leaving space after writing each word, writing in short paragraphs, using an upper case letter at the start of each sentence and ending each sentence with a period. Children achieve familiarity with the rules of writing during their shared reading with adults but the conceptual understanding of rules has to be strengthened by making them realize the meaning and context in which they are used. Conscious efforts through repeated demonstration of the rules rather than outright discussion with the children help them become proficient in writing.

Discussion on “Words and a World” written by James Britton

James Britton says that as the child grows in the course of a year or some eighteen months it realizes that everything in the world it lives around has a name. It starts representing in its mind the things, the objects, the people and many more things it can see, it can feel, it can play with a specific name. Even further as it grows in age these things are associated and association of things too has a name. Each name sounds differently and repeated hearing and uttering of a name in its day to day journey in different contexts starts strengthening this representation. Here each name is not just a particular sound it is very much associated with a particular visual image, a particular smell, a particular feel or touch or a particular taste. The beauty of this type of representation of the world around, in child’s mind can be seen when the child encounters just one particular aspect of the name, say a stray voice uttering the word ‘apple’, immediately that particular sound triggers all the other aspects and associated qualities the child has represented in its mind like the sight of apple, its taste, its smell etc to come into its conscious. Just like the old mechanical typewriter where each word is printed by pressing the particular keys in order, all sense organs of the child work together to imprint or represent the world around in its mind. We can say that the child has five keys, the taste, the sound, the smell, the touch and the vision at its disposal. The interplay of these five senses imprints or represents the whole world, though the participation of each sense in each representation varies drastically. Child itself strengthens this representation while it is playfully uttering certain words when the objects or things are in front of its eyes.

The gradual breakthrough in this process of representation of the world is seen when the child starts uttering the names even when the corresponding objects or things are out of its sight. It actually means that the child is bringing those objects into existence even when they are not physically present. At this stage the child is able to recall names that are the various representations of the world when it is away from the actual world. It is at this juncture that child finds the need to relate or associate the new representations with the earlier ones. It is an opportunity to classify or organize the representation. By now the child has enough words that represent the world which become the filing pins upon which the successive representations are filed. These words not only represent the material world but events and emotions too. Organized and structured form of words starts representing the experiences, the behaviors and actions of the child. So the language has become a tool to organize the symbols, the thoughts, and the behavior, the pattern of the actions and also the innumerable account of events. Even though the events themselves do not last, the representation of events in child’s mind lasts in time. So the mind becomes the storehouse of all the experiences the child has gone through. When the child recalls the events and tries to make sense out of it, it also interprets and modifies it and with every new experience the child may go back and try to make sense of previous experiences. Here we see that any representation that the child has, is not static, it is dynamic and ever-evolving. Hence we can’t say that child will build a representation of the world over a specific span of time instead it is a never ending process. It starts at birth and ends with the end of its life.

The representation of the world in the child’s mind is constructed all through its life but this representation is not built solely by itself, it is actually built in collaboration with the people around it. Like when the child is talking about its play with other children, if the parents suggest or say few words the representation of events in child’s mind gets modified or tries to accommodate the representation of the parents too. So to a large extent this representation of the world is a collective representation though the child’s individual representation differs from others. This difference in representation of the world between individuals arises out of the fact that each individual is treated differently in this world by others and also each one's way of representing the world differs because of the fact that our own way of representing world also includes our needs and desires.

When it comes to representation of the world in child’s mind there are multiple other things that determine the way of representation. Those are the relations of likeness, of oppositeness, of sequence, of hierarchy and of consequence. These relations help the child to reduce the order of the innumerable things in the world and group them in coherence with its own demands and needs. While the role of people, environment and events around the child are very much significant in the way the child represents the world, the inner dialogue, the motives and the tasks that the child comes across in life plays a commendable role in organizing and giving a specific form to this representation. This also enables it to bring about changes in this representation for the future course of action. The inner dialogue that lets the child to assume the role of spectator helps it to evaluate or reflect upon the pattern of its actions and behaviors. This is also a way of refining its representation of the world.

