ESSAYS: DIFFERENT FACETS OF WOMEN "Once made equal to man, woman becomes his superior" Socrates; the great

Greek philosopher found the instinctive flame and flare and felt it with its multifarious aspects regarding women in the age when probably, no feminist movement was transmitting the women's rights or the gender issue. The Greeks were perfectionist in all walks of life, from battlefields to chiseling of statues, weaponry to the ornate expression through architecture. Logic and philosophy were other features of their identity; Plato, Socrates and Aristotle were unique and convinced within their views, where the above mentioned quotation, voiced by the great philosopher, could be regarded as the true judgment of all times which, later was taken by the man with prejudice and predisposition. The story of struggle by women is too long and multi-shaded in different social, historical, religious and psychological circumstances, which have been discussed, analyzed and conceived differently by unlike ethnicities. In modern world, the tradition of celebrating different days in connection with challenging issues have evolved at a great pace which, in normal state of affairs, are either difficult or impossible to handle with. March the 8th is a day dedicated to the woman and it is commemorated all around the globe by both the halves. Pakistan is a country with different ideologies; here we could find women in shuttlecocks (the traditional Burqa) along with high cature of see through and revealing vogue. We may find woman with erected head running in a "marathon" whilst the same head on the shoulders of a female minister, is aimed with a fanatic bullet on the grounds best known to ...no one. Leaving it all aside, as we are immune to all rotten sides of the society, there was an exhibition by female artists of SAARC countries at Hamail Art Galleries, Gulberg Lahore, under the title of "The many facets of Eve" in connection with international women's day on 8th lovely evening of March. Painters, sculptresses and ceramists from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and the host country; Pakistan were well-poised for the show. It was an event of its own kind therefore; the idea captured the visitors and critics with a new and a bit unique frame of mind. Seven artists from neighboring Bangladesh, nine from India and three from the birthplace of Buddha; Nepal burnished the occasion with their artistic manifestation while Pakistan, as being the host, provided its female artists with maximum opportunity, who were more than fifty in number. Although most of the artists were from Lahore with an exception of

one or two from Karachi and Peshawar, otherwise no representation from other provinces could be observed. Taking the show in terms of art and aesthetic; may divulge a panorama of vibrant colors, blazing canvasses and classic, romantic and abstract expressions depicting the state of mind, the South Asian female artists are in under the social patterns that have evolved, although tousled due to many reasons, in a region dominated by masculinity for centuries. Bangladeshi painter Shulekha Chaudhary with her painting of a female figure draped in red Sari, composed from backside and creating different portions of drapery, exposed skin of waist and a vertical line of buttons at back of the blouse, was very communicative in terms of expression. She shaped the whole canvas with sharp cuts of blades (rendered with paint) on the female body, in a contrast between the upper and the lower part of the frame, the artist's comment was loud and oppressed with no dynamism in the figure. Contrary to Shulekha, the Indian painter Babita Das was full of movement and energy as far as the canvas is concerned. Although Babita's expression was abstract, but the basic red and orange pigments against the small dark areas composed in a square frame, were smoldering under the gallery lights. Another Indian artist Geeta Das with all soothing blues, sacred zinc white and energetic red and orange, painted a female face in oil on canvas but the technique was inspired of the Mughal tradition of miniature painting with stylistically rendered eyes. Nabanita Javed, another Indian with wavy digital movement throughout the canvas imprisoned the eye with lot of movement around statically arranged figures. The color palette of Nabanita consisted of the all-popular shades of blue red and orange. There were only three artists from Nepal and all of them were looking inspired by the element of design overwhelming all the canvases of Shobha Adhikary and Shushma Rajbhandari, even though the curvilinear form of twisted hair by Ashmina Ranjit stimulated many gazes and took them to a circular journey within the frame. Pakistani female artists celebrated the day with a full participation in terms of technique, style, medium and subject. The gesture of putting the work of Anna Molka Ahmed, the founder of modern Pakistani Art, motivated many sensitive hearts. The bust of Quaid-eAzam and a painting with an ironically critical subject pinched many to review the collective attitude as human beings. Just adjacent to the memories of Anna Molka, there were frames with diverse subjects, making the gallery walls talking. The hazy landscape in soft green, dripping blue and baby pink, was showering soft and romantic vision; the young artist succeeded to come with, in a society that didn't encourage such subtle point of view, a true feminine style of expression. Hajra Mansur's female faces were as opulent as they were ever before with dreamy eyes and curls of locks. The exotic canvases by Maliha Azmi Agha, were scorching in primary blues, reds and yellows, in a closed central composition depicting the intrinsic passion of a vigorous female with free brush movements.

A frame, again in blue tinge with a realistically fashioned woman, having an apple in her hand referring to the everlasting biblical myth related to Eve, by Najia Azmat was interesting in the manner it was executed, a circular calligraphic central area was reminding the centuries old tradition of portraying saints in the western culture, but the calligraphic touch made it an indigenous commodity. Rahat Naveed Masood, known for her delicate portraits displayed a reclining women composed with a burgundy rose and red Dopatta, covering almost the entire face of the sole figure skilled in soft application of pastels. Sumera Jawad, an artist very well aware of the social delima regarding woman, put on the show, her work with all famous face of Mukhtaran Mai placed with subdued image of contemporary Pakistani women while the use of red tint by the painter was suggestive and truly womanly. Chiefly, it were the painters who dominated the whole exhibition but ceramists like Saira Asad, used religious text to enrich the blue ceramic panels, and Kaif Ghaznavi by means of a well conceived arrangement, were amongst those who "like to walk on the untrodden ways". Same was the case with sculptresses in terms of number, with the exception of the legendary Anna Molka Ahmed, there were Munazza Rashid, Isma Hussain and Amna Ilyas who graced the show with three-dimensional expression delivered in hard materials. Isma and Amna preferred the enduring subject of reveled contour of female body. Munazza with her social comment "Thali Ka Bayngan" through a realistic and gigantic fiberglass cast tried to mirror the inadequacy caused due to duality existing in selfish approach towards life. Together with new generation of female Pakistani painters, the veterans were not behind, Zubeda Javed, Dr Mussarat Hassan, Zara David and Salima Hashmi with all the elegance, fervor, and grace enhanced the impact of the show with their fresh work, which could definitely go without saying...! On the whole, the "Eve" show has triggered the gender based activity in arts, which was not in trend before, what could be the aftermaths? This question would need time to be answered.

