Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Media Versus Educational Institutions

Many things have been said about media, its relation with education and the institutions of education, as well as co-action between them. But the point which has been rarely and scarcely stressed upon, and requires to be emphasized with the force and vigour it deserves, is that the media by itself is the most powerful medium of education at large. When I talk about media, I mean it to be inclusive of both the print-media and electronic media. There is an umbilical relation between the media and educational institutions, as both are deeply correlated, collateral as well as complementary to each other.
Education on Air
So far as the print-media (news papers/magazines/periodicals/journals) is concerned, it has, somehow, been playing its role in educating the people positively to some extent, but unfortunately, the electronic media (radio, television etc.,) is not delivering the goods in this respect. Being a medium of infotainment, it is, in fact, supposed to be a means of not merely educating the masses on a much wider scale, but also a tool of promoting and developing the national ethos, culture, moral values, ethics and social manners on the nation-wide scale.
Media is the most powerful instrument of not only spreading, inculcating and ingraining the values and traditions among our new generation, but also strengthening them in the mindset of the old one. It is the government' responsibility to use electronic media for the above-mentioned purposes and it has the powers, necessary resources and machinery to do so, but, alas, it has, until now, failed to take any concrete step in the direction. Government is therefore well-advised to press its machinery to use the centrally-administered media as a tool to provide education on air.
Media's role compared with formal Institutions of Educations
It is an irrefutable fact that the media can prove an effective and useful tool in providing education to the masses. In this respect, media's role starts exactly from where the role being played by the formal institutions such as schools, colleges and universities comes to an end. The media has not merely an obligation to inform the people what has happened, and what is happening in the surroundings, in the society, across the country and around the world, but it has also a bounden duty to enlighten the masses what actually must have been there and, in deed, what now must be there under the sky.
Art, Culture and Literature
The media has another function to perform and that is to take care of social manners and ethical values among the people, to preserve and promote them besides developing indigenous art, culture and literature.
A few words about literature: whatever is written is simply defined as literature. However, whatever is written with an accuracy of the language and punctuation of the grammar is, by definition, termed to be the "classic literature," whereas whatever is printed, published, broadcast and telecast by the print-electronic media is nothing but the "literature in haste." And this exactly is the domain of media.
Reverse Gear
Now the question arises what is the media doing now-a-days? Hasn't it put the vehicle on the reverse gear and isn't driving it in quite opposite direction? Is the media playing its role, doing its functions in any respect honestly and sincerely? Is it delivering the goods in letters and in spirit? The answer is, alas, a horrible "No."
It is extremely deplorable, disappointing and sorry state affairs to see that in the name of art and culture, the Western art and culture are being promoted and boosted, and on the contrary, the indigenous arts and cultures, are, unfortunately, being weakened and relegated day by day, throwing the young generation straightaway into the "lap of the Western Culture" on a wholesale scale.
Failure of the Educational System
The role being played by our formal educational establishments is even worse. Our system of education is still based on some elements of the British policy- getting rid of which the sooner, is the better because they are, on the one hand, laying negative and harmful impact on the emerging talents of our promising students and on the other, extirpating the very roots of Indian culture. Despite having gained geo-political freedom, we are yet to be able to get ourselves released from the yoke of mental- intellectual bondage of our Anglo-American masters in certain spheres of life, especially in economy, science and technology. In the name of imparting education, our students are virtually made "the book-addicts", rather turned into the "book-worms." Instead of pushing ahead and encouraging them to pursue and develop their instinctively creative talents and skills, the students are, unfortunately, being encouraged to strictly go by the books from the beginning to the end, throughout their lives. Main emphasis is on theory and not on practice.
Consequently, now the nation India can boast of producing the best "imitators" in almost every sphere of life but is not in a position to proudly claim to have produced any original thinkers and scientists except Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, S.Chandrashekher, Hargobind Khurana, Amartya Sen, Venkatramana Ramakrshnan and a few other exceptions in recent history. Even a handful of those born with inner creative talents and high skills, are compelled to go abroad due to the lack of necessary facilities, proper incentives, lucrative compensations and encouragement in the country. In the field of science and technology, we are still dependent on the highly developed Western nations to a large extent, and India's glory has been lost somewhere in the dustbin of history.