James Britton says that we build in large measure a common world, a world in which we live together; we become experienced people in the light of other people’s experiences as well as our own. Here he says that child builds a representation of the world which is to a large extent common to everyone because the representation of the world is built in collaboration with the others. Chomsky,on the other hand argues and assigns this commonality to the fact that all the humans share the same underlying linguistic structure, irrespective of socio-cultural difference and the principles underlying the structure of language are biologically determined and hence the common representation of the world. Though both Britton and Chomsky assign the common representation of the world to different factors we see that both equally explain the above observed phenomenon though Chomsky fails to recognize the role of social interaction in shaping the development of language in child. James Britton’s explanation of language acquisition is very much in sync with what the Bruner said, like how the social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of language. While Bruner emphasized that children learn language in order to communicate, James Britton clearly states that language plays much more significant role in the overall development of child than just enabling him/her to communicate. Both Bruner and Britton agree the role of parental input and social interaction in language acquisition by the child. Britton seems to agree with Susanne Langer that the human mind is constantly carrying on a process of symbolic transformation of the experiential data that comes in and generates the ideas spontaneously. While Britton terms it as the mind working upon the representation of the world Langer calls it symbolic transformation of experiences. Sussane says that human mind is continuously in the meaning-making process while Britton attributes this meaning-making process to child’s own desires and needs and also the challenges it comes across.

I see that the way language is taught in the classrooms needs a fundamental shift in its approach. Too much emphasis on grammar in language class leads the child nowhere because the basic structure of the language is somehow acquired by the child in the process of social interaction. So more emphasis should be given for a child to come out with its expressive, referential and poetic faculties by creating enough opportunities within the classroom than teaching the lessons and expecting the rote answers for the questions. Language classes should be very interactive with enough scope for diverse interpretation. Students should be challenged with the tasks that stimulate their inner dialogue. Language learning is a continuous process it stops when the individual stops learning. Language has to be taught as a part of learning many other skills. I also feel that since writing is nothing but a pre-mediated utterance or speech we should first let the child to speak a lot but what we actually do is, burden the child with lot of written assignments. I see no point in making the child write lot of things if it can’t speak out especially in the Indian context where the English is a taught as a second language. We see lot of children graduating out of college but still unable to speak in English. Of course they do know to write the words in English but can’t address anyone in English. Aren’t we teaching the language in an unscientific manner?  

Lack of Exposure to Print in Pre-School Years: Implications for Children’s Literacy Learning

Children are constantly surrounded by adults who are engaged in various activities. A child observes and tries to imitate them as per his ability and understanding of the purpose of the activity. While there are some actions like crying, walking and eating which are instinctive and the child does not need systematic training for doing these, learning language is dependent on various factors such as the social interaction of the child with the language-using adults, his/her innate ability to acquire language as claimed by Chomsky and the several instances in day-to-day life which allow him to use language as a medium of communicating his thoughts. This is common for all children irrespective of their socio-economic backgrounds. Children generally learn their mother-tongue first and then begin to learn other languages as they interact with people who speak language different from theirs or in school which requires them to learn a widely used language (e.g. English). They do not encounter much difficulty till they start to learn reading and writing the language.

From the time of birth itself, a child listens to people talking to him/her and generally begins to talk by the time he/she is one year old. But reading and writing ability develops later and varies according to the atmosphere he is living in. If a child is constantly surrounded by people who are literate and who effectively use print in their everyday lives, then it is easier for him to start reading and writing at an early age. Teale and Sulzby (1989) assert that children learn to read and write long before they enter kindergarten. This learning of literacy at pre-school phase is considered to be very important from the perspective of the concept called as emergent literacy. It can be defined as:

Emergent literacy consists  of  the  skills,  knowledge, and  attitudes  that are presumed to be developmental precursors to  conventional  forms  of reading and writing (Sulzby,  1989; Sulzby &  Teale, 1991; Teale &  Sulzby, 1986)  and the environments  that support  these  developments  (e.g.,  shared  book  reading; Lonigan, 1994;  Whitehurst  et  al., 1988). (Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998, p.849)

Let us understand how the presence of print and literate adults affects a child’s emergent literacy. Children in a literate family are presented with a print-rich environment. Charts and toys having alphabets and pictures of corresponding objects on them, pictorial story-books with description in a simple language, etc. form part of its surrounding. Parents read them storybooks for few years and thus they get accustomed to the form of written text which is different from the oral speech. They are able to make meaning out of the stories (that they listen to often) while reading and do not just memorize them. They recognize the importance of literacy when they see the adults reading newspapers, books, doing accounts, writing letters, completing crossword puzzles in newspaper, etc. Parents involve the children in some of these activities thus helping them understand the purpose of the activity. Hence, they develop a view of literacy being a functional skill and not an abstract thing (Teale & Sulzby, 1989).