2. If you think you live a simple life, you are mistaken because the life of every woman takes on different roles. Lover, wife, mother, child, mature woman, young girl. Women are constantly changing roles and sometimes they feel that they cannot cope with keeping all these roles going. As a result women often tend to feel quite lost and hopeless. The secret to keep the balance is not about playing the roles without fault but it is about enjoying them and being at peace with. If you have a strong character, you know very well how to change your roles according to the environment or the loved ones that are around. Even if you don't know a person, due to immensely developed instincts, you are able to predict how to act around whoever it may be and act accordingly. If not, here are some of the roles that women try to squeeze into one way of living: Business Woman: When you are with your family or your friends you can be as understanding, indulgent or close to heart as you like. However, you know very well that in business life the rules are different and even more merciless than ever. Many women have received education for years, prepared for examinations on sleepless nights and have done everything to finish school. Such women want to obtain a good job, want to be successful in their profession and want to establish a career. Hence if you are within the life of business that means that the business woman role is indispensable. In a place where men have taken control over the world, you are ready to claw your way up, proving your worth, surpassing the barriers that those who are jealous of you have placed in front of you, gaining credit from your boss and later earning the promotion that you have much deserved. While constantly efforting to play your role according to the rules, you also try to balance your emotional life, maintain your relations within friendship, spend time with your family and keep busy with your children (if you have any). Consequently the successful business woman role is one which is most tiring and one where it is easy to lose hope because no matter how talented you are, how successful you are in this role depends not only on you but also on people in your work environment. So, the key here is to never give up! Daddy's Girl: Even the strongest mother or the most mature woman is most certainly her father's little princess. When an already unstable situation devolves into utter chaos, women take refuge amongst the wings of their fathers. We leave ourselves to be soothed by our father's attention, love, warm consolations and his advice which always works. A woman who has felt the pleasure of being close with her father means that being able to grasp life by the core and be more confident in her further life will be much easier. Emotional support aside, when it comes to material support such as when we are broke, if we have been forced out of work, when we cannot pay our rent or when we try to buy a car, our father will try to help as best as he can. We try to make use of his life experience, his information about people and his forward-thinking mentality. In fact, sometimes we end up with men who are exactly like him!

The Housewife: However modern you may be, however much you bind with your business woman profile, if you have not developed a skill to deal with living in a messy, dirty and chaotic house, it is necessary to play the role of the housewife. Even if you are single, you organize your home in some way. Is it possible for you to go to work with stained jackets and trousers that have not been ironed? What about making food? Lets say you have an assistant and he/she does all your duties. Would you let him sew your missing button back on? Of course (unless you have a special interest) you can't make baklava or knit lacework table-cloths like your mother and you might not have time for such things anyway. But we must not forget that the housewife profile and that of business woman are not "clashing" profiles. Women who are meticulous about their careers show the same attention towards their homes. In fact many women take food preparation or sewing courses as a hobby. They do not view their weekend chores as an extra tiresome activity but, to the contrary, as a relaxing activity. Hence the housewife profile is seen by modern woman not as a contemptible profile but as one that deserves appreciation. The Caring Mother: Many women at some point in their lives listen to their hormones. They live the happiness of getting married and being a mother, creating a family and bringing up a child. Amongst the roles of a woman there is no discussion that the hardest but also some of the most joyful moments are those during motherhood. Endless selfsacrifice, patience and strength is required but nevertheless they give a woman untold emotions making this profile indescribable. Witnessing their child grow step by step, giving them advice on their path in life, being a friend and being proud from their success is very important for many women. Therefore despite all the difficulties and annoyances the easiest role to enjoy the most is without a doubt the caring mother role. Young Girl: And here is the most sweetest and joyful role among women. Every woman from time to time feels like young girl who is full of life, spoilt, and cheerful. When she feels like this she brings life to every environment she enters. Shopping, cafes, colourful clothes, shoe manifestations, close friends, gossip, pyjama parties and occasional nights of drinking yourself silly. An adoration of Brad Pitt and a weakness for chocolate. No matter what age we are sometimes we all move according to the naivety and the courage of a young girl aged 18. We all fall victim to our small caprices and attachments, we place aside our reason and move with our emotions. In fact sometimes we exaggerate and act like a child in our emotional relationships. The source of these actions of our role as young girl are established in our adolescence and become something that we cannot and do not want to be freed of. Even though we are good at acting like a mature and wise woman, we know deep down that we can only have fun in life through the role of the young girl.

FIRE FRIEND OR FOE

Fire! Fire! Those words can often instill panic and fear in our minds. We think of the devastating results fires can have, the lives they can claim and the destruction they leave behind. Now with the fires that took place this summer in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and South Dakota, fire, and fire management is on the forefront of the minds of many an ecologist. Just what role does fire play in an ecosystem? Is fire a destructive menace that must be kept in strict control, or does it serve a useful purpose? In the interests of forest health, the quality of habitat for wildlife, the productivity of the soil, and the aesthetically pleasing result of healthy trees and an abundance of wildlife, fire does indeed serve a useful purpose. Fire is a natural rejuvenator, helping to curb disease, break down underbrush to be recycled, improve the quality of vegetation, and give the forest a fresh new start. In nature everything goes through cycles. Plants and animals live, die, and return to the soil and then other plants and animals go through the same process. The same is true on a larger scale, with the cycle of succession. Grasslands and forests can complete cycles of succession, with groups of plant species replacing others, until those also are replaced. Fire is a tool to hinder further stages of succession (ie. keeping a pine forest as a pine forest)or revert succession back to a previous stage (ie. scrub areas to grasslands). Fire can also cause a mixture of plant and animal species to be present when fire burns areas on a smaller scale, as the burned areas may be replaced with a greater number of a species other than the dominant species of the area. This mixture is important in disease control (as diseases will often affect one species and not another) and is important on the health of the wildlife. Many animals thrive with a combination of vegetation and other animals present, a natural system of checks and balances. Fire also breaks down and returns nutrients to the soil, enriching it and causing more fertile growth. Fire need not be dreaded when in the right context. Fire can be an important player in forming and shaping, and even improving the ecosystem!

2.

In my early years working for a volunteer fire department, the mission could not have been more clear: Control the chaos, save the house, put the fire out!

During the same years, I worked on controlled burns on commercial forests, where we operated under an entirely different understanding. Here, fire was fulfilling its beneficial, primeval mission. Low flames crackled across the hillsides, reducing to ash the incendiary branches and needles that could have fueled large destructive fires some time in the future. After the burns, the enriched soil provided a fertile bed for new tree seedlings. Valuable nutrients in the ash were absorbed quickly by the emerging vegetation. Decades of research (and a certain amount of common sense) show that fire is not only beneficial in many natural settings, but that it is necessary to sustain the life cycles of many living things. Fire is inevitable in many forest and grassland habitats. It is an eloquent promoter of diversity. Walk through a burned area in the years following a fire and watch the amazing parade of emerging life. Mushrooms sprout; fruit-bearing shrubsroses, vacciniums (blueberries, huckleberries) and the Rubus genus (raspberries, blackberries)can cover hundreds of acres within five years after a fire. The animals follow. Brushy plants and grasses that sprout after a fire are haute cuisine for the big herbivores: moose, elk and deer. Last summer, the Biscuit Fire burned a national forest in Oregon. Although the perimeter encompassed 500,000 acres, about half of these acres burned lightly or not at all. Much of the media covered the event as a tragedy for the natural environment. In fact it was just the kind of fire that promotes healthy plant and animal life. Greg Clevenger, a local staff officer for the Rogue River and Siskiyou National Forests, points out that fire "goes in and cleans out a lot of fuel buildup. What people tend to forget is, it will grow back. I'm not saying all fires are good all the time. But we tend as a society to sensationalize and overdramatize the effect.