Total Overhauling needed
Unless the whole structure of the polity, which has been reduced to an abominably, abhorrently stinking rot, is overhauled and restructured, policies putting the educational system on a sound footing, and guiding the media towards its real functions, are framed afresh and implemented vigorously and vehemently, as well as suitable amendments are incorporated in the relevant portions of the Constitution in order to enact and enforce necessary laws for the purposes, the situation will not improve and India will not emerge as a totally free and independent nation in every field of life, in the truest sense of the term. In respect of media, it is more essential and imperative, especially in view of the growing greed to earn as much money as possible, even if it is at the expense of the barest minimum requisites of the common people. That the greed has overshadowed the super values and lofty human sentiments of love, affection, compassion, sympathy, honesty, sincerity and above all -- the spirit of sacrifice -- has been brought to the fore by the greedy, selfish and self-serving T.V. journalists/photographers, who, while reporting, always tend to prefer capturing images of even the bleeding and dying persons attacked by miscreants or injured in road accidents, to going to their rescue. An instance pointing out to the bitter truth was reported from Chennai, where a police officer attacked while on his motorbike by unidentified assailants, bled to death because of delayed medical attention on January 8, 2010. A convoy of ministers passed by, stopped, looked at the sub-inspector of Tamil Nadu police, R. Vetrivel lay profusely bleeding on the road, and simply passed off. None of them felt it necessary to take any action. On the other hand, a T.V. cameraman was so keen to capture the images that he, too, did not consider it necessary to take trouble of going to his aid.
The images were flashed by several TV news channels including 9 O'CLOCK NEWS. Although, the channels' aim was to wag a finger at the ministers, who impotently stood around doing nothing, the same charge could be leveled on the cameraman, who was busy filming the scene, instead of rushing the man to the hospital. However, we can put the same question to ourselves; how many times do we stop when we witness a road accident? Is it fair on our part to be quick to shake our heads at the ministers, when many of us might not have stopped for any Vetrivel either? What does such an occasion demand from a journalist, who happens to be a human being? Should he shoot the event and pass off or physically intervene in it?
Arguments or Lame Excuses?
Argument goes like this that journalists' job is just to report what happens, as clearly as possible. The journalist is like a doctor in the emergency room, strictly in accordance with one analogy- one that is iconic given the images of dying Vetrivel. One sees a lot of suffering, but it is more important to put one's feeling aside and just work on the story. Many journalists, the world over-feel, think and act in the same fashion - especially those covering wars and unprecedented disasters. A journalist should never forget that he is a human being first and a professional last. Apart from reason and intellect, super human sentiments of love, mercy, sympathy, mutual consideration and cooperation, going to the rescue of helpless and extending a helping hand to the needy in distress, are the attributes that distinguish human beings from animals, and human nature demands that these qualities should never, in any case, be dominated by greed to earn money at the cost of lives, and the selfish urge to go ahead in the race of sweeping into the net all sorts of comfort and luxury of mundane life for the sake of the self and kith and kin, pushing behind, and sometimes, treading over others in the race.
Ruthless Machines
The tremendous greed for money has virtually turned the professionals into the "ruthless machines," and journalists are no exception. By preferring to capture footages, the T.V. photographer, in fact, proved his mercilessness. It is, of course, the economic conditions that determine how images are produced and broadcast for the viewers.
We are so accustomed to having our television journalists dramatize the news, and act like drama-mongers that they have lost our trust. Almost every televised event seems like infotainment, a soap opera, or trick for ratings. In this context, it is very difficult not to see almost every thing the news media does with an intensely suspicious eye. The panel discussions over regulation on television have been time and again raised as a way to control the runaway speed of television news, but this doesn't seem to address the more intricate problem.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Management Education Course in an Article

Education is different things to different individuals. While the whole world is focused on traditional education, I believe that the best education is self-study, and independent study, if one really wants to get a true grip on life. Yes, I promote and agree that everyone needs a high school and a college education, but it is my true belief also that these traditional educations must be supplemented with life education, with experience, and with on-the-job training wherever possible. If you are interested in advancing in any particular field and interested in having the best life you can have for yourself, then you will live and grow with the idea that your education is never finished. Yes, you hear correctly. For you, the successful individual, your education is never finished.