Children scribble and draw letters and pictures on papers which are initially not comprehensible for the literate adults but it is interesting that when asked the children can read out what they have written. The reading skills enhance their oral language by increasing vocabulary while writing skills improves their reading abilities. Thus, children who are brought up in a print-rich environment with opportunities to understand the utility of literacy, learn to read and write easily. It is also evident that child-adult interaction also plays a major role in the child’s emergent literacy. These children are literally ready to go to school having acquired the basic skills of using language. Here it is indispensable to understand the condition of a child who belongs to a background void of literacy, children whose parents are not literate, whose cultural and economic milieu is not exposed to the usage of print as much as the literate society.

Purcell-Gates (1995) maintains that existence of language environment and interaction with people is needed for learning written language just like for learning oral language. A child gets access to print only to the extent it is used by its socio-cultural group. As described above, children from literate backdrop are able to differentiate between oral and written language because they constantly come across written texts and also read to by parents. But, children who do not have the privilege of reading texts and whose family does not use print, hardly come to know about the fact that ‘written language is not simply oral language written down’ (Purcell-Gates, 1995, p.42). In school, the print resources like informative charts, news, morning message, etc. are one of the first written texts they encounter. Children from literate families grasp these easily while the unprivileged children struggle to read. Learning to read and write is not integrated into their lives; rather it is a separate skill which needs a lot of effort and time on their part. Thus social class difference is a major factor for the literacy level gap between children.

The standardized curriculum is developed keeping in mind the mainstream society which dominates the political and social issues. The structure and content of the text is unfamiliar to them which makes it even more difficult for them to decode the print. The language, the examples, the overall content of the subjects revolves around the upper class context. It reflects the social life, mannerism, interpersonal relationships and communication forms of the literate society but all these are unknown to the children from less educated background. In school, alphabets are taught by associating them to different objects like hat, watch, telephone, etc. Children from poor families are unable to grasp this as they have not seen these objects around them and it becomes out of context for them. Thus, along with the language problem, they go through tough times trying to get acquainted with the foreign society, its elements and rules.

Cultural stereotypes about people from poor, lower classes contribute to their miserable condition. Mostly school administrators and teachers believe that illiterate parents are not concerned about their child’s education and thus when the children fail to learn, the blame is put on the irresponsible parents. It is also assumed that these children will not be able to study well and sustain the education as their parents too are uneducated. These negative stereotypes deny them access to quality education. Thus the relation between cultural low-literacy and low literacy attainment is strengthened by such assumptions about the lower classes. Their failure to read and write is casually ignored by the educators thus giving them no possibility of improvement (Purcell-Gates, 1995).

Language is a marker of culture and thus both oral dialect and written style become parameters of distinguishing between children from literate and illiterate backgrounds (Purcell-Gates, 1995). Many tribes are forced to learn a different language as their dialect is not considered to be refined and sometimes it is totally excluded because of lack of written script. For example, in Karnataka, the Soliga tribe children are expected to speak and study in Kannadiga and not the language they speak as it does not have a written script. What they do not realize is that any language can be written in any script. The teachers humiliate them in school if they speak in their own dialect which they speak at home. Thus, their dialect marks them as unable and reluctant to learn by the mainstream society. If at all they learn to read the written texts, their pronunciations do not match with the phonological system of the language taught at school. This again becomes a reason for their segregation as teachers hardly understand the problems of these children who did not even know that such a language existed.

Written language poses a more difficult challenge for these children. The written language consists of literary vocabulary items which are not often used in oral speech. Children from literate families start using this vocabulary in oral language as they are accustomed to read them in print. Thus, the difference between oral and written language is not very huge for them. On the other hand, children from lower classes are not exposed to the kind of literary vocabulary associated with written text making it incomprehensible for them. Even the print material such as brochures, magazines, newspapers and religious books which are involved in day-to-day activities are written in a typical standard structure. This hinders their least scope of using literacy in a functional manner.

According to Purcell-Gates (1995), written language is decontextualized while oral language is contextualized because of the shared physical context between listeners and speaker. Use of long intonation units, specific order of these units, endophoric references constitute written language structure while it is not the same with oral speech. This is one of the main reasons for the difference between them and is hard to be understood by children who do not have vast experience of reading written text. The written language is academic and bureaucratic in nature (Purcell-Gates, 1995). It is difficult for children who have knowledge about a language distinct from that used in formal schooling, to understand the instructions in this language.