FIRE AS FOE?
After a series of very destructive fires in the Great Lakes region in the late 1800s and several large fires in the early 1900s, the U.S. Forest Service established a policy to stop all fires in national forests. Fires on private land already were being doused, but this was the first time largescale fire prevention was attempted on sprawling public lands. Early 20th-century foresters, focusing on the monetary value of trees, viewed all fires as detrimental. Sawmill owners and logging companies did not want their commodities going up in smoke. And national forest decision-makers, who were being trained in the same tradition as private foresters, worked under the same assumptions. Our appreciation for the ecological benefits of fire would be decades in coming. Before forest managers got involved, frequent, low-intensity fires burned off the brush and small trees (the most flammable stuff) in many ecological environments. The bigger trees survived, and benefited from the regular deposits of nutrient-rich ash. Large trees, widely spaced on the ground, with limbs high in the air, are fairly fire-resistant.

Logging of these big trees has resulted in crowded stands of young trees, much more vulnerable to fire. As the science of ecology revealed the benefits of fire in many forests, forest management practices changed. In the 1990s, logging levels were decreased, wide protective buffers were established along streams and a general feeling emerged that national forest policy was beginning to value preservation over extraction. Unfortunately, that feeling didn't last. Again today, we face powerful forces that view our national forests as commodities. In late August 2002, President Bush made a strategically timed appearance near the Biscuit Fire in Oregon to promote the National Fire Plan (NFP) and a new program, the Healthy Forests Initiative (HFI). Both the NFP and HFI attempt to increase logging in national forests, using fire as a scare story to promote new plans that will have little to do with fire but that will increase logging dramatically. Despite the stir raised by the media about the "catastrophe" or "disaster" of wildfires, the 6 to 8 million acres per year burned in several recent years are not extraordinary; between 1919 and 1949, an average of 29 million acres per year burned on all lands, public and private. David Petersen's tutorial will help you learn how to build a fire in a woodstove to minimize hassle... The Northwest Forest Plan was designed specifically to protect rare species and their oldgrowth habitat in the Cascade forests of Washington, Oregon and northern California. The reporting requirements of the Northwest Forest Plan that the HFI criticizes as holding up timber sales were put in place specifically to ensure that things like wildlife habitat, recreation and water quality are considered when logging plans are drafted. The Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and others that govern the preparation of timber sales were enacted by citizens who value conservation of our national forests. The comment and appeal regulations that HFI criticizes have given the American people some real control over what happens on public lands. The national forests, in fact, are the largest reservoirs of wildlife habitat in this country. Sometimes people need to visit the woods, too, to experience a little of the wilderness and wildnessthemselves. Increasing development of rural lands surrounding the national forests is steadily reducing their complexity and wildness. Fire is just one of many natural elements, sometimes peaceful, sometimes threatening, that make forests work. Those in favor of more logging are wordsmithing fire into the latest "catastrophic" force to justify more tree-cutting. Hopefully, the American people will think otherwise.

3. ANCIENT AND MODERN EDUCATION SYSTEM

In India, illiteracy of a large number of people has turned the visions of Education for All into empty dreams. Especially, population explosion has put a heavy pressure on its available infra-structure. Only 64.84% people are literate and 35.16% still illiterate according to 2001 census, (Males 75.26% and Females 53.67%). In absolute number, the figure of illiterates is alarming. No nation can afford to have a large number of its population to remain illiterate, ignorant and unskilled. It was not so all the time in the past. Masses were busy in their hereditary/traditional occupations. Skills were learnt more on job under the training and guidance of people already on the job/occupation. Masses did didnot not depend for attaining more skills or furthering their future prospects on formal certificates/degrees/diplomas or on formal centres of education and training i.e. schools/colleges. The manner, in which hereditary
occupational skills were transferred, was through practice and experience; not through formal classroom lectures, which often kills originality and verve of people. The system led society to have more production, economic efficiency and specialization in various areas of activities like spinning, weaving, pottery making, bead making, seal making, terra-cotta, handicrafts, brick-laying, metal work etc.

Part I Education in ancient India In ancient India, education was confined to a very small section of Indian society. It was not so much that common people were debarred or denied access to education because of discrimination, as it was because of the method of education. In absence of any written material, priestly schools in India had devised a most remarkable and effective system of transferring knowledge to succeeding generations in form of hymns. They restricted it only to those, who possessed brilliant feats of memory and capability to keep its extreme sanctity. Masses remained away from formal education, even when everything was put together in the epics -Vedas, Smritis Sutras, and Upanishads, because of medium being Sanskrit. The ancient education involved three basic processes, one, which included Sravana (stage of education, when students received knowledge of Shrutis

knowledge passed on orally from one generation to another). Two, Manana (meaning pupils to think themselves about what they heard and make their own inferences and assimilate the lesson taught by their teacher into the life) and three Nidhyasana (meaning complete comprehension of truth and its use in life). In ancient India women were given equal right to education and teaching. Women seers like Gayetri or Maitreyi were were prominent participants in educational debates and proceedings of Parishads (Assemblies). But it was mostly the Brahmins followed by Kshatriyas that received education at the gurukuls, while boys from the lower castes learnt their family trade from their fathers. Few of most important universities of ancient India were Taxila (being the first university of world established in Seventh century B.C.), Vikramshila University and Nalanda University (built in 4A.D. and considered to be the honour of ancient Indian educational system as it was one of the best Universities of its times in the subcontinent). Takshila University was famous for medical studies. A galaxy of eminent teachers like Panini- well known grammerian, Kautilya- the minister of Chandragupta Maurya and Charaka a medical teacher of repute. Nalanda was the highest learning centre not just of India, but also of the entire South Asia. Students from foreign countries like China, Japan, Korea used to come here for higher studies. It had eight colleges, one of it having four storied building and around 10,000 students and teachers on its roll cards. It was one of the earliest examples of residential cum learning complex. Varanasi was famous for religious teachings. In the South, Kanchi was famous for its studies while the Vallabhi University was no less. Huan Tsang in his records mention the university to be at par with Nalanda and Vikramshila Universities. Individuals from humblest origin were highly educated and were respected in Indian society as great achievers. Vashishtha, the principal of conservative school of Brahmanism, was the son of Uravshi, a prostitute. Vishwamitra, the quintessence of Vedic Brahmanism and maker of Gayatri Mantra, was a Kshatriya. Aitreya, after whom sacramental part of Rig-Veda is named as Aitreya Brahamana, was the son from a non-Aryan wife of a Brahman sage. Vyasa of Mahabharata fame was the son of a fish-woman. Balmiki, an untouchable according to present standards and the original author of Ramayana, is highly respected all over India. Ancient Indian philosophy and Vedic literature contained an ocean of knowledge in a jar. It was supposed to be a magnificent example of scientific