And it is always growing according to your outside environment and your inside attitude, personality, dreams, wishes, hopes and goals. And that all put together is your wholesome education. You will, without a doubt learn your most valuable lessons, not in a classroom, but in life, outdoors with people, while you are surrounded with the real world. That is and should be some of your most prized possessions when it comes to having a real education.
So, what is your extra education? What is necessary beyond those four walls and many buildings of high schools and colleges? The rest of your education consists of going to Broadway plays, of meeting new people in your own cities and in the rest of the USA or the world as you travel throughout your life. Some of your extra education will be in observing people and seeing how they live and knowing that the way you live is only one way and that there are millions of other ways to live a life and most of them are successful. The rest of your education consists of listening to great music, seeing great art, talking with great individuals. The rest of your education consists of reading not books but entire libraries of books, one book at a time, one day at a time.
And I think one of the most vital parts of your education is knowing that the news of the day will only serve to depress you. So to force your education to go in a most positive direction and to add joy and clarity to your life, to be your most successful person listen to the news (if you need to do that) only in the midday part of your day, not in the morning and not in the evening. Why ? The reason to refrain from news-bites early in the morning is because you do not want to bring all the bad news with you as you begin your day, and the reason to refrain from the news in the evening is because you do not want ot bring the bad news to sleep with you at the end of the day. Cover your world with good, positive blessings and thoughts as you begin your day and fill your pre-sleep hours with great positive, soothing thoughts and you will be your best you.
You should check out NYI for photography if you are interested in that particular field.
Now that is truly a grand education. Article updated on July 20,2008
Linda Perry is a writer who speaks from her heart. So many times, the topics that she writes about might be controversial but the one thing that she guarantees is that when she states a fact, it is a fact. Have confidence in knowing that as you browse her articles, you will be delighted, informed, and sometimes even shocked and stunned,but at the least you will pause for reflection and then possibly take some action.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Spread the Light of Education Through Appropriate Education Web Templates

There is no doubt that proper education is one of the essential requirements of the human beings to remain human! Generally the task of spreading education rests partly on the government and partly on the private organizations. It is evident that websites can spread the light of education faster than anything else. But to take the things properly to the viewers or the students the websites need to be built with best of education web templates! It is because otherwise the educational news and updates would not be properly highlighted, the interactive learning processes will not be placed well and other features may not be that much attractive to the students or the visitors.
So if you are related with spreading education in any way and have a website or want to build one, you should know the how should be the designs of the education web templates. Let's have a look at some of the major features of the layouts that you should choose for building an education website:
  • The first section that a visitor looks at is the header. So the header of the education web templates have to contain the most relevant educational information the sites want to provide. There may be some small animations to pull more attention of the student cum visitors. But never put there any heavy flash or 3D animation that takes time to load and leaves blank page to the busy visitors (they will not wait).
  • Never pick out education web templates that come with some color combinations that hurt the eyes of the visitors and you! Remember you want to spread the information (may be texts, videos etc) but if the users feel irritated then they may not stay on the site. So you have to pick out layouts that are sober (certainly not gloomy).
  • All the education web templates have to be well-managed with the text information. There should not be heap of information from where the visitors will feel lack of enthusiasm in learning! And the placements of the news or the special announcement panels have to be perfect, so that viewers find it easily without difficulty.
  • The education web templates have to be with scopes to add the interactive learning tools. Remember online learning is very much popular and students look for those. So the layouts need to have place for adding videos, chat, audio-player and etc. Even there needs to be social share buttons, RSS feeds for spreading the education virally.
  • Do not forget to check if you can customize the education web templates you are trying to select for your websites. There may be several other features or may be the advertisements that are related with student activities or the education that have to be implemented in those templates. So cent percent customization facility has to be there with every layout.
The above are the major features of education web templates that make those perfectly eligible to spread the light of the education. Besides those features you should find out if the layouts can be used with open source technologies or not. Never forget to compare and choose the most affordable education website templates for your web building purposes. If you find out a freelancer who has the experience to design the best template, you may choose him or her also. But never forget about the question of affordability. Hope you find your best layout and initiate the process of spreading knowledge!