Scope of this paper does not allow me to write much about what measures can be implemented to help these children in learning to read and write, but the implications of lack of print for their literacy learning cannot be ignored. It is a very important responsibility of the educators (policy makers, curriculum designers, teachers, etc.) to make these children acquainted with the language in an interesting way so that they enjoy learning. Students from minority groups are indirectly forced to study in their mother-tongue or regional language and denied access to formal language education in the name of making it easier for them to learn (Delpit, 1988). This is nothing but a way to maintain the status quo of the literate society. Instead these children should be encouraged to learn the formal language as it is the language of power in the practical world but they should also be taught to value their own culture and language. Teachers should acknowledge the fact that each learner comes to school with his/her own representation of world encoded by a language and they should ensure that language and their background do not become barriers in learning.

Discussing the shaping of Women’s Education in the presence of colonial, nationalist and community patriarchy

In the initial days of colonial rule when the rulers themselves were anxious about their competence in colonizing India and sustaining it; gaining the support of the native elite became a necessity. Funding educational aspirations of the native elites was one of the means through which they tried to establish their goodwill among the elites. This led to the establishment of colleges for studies in Sanskrit, Persian and Arabic. Over the time colonizers tried to modify the manner in which these studies were carried out and taught in the these colleges so that it will aid them in better understanding of the indigenous culture which was badly needed for the administrative decision making. This led to the suspicion of the intentions of colonizers and conflict of ego among the elite natives. Increasing costs of governing the vast and diverse stretch of the colony by importing manpower from England motivated the colonizers to educate the handful of natives in the English culture. Those educated in the English were to act as intermediaries between the rulers and the ruled. This acculturation of natives with inherent expectation of loyalty from the colonizers changed the way the native culture was looked upon. Earlier the native culture which was explored with lot of curiosity and interest and held in awe by the European Orientalist’s gradually tilted towards the views of the Utilitarian’s and evangelist’s who labeled it as decadent and superstitious culture.

One of the arguments that were consistently used to establish the superiority of the culture of colonizers to that of the natives is the status of the women in native culture. Child marriage, practice of sati system, lack of girl’s education were all the issues that were constantly leveled against the rebellious natives with high self esteem to induce the inferiority among them and hence the loyalty to the colonizers. The strategy of the colonizers to legitimize their rule and hide their pecuniary motives behind humanitarian mask acted as a trigger among the natives to contemplate the ills of their own culture. The natives who eagerly took to the English education mainly did so because of the job opportunities in the colonial government rather than being completely convinced of the cultural superiority of the colonizers. Suspicion, disregard for the foreign culture and their motives stayed alive.

The issue of the girl’s education became just a psychological weapon in the hands of the colonizers to demean the native culture rather than initiating any sincere efforts towards improving the status of the women through education. The funding for the girl’s education remained abysmally low when compared to that of boy’s education all through the 18th century. Even among that private endowments from the natives contributed more than 50% of the funding for the girl’s education. This squarely questions the validity of British rhetoric of being solely responsible for the girl’s education in India. Till 1911 nowhere in the colonized India the percentage of the females accessing education went beyond the 1% of the total female population. The excuse for the meager spending on the girl’s education by British was the low enrollment rate and hence high cost per girl child to establish exclusive girl’s schools. There was hardly any assertive effort from the British to include both girls and boys in the same school which would have brought down the cost significantly and increased the accessibility to the female population. Colonizers were very conscious and anxious about disturbing the status quo in the indigenous society and mostly ambivalent in all their policies to keep their business and trading interests intact in the colony. Initially British gave in to the outcry of the native elites not to interfere in the domestic affairs of the family life and strongly opposed any move by British with regard to the girl’s education. British non interference in the education of female population continued in terms of the curriculum too. Within the natives there were again diverse opinions regarding female education. The one against female education though was most powerful initially gradually gave into the reformers like Jyothiroa Phule, Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar, Bhaba Khem Singh etc who demanded the colonial government for the increased provision of girl’s schools and questioned the government’s lack of willingness in implementing its policies. Interestingly after the government of India act 1919 when some of the legislative powers were given to the natives the government’s share of spending on girl’s education increased. Further it was mostly as response to the increasing demand from the natives for the girl’s education.