division and orderly arrangement of rules, in a few words, in different branches of human knowledge, covering almost all the aspects of life, be it phonetics, arts, literature, medicine, polity, metrics, law, philosophy, astrology or astronomy. It spoke of everything- on staying healthy, social evils, improving concentration and tenets of behavior, which are relevant even today. The substance of the knowlegde, learning and research work of great RishisMunis (sages and saints) was put in the form of rituals for the benefit of common-men. Certain practices/guidelines were set by intellectuals for masses in the form of rituals to inspire them to lead a harmonious and healthy life. Only after raising oneself from ignorance, a person would be able to understand their greatness. A knowledgeable person could pick up knowledge and leave the undesired obsolete elements developed into it with passage of time like a jeweler, who spots out gems from amongst worthless pebbles. During second half of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentith century, Swami Vivekanand, Rama Krishna Mission and Theosophical Society of India tried to familiarize the Western World, too, to the charm and graciousness of the ancient gold mine of knowledge, which had inspired not only Indians, but foreigners as well. Intellectuals from various countries have translated it in their own languages and reinterpreted it for a rational mind. As India progressed from ancient to medieval, its education system deteriorated. Varios factors were responsible for the degradation of such an efficient and most ancient education system of the world. Part II Modern education before Independence Modern education system was implanted by British rulers. Before the advent of British in India, education system was private one. In 1835, Lord Macauley introduced modern education in India. It was the introduction of Woods dispatch of 1854, known as Magna Carta of Indian education that laid the foundation of present system of education and changed the scenario. The main purpose of it was to prepare Indian Clerks for running local administration. Under it the means of school educations were vernacular languages, while the higher education was granted in English only. British government started giving funds to indigenous schools in need of help and slowly some of the schools became government aided.

Finding it too costly and perhaps practically impossible to import enough Englishmen to man the large and increasing number of subordinate or lower posts in administration, British rulers planned of educating Indians in such a way that they should through western education get Anglicised in terms of both cultural and intellectual attainments. Lord Macauley clearly said that, we must at present do our best to form a class, who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern; a class of persons, Indians in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals and in intellect. The atmosphere was completely ready for Lord Macauley to lay the foundation of modern education in India by 1835. Missionaries and their supporters as well as National leaders, intellectuals and Reformers not only welcomed but exerted pressure on the company to encourage and promote western education in India. Missionaries believed that modern education would lead the people to adopt Christianity. Humanitarians, intellectuals and nationalist leaders considered modern education the key to the treasures of scientific and democratic thought of the modern West and the best remedy for social, political and economic ills of the country. In 1844 through an Declaration knowledge of English was made compulsory for Government employment. It made English medium schools very popular. English as Official language alienated the masses from the educated Indians. Because of modern education, many traditional occupations became obsolete. In near absence of industrial, commercial or social service activity, people in India were forced to depend on modern education and Government jobs for their respectful earning. Modernisation of occupations and industrialisation processes increased role of formal education and training for furthering future prospects of people. The traditional Indian system of education gradually withered away for the lack of official support. The universities at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were started in 1837 and higher education spread rapidly thereafter. For scientific and technical education, only three Medical Colleges one each at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras was established by 1857. There was only one good engineering college at Roorkee. Modern education not only produced persons to fill the lower levels of administration, as desired by the rulers, but also produced national leaders, intellectuals and reformers like like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Dadabhai Naoroji, Ferozeshah Mehta, Gokhale, Gandhi, Jinnah, Ambedkar, Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Moti Lal Nehru, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose, Patel and many more. They took upon themselves the responsibility to build a modern,

open, plural, culturally rich, prosperous and powerful India out of a fragmented, poverty stricken, superstitious, weak, indifferent, backward and inward looking society. They believed that

Western literature and philosophy would give Indians the understanding of liberal, scientific, democratic and humanitarian ideas thought of Western World. It would make them aware of the real issues hampering the progress of Indian society. Modern education would improve the life of common men and conquer ignorance, hunger, poverty and disease. It would open the key to the treasures of Scientific and Democratic thought of Western World. Principles of Democracy would rapidly spread across the nation and finish imperialism and tyranny. It would remedy many social, political and economic ills of the nation.

Initially, it was an impoverished group of Brahmin and caste Hindus in search of livelihood, who desire to live with dignity and honor opted for modern education. Gradual displacement from their source of income after decline in financial status of their patrons Princes and Zamindars, appalling poverty of Brahmins compelled them to opt for modern education. Sir Alfred Croft, Director of Public Instruction in Bengal wrote to Rev. J. Johnston in 1881, We know well that any considerable increase in the fees paid by college students would compel many to withdraw. It seems not to be fully understood how poor the middle classes that flock to our colleges really are. Half the students live from hand to mouth. And yet though, far behind in point of wealth, they correspond to, and are in fact the only representative of our professional classes at home, and the pressure on them for the means of subsistence is so great, that they must either be educated or go to wall. Their poverty gets confirmed by a study done to examine the annual income of the guarantors of 1271 Brahmin Students enrolled at Ferguson College, Pune from 1885 to 1895. According to it, 76% of the Chitpavan Brahmins guarantors belonged to the low or medium income groups. Similarly of the 277 Deshastha Brahmin guarantors, 70% came from low or medium groups.

They being natural learners and pursuers of knowledge utilized new type of employment opportunities created with introduction of modern education in 1835. They were quick and far ahead of other communities to grasp almost all the opportunities in these spheres. Their long tradition and undisputed role in the field of knowledge and learning, their intelligence, sincerity and hard work helped them even after independence to secure important places in the modern society. Except for a few, masses could not avail the advantage of formal modern education. Relentless effort of missionaries and reformers could educate a very small number of people. Reasons being:

Modern education was very costly and, therefore, unaffordable by the masses. Masses did not see any immediate use of education. It was more important for them to work and arrange two square meals day. The emphasis was on English medium education system.

