Now, here I am, sitting in the only, and now empty, cafe in an obscure town in Finland, writing this while waiting for an old woman who wants to talk to me about my depressed state.
Staring out at the frozen street in front of me, I started wondering about my school days.Attending school in Finland is so different from attending it in India. For starters, all Indian schools have uniforms. Some are ugly, some are not-so-ugly. But uniforms, ugly or not, are compulsory. Finnish schools, on the other hand, have no uniforms at all.
Then, my school days in India always started with an assembly of the whole school. The assemblies always started with the National Anthem followed by prayers, which was then followed by a resounding 'Good Morning, Teachers!' Then, someone from the teachers or the prefects would give out announcements, if any, and then at last, the classes would start. Here in Finland, people come to school some 5minutes before the classes start. There are no assemblies and stuff like that.
Also, I remember that whenever a teacher would enter the classroom, everyone would have to stand up and wish him/her 'Good Morning' or 'Good Afternoon', then the teacher would tell us to sit down and the lesson would start. Here, in Finland, the teacher comes in, says 'Hi!' and then starts teaching!
In India, a teacher would always be known as a 'Sir' or a 'Madam'. Here, in Finland, a teacher is known just by his/her name.
Then the lessons. Back in India, I used to have three 35minute lessons, back-to-back. Then the lunch break for 20minutes. Again three 35minute lessons and a break for 10minutes. Another triplet of lessons and then the school used to get over. Here, one lesson lasts for 45minutes and then there is a 15minute break before the next lesson starts.
And the lessons themselves are so less challenging than what I am used to. At first, when I was sitting in a class of 17yr olds, I thought that I was back in class 8, doing stuff I did when I was 12! As the year progressed, the lessons did get tougher, but not really as tough as I am used to, anyway. No wonder these people have so much extra time to do random stuff.
Then, back home, we used to have 2semesters and 2exams in each semester. And the 2nd exam of the 2nd semester was like the worst exam ever, coz we had do slog all that was taught during the whole academic year. Here, they have 6periods, each lasting for 1 and a half month each. Each having a different set of courses that never come back after the period is over. At the end of each period, they have a week of exams during which a test is given for each course attended during the period. I found this method a lot more easier as the studying material is reduced drastically.
Oh yeah, and of course, Finns get free food in the school, which is quite decent. I always had to take my tiffin to school..
I'm not sure which education system I like more. Each one has an equal number of pros and cons. But considering the heavy-duty syllabus of Indian Education, I feel happy that I studied under the Indian one. After seeing the way of things here, I'm totally proud of having having emerged from such a tough education system with, well, maybe not flying colors, but at at least with dignity.
And all this nonsense about SRK and his Pakistan-favored comments angering people is just bullshit. How can people be so blind and ignorant? India is a free country and everyone has a right to say what they want. And SRK was never wrong in what he said. Not all Pakistanis are terrorists and neither are all terrorists Pakistani. So try to clear your mind and get rid of your nasty narrow mindedness.
Also, the Terrorists attacks on the German Bakery in Pune is an act of cowardness and it is strongly condemned. RIP all the victims of the attack and hope the Government succeeds in capturing and punishing the cowards responsible for this act. Jai Hind!
P.S. The last para was completely spontaneous and has no connection to anything related to this blog. It's just that I love SRK and I'm really sad that I won''t be able to watch his My Name Is KHAN asap.. :P