Though the genuineness of the government efforts to promote female education is questionable it did help raise a debate on the issue among natives. All the groups were unanimous in their opinion regarding the need for female education by early 19th century. While the need for female education was well recognized by then there were diverse opinions regarding the type of education to be given to females. Indigenous society reaching this stage of just acknowledging the fact that females too need education itself is a very arduous achievement. Native culture was rife with superstitions like wife attaining widowhood if educated. In a patriarchal society with customs like sati where widowhood would literally mean disastrous for women’s life superstitions like this was a formidable deterrence for any attempt to educate the girls. Even very few like Rasundari devi who took personal interest to learning did so very secretively and had to constantly justify her interest in the name of God to help not to feel guilty. The social stigma like equating the educated girls to that of courtesans who entertained kings and officials in the court by singing, dancing etc was widely prevalent. Native culture too had its share of utilitarians who reasoned vehemently that to be a good wife, mother or sister there was not any need for education and everything that had to be learnt for domestic life could easily be learnt naturally without the help of any formal education system. And also education in colonial times was seen mostly as a gateway to government services with simmering suspicion and disregard for the alien culture. Scope for employment of women in government services during those times were beyond the imagination. Even colonizers themselves hardly had any British females in the governmental service who could have acted as role models for the native women. Girl’s education which had no foreseeable incentives had no way to become fruitful without the generous funding by the government itself. Practices like child marriage completely hindered any educational effort directed towards girls. In enrollment data, number of girls from primary to secondary education drop significantly. Early marriages curb the female education right at the beginning. Girl’s upbringing in the native culture is closely linked to the general expectations of suiting the needs of the families of prospective spouse. Superstitions together with the prevailing social norms made the female education a herculean task in the Indian context during colonial rule.

Among the factors that led to the gradual change in the attitude favorably towards girl’s education was the expectation of the natives in government services for understandable companionship. Uneducated wife would bring in significant difference and conflict in the life at home and life at work for English educated men. There was also changing perceptions towards rigid roles of gender with the acquaintance of English values. The emergence of print media during the colonial rule also aided the access to both European and native literature more frequently within their homes. The print material was no longer the luxurious possession of very few. Women and girls in house now encountered print material more often than earlier. The vibrant print media in native vernaculars becoming the vehicle of nationalistic feelings and Gandhi’s initiative to include women in the freedom struggle all helped the masses to drive themselves out of the inertia of thought. Nationalists who staunchly argued for the preservation of the indigenous culture also realized the need to reform wherever needed. Issue of status of women brought to the fore by British as an instrument of cultural hegemony made the nationalists to place themselves in a position to defend their place. This led to the wide spread deliberations on the nature of women’s education and the sponsor of girl’s schools even without the government aid. Christian missionaries took the advantage of social inequalities and succeeded in wooing the depressed castes to religious conversion through education for both boys and girls. Christian missionaries also lobbied hard for the education and equal rights of untouchables and lower castes. While the natives still discussed the curriculum for women’s education that would make them better mothers, wives and sisters few of them like Pandita Ramabhai worked towards the education of the girls and widows. Though she was accused of converting the High caste widows into Christianity and many did withdraw from her shelter the complete disregard for the widows in the society especially among upper caste held her initiative formidable. Several movements similar to this were carried forth by organizations like Arya Samaj, Brahmo Samaj etc. Gradually it came to be accepted educated widows working as teachers and practicing medicine. The conflict of caste as it bothered the education of the depressed castes with boy’s education continued the same in the case of women or girl’s education irrespective of the castes. There were instances of threatening the girls who attended the school with boys and out-casting them.

During the same time the nationalist’s major concern was to have agency of Indian participants in the matters of the education not exclusively females or matters related to female education. While some where struggling to fit the women’s education within the ambit of religious scriptures others came up with ideas of female education which were conservative. Female education for the latter meant teaching about religious ideals of respective religions, about the indigenous culture, about child rearing, domestic nursing, cooking, sewing etc. Females were seen as alternatives to preserve the culture which was mostly lost because of the English educated men. And also as men moved to the political sphere women were expected to take up the role of social reform. In the nationalistic fervor no matter how crudely the women’s education was visualized with complete disregard for the women’s equal rights on par with the men it did set the stage for later transformation. Many colleges that were established with these ideals later on became affiliated to the universities and started offering professional courses on par with that of men.

With regard to girl’s education of lower castes neither dominant castes nor the government did give enough thought. Lower caste’s girls mostly owed their education to the Christian missionaries and organizations like theological society and few people like Jyothiroa Phule. The usual of excuse of majority of higher castes pupil abandoning the school became a reason for the exclusion of daughters of prostitutes and other outcastes led government to constantly ignore the girl’s education of lower castes. Government also endorsed the exclusion of pupils of lower castes whose admission might affect the progress of the school for social reasons. Very high Christian presence in the female schools is said to be still evident in this regard.