Introduction of modern education had served a double purpose for the British rulers- they got the credit for the amelioration of the Indian society. But at the same time, through it, they devised a unique method of distribution of power, kept balance of power and prolonged their rule in India by keeping the natives busy in their in-fights. The second half of the nineteenth century saw the impact of modern education on the minds of Indians as under: i. National leaders, social reformers, educated people and intellectuals welcomed rationality and other good features of Modern English education. They understood the real issues hampering the progress of Indian society. These organizations had purely an economic and social thrust. They fought against social evils caused by ignorance, superstitions or irrationality like untouchability and inhuman treatment to women, Sati, Polygamy, child marriage, and many others prevalent at that time. Emphasis was laid on education and science. They criticized the mumbo-jumbo of rituals and superstitions created by some selfish people to entangle the ignorant and poor masses. Christian missionaries brainwashed many people especially the poor by preaching and educating them and developed in their minds a complex about the primitiveness of Indian society, influenced them towards the

ii.

iii.

alien culture and then converted them into Christianity. With the help of British rulers, Christian missionaries and religious minded Westerners like William Webberforce or Charles Grant, they succeeded in converting many persons into Christianity. They also got alarmed at the erosion of Indian Culture and divisible policies of the rulers. Organizations (like Brahma Samaj founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1828) in Bengal, Prarthana Samaj in Maharashtra (1867), Arya Samaj (1875) founded by Swami Dayanand in Northern India, Rama Krishna Mission, Theosophical Society of India (1879), Dev Samaj in Lahore and Servants of India society) interpreted religion rationally and advised people to remain firmly rooted to the Indian Culture and not get swayed away by the glamor and materialism of alien culture. They were aware how modern education was disassociating Indian people from their traditional way of learning, classical roots and knowledge. With it were fading Indian values, philosophies and traditions. Therefore, they gave a call for Back to Vedas. Swami Vivekanand, who founded the Rama Krishna Mission, said, Each nation like each individual has a theme in this life, which is its center, the principle note, around which every other note comes to form the harmony. If any nation attempts to throw off its national vitality, the direction, which has become its own through the transmission of centuries, that nation dies. Therefore, they organized people, held conferences, published articles and undertook internal reform efforts through Sanskritisation and advised people to set free Hinduism from all degenerate features and Return to Vedas. It was not the Hindu principles, but the practices, which went wrong. Vivekanand said,it is we, who are responsible for our degradation. With a rational mind, raising it from ignorance, one can understand the greatness of Vedic literature. One can spot gems from this ocean of knowledge; pick them up and leave the undesired, obsolete elements developed into it with passage of time. Each nation like each individual has a theme in this life, which is its center, the principle note, around which every other note comes to form the harmony. If any nation attempts to throw off its national vitality, the direction, which has become its own through the transmission of centuries, nation dies.

Many national leaders and intellectuals got alarmed at the divisible policies of the rulers. They realized the impact of British racial discrimination in the areas of education and jobs and their repressive policies elsewhere. They realized the impact of British racial discrimination. Economic loot, political subjugation, assertion of lordly superiority over the subject on the ground of race,

assumption of a haughty exclusiveness, persistent insulting and supercilious behavior towards all Indians, exclusion of Indians from all places of authority and responsibility and denial of their capacity for self-governance united Indians against British rule. The destructive character of repressive policies of British rulers lit the fire and gave birth to national movement. Part III After Independence, After independence, relentless effort of reformers, government institutes and NGOS could educate a very small number of people especially from amongst backwards. Masses could not avail the benefit of modern/formal education. It is not so much because of resistance from caste Hindus, as for other reasons. As falsely accused and propagated by many intellectuals, leaders, reformers and supporters of Reservation/Affirmative Action Policy that privileged upper castes have taken advantage of modern education to establish or reinforce its traditional dominance. They prevented lower castes from getting educated or promoting their status in modern society. On the contrary, it was mainly impoverished group of Brahmin and caste Hindus in search of livelihood, who opted for costly Western Education and devoted their scarce resources on it. They looked upon modern education as means to earn their living respectfully. General masses have not still availed the benefit of modern education. Reasons for illiteracy of a large number of people are many. Quality education is still very costly for common men and, therefore, unaffordable for masses. Costly nature has tended to make it a monopoly of the richer classes and city dwellers. Population explosion has put a heavy pressure on available. Present education system suffers from insufficient infrastructure. There is lack of quality education and training systems in government or government aided institutions. Masses do not see any immediate use of education. It still is more important for the poor people to work and arrange two square meals a day. Stress on English Medium education is more than it was before independence. English as Official language has alienated masses from educated Indians. At present, stress on English medium education is still there. After Hindi, English language is being spoken by more Indians. With the changed scenario due to globalization, liberalisation and revolution in Information Technology, English has been accepted internationally as a means of communication. Therefore, learning English language has become necessary to get a space in international

world. Education through foreign medium is a difficult task. Earlier English medium had already put undue strain upon the nerves of the Indian students. There still exist many defects in the Indian Education system, which have been inherited from the British. Presently, quality of education has suffered due to many internal as well as external many pressures. Externally, recent social changes and larger political turmoil have affected adversely the whole atmosphere. Some changes took place in the recent past in the character, role and inter-relationship of the six main constituent of the national elites the political executive, the legislators, the businessmen, the organised workers, the surplus farmers and the bureaucrats. Narrow loyalties, sectional interests and sub-cultures like favouritism, nepotism and corruption have fast become an accepted way of life. Result is that communal, regional and caste conflicts and unhealthy competition between different sections for power and pelf are increasing every day. Powerful lobbies desire to have exclusive hold on scarce resources of the nation. Few persons and groups, who have the power in their hands and who control almost every walk of national life are working to deny justice to common men. The reflection of all these social evils is found in the educational system as well. Based on colonised British Grammar School type education has made Indian students crammer, imitators and unfit them for original work and thought. It has not taught them to have pride in their surroundings. The more they get, the farther they are removed from their surroundings and at the end of their education, they become estranged from their surroundings. They are loosing their natural character, because they are getting away from their traditional aspirations and values in preference to the western materialism. Gandhiji believed that people should be proud of their roots and culture. He used to say, My real education began after I had forgotten all that I had learned at School. C. Rajgopalachari said, If there is honesty in India today, any hospitality, any charity any aversion to evil, any love to be good, it is due to whatever remains of the old faith and the old culture . The spirit of tolerance and firm belief in the principle, Live and let live has always been the part of Indian ethos. Indians believe in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam the whole world is one family. Tolerance, truth, Ahimsa, peace and non-aggression are the hallmark of Indian culture. The people endure injustice and unfairness until they are pushed right to the wall. Many times in the past, Indians had accepted oppression and exploitation without much protest, while such situations would have led to bloody revolutions elsewhere in the world. Even today, the people are