Religion played a significant role in the issue of female education, in some cases positively and in other negatively. The 1901-1902 estimates of Indian government’s education departments say that the percentage of school-going girls to that of girls of school going age was just 1.9% among Hindus, 1.23% among Muslims while in the case of Christians it was 50% and Parsis nearly cent percent. Educational backwardness of the Muslim women did not come to be recognized among the members of the community until the late 19th century. The views of the community members were similar to that of early Hindu nationalists. It was observed that even rate of education among the males in the community itself was very low. Opinions like this among the community members “unless the large number of muhammedan males received the sound education educating the females among the community would be disastrous” was not of much help to the cause of education of both male and female. Instances like Muhammedan educational conference and Bombay presidency League’s demand to promote girl’s education among muslims are very few. Demands for separate schools for muslim boys and girls and observance of purdah system in secondary schools show the communities deep unwillingness to readily accept the colonial education even at the time of early 20th century.

By and large even at the time of independence women’s education was still not free from the traditional views. The focus remained on education of girls and boys separately. The debate on women’s rights and equality lost was silenced to some extent in the cry for independence. The girl’s education of lower castes too remained on the back bench hidden behind the emergent backward class political movement. The colonial government did stir up the issue of status of women in India though till the last moment it was only eager to play smart and safe with the education of girls. Caste, class and religion continue to wield their influence with regard to girl’s education slowing down the process of transformation towards equitable society with regard to gender.          

Analysis of Central Educational Institutions(Reservation in Admission) Act 2006 as Policy

Reading policy as a text and policy as a discourse: Before coming to the actual point I would like to speak a bit about reading itself. For every class in M.A. Education we are supposed to come to the class with some prior readings(Though most of the time for some reason or without any reason I don't do so:). The very days when I do come equipped with the prior reading I sense that our professors expected us to read the readings in some particular manner. This again differs with different professors. Amongst ourselves(students), it turns out that we all have read the reading in a very different manner and what we have understood from the reading itself varies significantly with each other. May be if professors try they might identify some general pattern of reading amongst the students.

Another immediate example that strikes my mind with respect to the 'reading' is the way the religious texts are read by the masses. There is some general pattern in the way the masses read the religious texts(My assumption). Religious texts are read without ever considering the context in which those texts were produced, yet the meanings are drawn to the present circumstances of the reader. Texts are actually used to encode the discourses but what if the language that the text represents itself changes over the time? I would simply consider it as a limitation of the textual language just like any other tool.

Now coming to the policies which can be rather considered as a present day religious texts the problems faced by us is the same. There is some general pattern in the way the policies are read by the masses. Especially 'Policy Studies' being a discipline in itself it has the onus just like any other discipline of guiding its new entrants regarding the way the policies have to be read to make a comprehensive understanding. And these guidelines are drawn from the experiences of the scholars with an intention to make the task easier for the coming generation. In Stephen Ball's writing “What is Policy? Texts, Trajectories and Toolboxes” there is an attempt to identify the patterns in which the policies are read, the reasons for being read in such a pattern and the pros and cons of reading policies in such a particular pattern.

Two main patterns discussed in his writings is reading policy as a text and policy as a discourse. As you have said, a close reading and analysis of the specific features of the policy would add up to an analysis of the policy as a text. Reading policy as a text here involves seeing them as texts that intervene to change the practice. It is an attempt to see the effects of policy just from the text and how different actors will act upon that text. It allows us to make the predictions on the effects of the policy. On the other side reading policy as just texts will not help us on many other counts. It hides from us the complex ways in which those policy texts were encoded which encompasses the struggles, compromises, authoritative public interpretations and reinterpretations(Stephen Ball). It also leaves very limited scope for us to understand the way it is decoded which involves actor's interpretations and meanings in relation to their history, experience, skills, resources and context(Stephen Ball). Reading policy as a text also does not take care of the effects that a combination of policies can have. It leaves aside the role of institutional structures that come to play in the implementation of the specific policy.

With regard to reading policy as a discourse I would like to again start with your description that it is the “discussion of the main factors that led to the formulation of the policy. The predominant understanding of what the policy is expected to achieve as well as the widespread and common sense notions about the policy that would add to our understanding”. Discourse itself can be described as follows ‘Discourses are about what can be said and thought, but also about who can speak, when, where and with what authority…. Certain possibilities for thought are constructed. Words are ordered and combined in particular ways, and other combinations are displaced or excluded’ (Ball, 1994: 22). Discourse is a language, values, beliefs and practices. Discourse is meant to capture the nexus between power and knowledge and the meaning that is constructed historically in contested social arenas and also the way power is exercised through a production of truth(As per the Stephen Ball). By and large reading policy as a discourse is meant to overcome the shortcomings of reading policy as a text.

The policy I have chosen for the assignment is the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006. This act is to provide for the reservation in admissions for the students belonging to the scheduled castes, the scheduled tribes and the other backward classes of citizens, in certain central educational institutions established, maintained or aided by the central government. As per this act out of the annual permitted strength in each branch of study or under each faculty of the central educational institution 15% of the seats shall be reserved for the scheduled castes, 7.5% of the seats for scheduled tribes and 27% of the seats for the other backward classes.

Policy as a text: This act defines other backward class as class or classes of citizens who are socially and educationally backward, as determined by the central government and leaves enough scope for debate on the economic aspect of the other backward classes. Does the central government consider the economic aspect to determine the social and educational backwardness of these classes and if so to what extent? The answer to this lies in the Mandal commission Report. The criteria for identifying the other backward classes is as follows

Social aspects

1.Castes/classes considered as socially backward by others,

2.Castes/classes which mainly depend on manual labour for their livelihood,

3.Castes/classes where at least 25 per cent females and 10 per cent males above the state average get married at an age below 17 years in rural areas and at least 10 per cent females and 5 per cent males do so in urban areas.

4.Castes/classes where participation of females in work is at least 2 per cent above the state average,

Educational aspects

1.Castes/classes where the number of children in the age group of 5–15 years who never attended school is at least 25 per cent above the state average.

2.Castes/classes when the rate of student drop-out in the age group of 5 15 years is at least 25 per cent above the state average,

3.Castes/classes amongst whom the proportion of matriculates is at least 25 per cent below the state average,

Economic aspects

1.Castes/classes where the average value of family assets is at least 25 per cent below the state average,

2.Castes/classes where the number of families living in kuccha houses is at least 25 per cent above the state average,

3.Castes/classes where the source of drinking water is beyond half a kilometre for more than 50 per cent of the households,

4.Castes/classes where the number of households having taken consumption loans is at least 25 per cent above the' state average.

*source:http://www.epw.in/system/files/pdf/1992_27/23/Identifying_Other_Backward_Classes.pdf

Amongst the three, social aspects were given more weight-age to the extent of 54.54% while for educational aspects it was 27.27% and for economic aspects it was 18%. On the whole the castes or classes which scored more than 50% in all three aspects together is considered as other backward class. So determining the backwardness of the class/caste depends more on the social aspects and relatively less on the educational aspects and even lesser on the economic aspect. Contrary to its very assumption the above act is meant to alleviate the social status of the backward classes by making a provision reserved for them in educational institutions. The Sattanathan commission of 1971 has declared that creamy layer within the OBC to be excluded from the reservation. Creamy layer here refers to the economic well being. Hence students belonging to the other backward classes yet coming under the creamy layer will avail no reservation. It is apparent that this whole exercise is a zero sum game.

Policy as a discourse: Just like scheduled castes and scheduled tribes the other backward classes too are culturally handicapped. They lack in the community resources for venturing into occupations other than which they have traditionally inherited. In today’s knowledge based society most of the occupations are dependent on the education. Just the economic well being does not make the educational endeavor of a child belonging to a backward class a smooth ride. Community resources like traditional hostels, libraries, schools and colleges are mostly run by the upper caste and students from backward castes cannot afford to utilize those resources nor do they have of their own. A student of backward class coming with the same economic status as the student of upper caste still finds the environment very crippling for his/her educational endeavor. Neither the student receives the right orientation from their parents or guardians because most of them are first or second generation learners nor do their community is equipped to offer any help.

Mandal commission noted that backward castes make up 52% of the population yet representing only 12.5% in the civil service posts. Caste based politics which derives a lot from numbers succeeded in gaining in the political power for the backward classes. Yet the administrative and institutional structures like judiciary, media, and academic research which are mostly populated by the upper castes rendered the political gain useless. Most of the political enterprise towards the up liftment of the backward classes were rendered inefficient. One such example is the reservation in education and government employment. Even though the Mandal commission makes it clear that the social backwardness is not solely dependent on the economic status the counter pressures from the upper castes through legal instruments now excludes the creamy layer of backward classes from availing the reservation. The pressure to maintain the status quo and the way it works is obvious in this case.