tolerating the corruption, scams, scandals and criminal activities developed in political sphere, as well as inefficiency seeped deeply in administration without much protest. Present education system has given rise to a group of Indian intelligentsia which is influenced in a big way by social, political, economic norms of western world and their way of living. It vehemently denounced culture, character and social value system of India. It regards the culture of the land as indefensible, responsible for creating many discriminatory social values. The number of such people is continuously increasing. The more its number of such persons grows, especially amongst Indian intelligentsia, the more intolerant, people would become. A drastic change is visible in the values, behavior and etiquette of a new educated neo- rich youth of elitist class, which has emerged in Metros. Their life style and value system are being gradually replaced by the Western ones. They want to enjoy pleasures of modern life at any cost without any restriction. They are more conscious of their rights and want to enjoy life fully in any possible way without any bondage. They do not like any restriction/comment on their behavior or way of life. Loosening grip of social bondage and observances have made many of them selfish, self-willed and arrogant. Some of them have become so intolerant and aggressive, that they out-rightly discard all social norms and etiquette. Their thinking and value systems are quite different from the older ones. Most of them generally regard Indian value system as rubbish and its epics as irrelevant. They set their own rules. Their yardstick of smartness is interest in stock exchanges, glamor, pubs, parties, discos or late night culture, which gives rise to many kinds of social problems. With growing cult of materialism and consumerism, finer values of life are disappearing fast. Lust for material gains, comforts, craze for luxurious and glamorous life style has made them so insensitive that they hardly feel anything about the hardships and agonies of the have-nots. Friendship/relationship prospers only if these cost-effective. Otherwise people do not hesitate in showing their helplessness due to lack of time or energy. The persons, who readily help people in need are considered fools in modern society. Gaining mere knowledge is not the purpose of learning. As Khalil Gibran has said, a little knowledge that acts is worth more than much knowledge that is inactive. Also, one whose knowledge is confined to books can not use his knowledge wealth when the need for them arises. Knowledge, the object of

knowledge and application of the knowledge all the three are equally important for motivating to take a wise action. Pursuit of material success is super-most objective in the minds of young students. It is making them more and more selfish and intolerant to others. They are drifting almost rudderless without sense of direction. Academic background, career and good earning is important in life for happiness and satisfaction, but more important is living a quality of life, humanity, compassion and self discipline for enjoying life fully. Once more, Indias massive human resource needs to be cultivated through sound system of education and training to get out of the rut of mediocrity. The system of education and learning should be such that it could the faculties of human beings in proper manner towards proper objectives, channelize the desires and energies of Indian people towards proper objectives and right activities. Discipline and productivity are necessary for education. India has to be made a hub of knowledge creation once more. It will be a big blunder, if it fails to do it now.

4. GENDER DIFFERENTIATION "When you grow up, you can be whatever you want to be." Little girls in the United States hear this all the time, from their mothers to teachers to "Sesame Street" characters. Almost everywhere they go, they are encouraged to believe that girls can be just as smart, athletic, and successful as boys. Even the pictures of spunky women on magazine covers at the checkout stand tell them that when you're a girl, anything is possible. But for little girls in developing countries, the message is just the opposite. From the day they are born, they are constantly reminded of the things they are not allowed to do.
Girls: Household Servants When a boy is born in most developing countries, friends and relatives exclaim congratulations. A son means insurance. He will inherit his father's property and get a job to help support the family. When a girl is born, the reaction is very different. Some women weep when they find out their baby is a girl because, to them, a daughter is just another expense. Her place is in the home, not in the world of men. In some parts of India, it's traditional to greet a family with a newborn girl by saying, "The servant of your household has been born." A girl can't help but feel inferior when everything around her tells her that she is worth less than a boy. Her identity is forged as soon as her family and society limit her opportunities and declare her to be second-rate. A combination of extreme poverty and deep biases against women creates a remorseless cycle of discrimination that keeps girls in developing countries from living up to their full potential. It also leaves them vulnerable to severe physical and emotional abuse. These "servants of the household" come to accept that life will never be any different. Greatest Obstacles Affecting Girls Discrimination against girls and women in the developing world is a devastating reality. It results in millions of individual tragedies, which add up to lost potential for entire countries. Studies show there is a direct link between a country's attitude toward women and its progress socially and economically. The status of women is central to the health of a society. If one part suffers, so does the whole. Tragically, female children are most defenseless against the trauma of gender discrimination. The following obstacles are stark examples of what girls worldwide face. But the good news is that new generations of girls represent the most promising source of change for womenand menin the developing world today.

Dowry In developing countries, the birth of a girl causes great upheaval for poor families. When there is barely enough food to survive, any child puts a strain on a family's resources. But the monetary drain of a daughter feels even more severe, especially in regions where dowry is practiced. Dowry is goods and money a bride's family pays to the husband's family. Originally intended to help with marriage expenses, dowry came to be seen as payment to the groom's family for taking on the burden of another woman. In some countries, dowries are extravagant, costing years' worth of wages, and often throwing a woman's family into debt. The dowry practice makes the prospect of having a girl even more distasteful to poor families. It also puts young women in danger: A new bride is at the mercy of her inlaws should they decide her dowry is too small. UNICEF estimates that around 5,000 Indian women are killed in dowry-related incidents each year. Neglect The developing world is full of poverty-stricken families who see their daughters as an economic predicament. That attitude has resulted in the widespread neglect of baby girls in Africa, Asia, and South America. In many communities, it's a regular practice to breastfeed girls for a shorter time than boys so that women can try to get pregnant again with a boy as soon as possible. As a result, girls miss out on life-giving nutrition during a crucial window of their development, which stunts their growth and weakens their resistance to disease. Statistics show that the neglect continues as they grow up. Young girls receive less food, healthcare and fewer vaccinations overall than boys. Not much changes as they become women. Tradition calls for women to eat last, often reduced to picking over the leftovers from the men and boys. Infanticide and Sex-Selective Abortion In extreme cases, parents make the horrific choice to end their baby girl's life. One woman named Lakshmi from Tamil Nadu, an impoverished region of India, fed her baby sap from an oleander bush mixed with castor oil until the girl bled from the nose and died. "A daughter is always liabilities. How can I bring up a second?" said Lakshmi to explain why she chose to end her baby's life. "Instead of her suffering the way I do, I thought it was better to get rid of her." Sex-selective abortions are even more common than infanticides in India. They are growing ever more frequent as technology makes it simple and cheap to determine a fetus' gender. In Jaipur, a Western Indian city of 2 million people, 3,500 sex-determined abortions are carried out every year. The gender ratio across India has dropped to an unnatural low of 927 females to 1,000 males due to infanticide and sex-based abortions.

China has its own long legacy of female infanticide. In the last two decades, the government's infamous one-child policy has weakened the country's track record even more. By restricting household size to limit the population, the policy gives parents just one chance to produce a coveted son before being forced to pay heavy fines for additional children. In 1997, the World Health Organization declared, "more than 50 million women were estimated to be 'missing' in China because of the institutionalized killing and neglect of girls due to Beijing's population control program." The Chinese government says that sex-selective abortion is one major explanation for the staggering number of Chinese girls who have simply vanished from the population in the last 20 years. Abuse Even after infancy, the threat of physical harm follows girls throughout their lives. Women in every society are vulnerable to abuse. But the threat is more severe for girls and women who live in societies where women's rights mean practically nothing. Mothers who lack their own rights have little protection to offer their daughters, much less themselves, from male relatives and other authority figures. The frequency of rape and violent attacks against women in the developing world is alarming. Forty-five percent of Ethiopian women say that they have been assaulted in their lifetimes. In 1998, 48 percent of Palestinian women admitted to being abused by an intimate partner within the past year. In some cultures, the physical and psychological trauma of rape is compounded by an additional stigma. In cultures that maintain strict sexual codes for women, if a woman steps out of boundsby choosing her own husband, flirting in public, or seeking divorce from an abusive partnershe has brought dishonor to her family and must be disciplined. Often, discipline means execution. Families commit "honor killings" to salvage their reputation tainted by disobedient women. Appallingly, this "disobedience" includes rape. In 1999, a 16-year-old mentally handicapped girl in Pakistan who had been raped was brought before her tribe's judicial counsel. Although she was the victim and her attacker had been arrested, the counsel decided she had brought shame to the tribe and ordered her public execution. This case, which received a lot of publicity at the time, is not unusual. Three women fall victim to honor killings in Pakistan every dayincluding victims of rape. In areas of Asia, the Middle East, and even Europe, all responsibility for sexual misconduct falls, by default, to women. Labor For the young girls who escape these pitfalls and grow up relatively safely, daily life is still incredibly hard. School might be an option for a few years, but most girls are pulled out at age 9 or 10 when they're useful enough to work all day at home. Nine million more girls than boys miss out on school every year, according to UNICEF. While their brothers continue to go to classes or pursue their hobbies and play, they join the women to do the

bulk of the housework. Housework in developing countries consists of continuous, difficult physical labor. A girl is likely to work from before daybreak until the light drains away. She walks barefoot long distances several times a day carrying heavy buckets of water, most likely polluted, just to keep her family alive. She cleans, grinds corn, gathers fuel, tends to the fields, bathes her younger siblings, and prepares meals until she sits down to her own after all the men in the family have eaten. Most families can't afford modern appliances, so her tasks must be done by handcrushing corn into meal with heavy rocks, scrubbing laundry against rough stones, kneading bread and cooking gruel over a blistering open fire. There is no time left in the day to learn to read and write or to play with friends. She collapses exhausted each night, ready to wake up the next morning to start another long workday. Most of this labor is performed without recognition or reward. UN statistics show that although women produce half the world's food, they own only 1 percent of its farmland. In most African and Asian countries, women's work isn't even considered real labor. Should a woman take a job, she is expected to keep up all her responsibilities at home in addition to her new ones, with no extra help. Women's labor goes overlooked, even though it is crucial to the survival of each family. Sex Trafficking Some families decide it's more lucrative to send their daughters to a nearby town or city to get jobs that usually involve hard labor and little pay. That desperate need for income leaves girls easy prey to sex traffickers, particularly in Southeast Asia, where international tourism gorges the illegal industry. In Thailand, the sex trade has swelled without check into a main sector of the national economy. Families in small villages along the Chinese border are regularly approached by recruiters called "aunties" who ask for their daughters in exchange for six years' wages. Most Thai farmers earn only $150 a year. The offer can be too tempting to refuse. The girls who are forced into prostitution to support their families often feel their burden deeply. "When I was at work, 50 percent of me hated what I was doing," said one 14year-old girl, who felt conflicted about being taken out of a brothel in Chiang Mai, Thailand. "But the other 50 percent wanted to stay so that I could earn money for my parents. My father cannot work. He is very old and I must support the family. It is my job." It's estimated that 1 million children around the world are involved in the sex trade; a third of all sex workers in Southeast Asia are between the ages of 12 and 17. Girls' Education: Breaking the Pattern of Gender Discrimination Education is the tool that can help break the pattern of gender discrimination and bring lasting change for women in developing countries.

Educated women are essential to ending gender bias, starting by reducing the poverty that makes discrimination even worse in the developing world. The most basic skills in literacy and arithmetic open up opportunities for better-paying jobs for women. Uneducated women in rural areas of Zambia, for instance, are twice as likely to live in poverty as those who have had eight or more years of education. The longer a girl is able to stay in school, the greater her chances to pursue worthwhile employment, higher education, and a life without the hazards of extreme poverty. Women who have had some schooling are more likely to get married later, survive childbirth, have fewer and healthier children, and make sure their own children complete school. They also understand hygiene and nutrition better and are more likely to prevent disease by visiting health care facilities. The UN estimates that for every year a woman spends in primary school, the risk of her child dying prematurely is reduced by 8 percent. Girls' education also means comprehensive change for a society. As women get the opportunity to go to school and obtain higher-level jobs, they gain status in their communities. Status translates into the power to influence their families and societies. Even bigger changes become possible as girls' education becomes the cultural norm. Women can't defend themselves against physical and sexual abuse until they have the authority to speak against it without fear. Knowledge gives that authority. Women who have been educated are half as likely to undergo harmful cultural practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and four times as likely to protect their daughters from it. The Global Campaign for Education also states that a primary education defends women against HIV/AIDS infectiondisproportionately high for women in developing countries by giving "the most marginalized groups in societynotably young womenthe status and confidence needed to act on information and refuse unsafe sex." FGM and HIV/AIDS are too large to adequately address in this article, but they represent desperate challenges to the basic health and well-being of women in developing countries. Click here to learn more about FGM, HIV/AIDS, and women in the developing world.