Policy as a text: The provision of reservation for SC/ST/OBCs of the act does not apply to the minority educational institutions aided by the central government. Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains are minorities in India. Institutions run by these minorities have the autonomy to prioritize the admission of students belonging to their own community over others. These rights are safeguarded constitutionally. Yet within each minority there are members belonging to SC/ST/OBCs. The act has nothing to say about this section of minorities who are at disadvantage even more for two reasons. One for being a minority and another for being backward class within this minority.

Policy as a Discourse: In comparison to the whole population of the nation minorities fit exactly to the way their name suggests. Yet the geographical distribution of each minority gives us a different account. Minorities are a majority in particular areas. Within those areas caste system is alive like in most other parts of India. For instance very recently Jats of sikhs fought for the OBC status and now are considered backward class. The partition and the subsequent events dealt a severe blow to the security of the minorities in the nation. The ones suffered most among the minorities were the backward classes within those minorities. This forced them to seek refuge under the upper caste of those minorities who had the resources to help them. This led them to keep aside their differences within and project themselves at national level with one single identity for political reasons. Over the years with improved assurance about their security and increased trust in the democracy backward classes of the minorities are coming out to ascertain their rights in public. Their voices are yet to reach the attention of the ones who hold power at the centre. Even the ones with power at the centre are yet to recognize the differences within a minority and to exploit these differences for political gains. This very act excluding the minority institutions from the provision of reservation just mirrors the not yet concretely developed political identity of the backward classes within the minorities.

Policy as a text: The provisions of this act shall not apply for the institutions of excellence, research institutions, institutions of national and strategic importance. Immediate understanding of the exclusion of these institutions is the residual effect of the quality debate. It showcases the lingering dilemma of the state with regard to employing reservations as an affirmative action. The high stakes involved with these institutions of excellence concerning the security of the nation makes even the dominant political will to become apprehensive to bring about any changes.

Policy as a discourse: The main ideological opposition for this Act was the issue of quality being compromised due to reservation in many elite educational institutions like IITs, IIMs, AIIMs etc. The argument why many universities and institutions coming under the state were lacking in quality was because they all had implemented the reservations in their respective states long back. Admissions based on caste instead of merit led to the poor quality of these institutes and universities. The recent study for the Rashtriya Uchchattar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) clears shows the relationship between quality and the funding. The major portion of the central government funding went to these elite institutes which only served a minority of the elite students. The majority of the students of the nation who were getting enrolled in the state universities and institutions affiliated to those universities were poorly funded by the central government. While elite institutions enjoyed the teacher pupil ratio between 1:5 and 1:9 the state universities and institutions had to cope with very large teacher pupil ratio. In such a case anyone can imagine the state of research that these universities can handle. Can we expect the argument for quality and equality in funding for the government run universities and institutions across central and state from the ones who argue for quality and equality in the few elite institutes? Given the provisions for required resources and infrastructure and institutional practices and regulations any student of the backward class can live up to the intellectual quality demanded by the nation.

Further the opposition had to be pacified by the mandatory increase in the seats which is stipulated by the act. As per the act every Central Educational Institution shall, with the prior approval of the appropriate authority, increase the number of seats in a branch of study or faculty over and above its annual permitted strength so that the number of seats, excluding those reserved for the persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes, is not less than the number of such seats available for the academic session immediately preceding the date of the coming into force of this Act. The compromise is further made by giving a time frame of three years to implement from the date of enactment of this act.

One major argument against this act is the fact that the Mandal commission report on which this act draws upon is based on the data of the 1931 census. It is a valid argument that we are in a need of recent and reliable data on the other backward classes. Though their were lot of demands by the politicians representing the OBCs themselves for the collection data in 2011 census it was later dropped because of the apprehensions of people being motivated to give wrong data. National Commission for Backward Classes now has the onus on this. It is also true that politicians already have the crude data of the OBCs on which the fate of their political career is dependent.

Apart from this National Commission for Backward Classes is not entertaining or not empowered yet to consider the complaints and grievances from the OBC students though supreme court had suggested its formation for the same. Along with National Educational Tribunal Bill and Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Technical Educational Institutions, Medical Educational Institutions and Universities Bill, 2010 have not yet been enacted which would have helped monitor and regulate the implementation of the welfare schemes in universities and Institutions. Overall we can see the opposing forces working against each other in every step of the policy implementation.