How to Help You can help pull down the barriers that keep girls from attending school and begin to bring change for women in developing countries. The most direct way is by easing the financial need that forces families to take their children out of school in the first place. Dozens of international organizations are working to improve the livelihood of impoverished people. By building infrastructure and providing aid, vocational training, and education programs, they give families in developing countries resources to create healthy and stable lives. That takes the burden of mere survival off young women and

gives them the time to get an education. With practical help and encouragement, girls are more likely to enroll and stay in school. UNICEF is encouraging all international organizations to come up with strategies for girls' education as part of their initial development plans. It has also started a movement to monitor school materials, facilities, and teachers to ensure that girls get a quality education that promotes appropriate perceptions of women, and that female students are given the same privileges as male students. All UNICEF and other reputable organizations need now are the resources to fund their efforts. You can help begin to change the lives of women around the world by making a financial gift or raising awareness about girls in the developing world today. Children In Need offers internships and volunteer opportunities to people who want to help raise awareness of the issues tha impact children. You can support Amnesty International, UNICEF, UNIFEM and INSTRAW. Or find another organization youd like to support through Interaction. The need is clear, and though the obstacles to ending gender discrimination are high, they are not insurmountable.

5. ROLE OF INTERNET IN STUDENTS LIFE

The Internet is an extremely useful resource for students. There is a lot of information that can save a person a trip to the library. There are hidden perils in the Internet, however, that can sabotage the very core of a students work, so it is important to be aware of these issues. The following are reasons why the Internet is a useful resource for students. mba education There are many reputable websites with information about all sorts of subjects. It doesnt matter what subject the student is studying. You will be hard pressed to find a subject that does not have a great deal of information on various websites. This can be very helpful when doing projects, writing essays and just doing general schoolwork. For many projects you can find more information than you can possibly ever use. india education You will want to be very careful when garnering information from the Internet, however, especially for work in a school assignment. There is a lot of incorrect information on the Internet. There are free online encyclopedias that might have incorrect information. Unlike books at the library, which are much more likely to have correct information because of the editorial process, just about anyone can post information on the web, whether it is right or not. There are certain websites, however, that might be much more trustworthy. For instance, you can find the website of an organization that you trust. Lets say you are looking for health information for a school project. If you go to the local hospitals website, the CDC website or a government website and find an article on the subject on there, then chances are it will be correct. If you just do a Google search , however, and go to a random website that pops up, then you are much more likely to get incorrect information. A lot of it and maybe even the majority of it will be good, but it will be difficult for you to distinguish the fact from the fiction. cat exams The Internet can be a resource in many other ways. A lot of teachers will actually use the Internet for their classes. They may post information or assignments on there. Some of them will post grades on the Internet or communicate with students that way. Some college classes and even entire courses and degree programs

are taught on the Internet. In this way, it can also be a good resource for students. 2.
please i have a reaserch in the collge about internet and the advantages and disadvantages of it and i dont know what to do so if u can help me with it and the outline is The internet is a great break throught in the world of technology. ( It has facilitated modern life with its easy accessiability). A simple click of a buttom and your connected to the world. It has become todays emblem of both entertainment and information yet unfortunately like most inventions, the internet has been manipulated and exploited to serve harmful purposes. 1. The advantages of the internet are: A) Provides unlimited up-to-date information. a) Through various websites. b) Through automaticly programs. B) Erases the distance between people a) Through e-mails b) Voice chat c) The web camera C) Provides entertainment for all ages a) different games b) comic websites c) chatting D) There are also few disadvantages: a) Exposing people to harmful scenes through prevented websites 1) parent guide 2) security system B) Distracting children from their studies: a) Games 1) give limit time for playing 2) guidness of the parents b) Exploring internet c) Chatting 1) cut the chatting programs To conclude, the internet is a fasunating phenomenon that has taken the world by storm and despite the few disadvantages , it however remains todays number one universal interest.

3.

The importance of the Internet for teens

This month we have a special guest columnist: David Thelen from Michigan! Learn about the importance of the Net for teens from someone who knows! David is a high school sophomore from Michigan who has recently begun publishing his work in Internet E-Zines.
By David Thelen

he Internet plays a big role in the lives of adults and teenagers alike. The importance of the Internet in a teenager's life increases with every day that goes by. Teenagers are starting to use the Internet in a myriad of ways, which range from doing schoolwork to transporting themselves halfway around the world. As long as the need for getting quick, indepth information is still there, the need for the Internet will also be strong. The big debate recently has been over the use of the Internet in schools today. Coming from a school that does not have Internet access, I feel that not only is it a novelty, but it is also starting to become a necessity. Students that have the privilege to get on the Internet have a distinct advantage over the students who are less fortunate. Internet-able students have the possibility to access information at an unbelievable pace, and creating their

reports becomes less tedious, and may even get kids interested in school. The advantages only begin with school work; the workforce is also centered around the computer, and knowing how to use the Internet gives kids a big advantage when they do enter the workforce and even college! Now those are the pluses, and of course where there is a plus there is always a minus. There is always going to be a fear of kids using the Internet in an insidious manner. I believe that you can eliminate that fear with a few weeks of Internet basics and Internet safety education.
David

o let's say that your school does have access to the Internet; the next big hurdle is to get teachers to use it to their advantage. If I had a teacher that incorporated the Internet with their lessons, I would definitely be more interested in school. Some examples of this would be having an economics teacher get on the Internet and give the kids a shopping list; and their job was to find the best deal. Or you could have an English teacher have kids get on the Internet and read movie reviews, then have the kids rent the movie and see if they agree with the experts. Maybe they could write their own review and send it to Siskel and Ebert! Now the situation becomes that not only does the school have access to the Internet, but teachers are also using it effectively in their lessons. The $64,000 question is: will it help kids get better grades? Well here is my strong opinion on that subject. You can split most students in to three categories: The Elite, The Norm, and The Underachievers. Now, no matter what

learning circumstance they are in, the will to excel is what puts them in a category. The Underachievers (I hate to call them that but I really don't have a better term.) are usually (I hate to generalize but this is the only way to get my point across) going to sit back and not care what is going on they will always settle for the "C's" and "D's". The group that you can make change the most is The Norm. I am a firm believer that if you charge things up a little and not do the same old reading and writing assignments, kids will put forth more of an effort and challenge themselves a little more. Most of the time you don't need a teacher breathing down your back telling you to be more creative, usually it is right there: you just have to unlock the creative juice. If I had to build the perfect Internet school, I would start by letting kids have a lot of hands-on activity. Instead of having the teacher doing stuff on the computer, have the student maybe even run a lesson off the Internet. I believe that would get kids interested in school. Ideally, each student would have to sit at a computer in a 3:1 ratio. By this I mean that for each 3 minutes of school time, each student would have 1 minute of Internet time. This would allow time for the questions to be answered, and it would also force them to get to work, because you couldn't really give them homework on the Internet. One final thought about the Internet in schools and the Internet in the lives of teenagers in general is this: as long as the correct intention is there, the Internet can become a useful tool. It is useful in that not only can teenagers do interesting schoolwork, but they can also hear what kids have to say half-way around the world about an issue that affects all of them. The Internet is increasingly becoming the tool that will lead kids into their dream jobs: giving them a head-start in school is priceless.