Rhea's eleventh grade exams are done, so celebration was in order. We had delicious Indian Pizza. Every cuisine in India is Indianized, just like every thing else is. ( language, clothing and even Chinese martial art ). Coming ot think of it: it is the secret of Indian civilization lasting the longest continuous time in known history. All the cultures and religions that came here crossing the Himalayas got Indianized and got adopted to various degrees by the prevailing local culture and religion of that time.
Anyways, outing was a success and food was excellent as you can see:
Bina has lost over 20
pounds but is looking and feeling great.
A drive through the town to see a famous astrologer, brought us these delightful vegetable vendors. There is a farmer's strike and all the vegetables are ten times more expensive but they are plentiful. Looking at these middle class neighborhoods ( at least in Mumbai) seems like there is plenty of fresh food to eat for everyone.
With Rhea's tension about exams and the tuitions that go on, I tried to understand the system here. When I was in high school, there was one state boards that everyone had to pass to be able to get in any college. The states required general level of education in sciences, languages, social studies and arts ( like anywhere in the world). In addition to this there were few entrance exams for specific very competitive colleges like IIT's etc. Hardy anyone required private tutors and if they did it was looked down as " not being smart enough to learn in school", or waste of play time ( as it meant give up playing for extra academic help).. Things are different now ( i am told by my relatives) there are at least four options for high school board exams.
With Rhea's tension about exams and the tuitions that go on, I tried to understand the system here. When I was in high school, there was one state boards that everyone had to pass to be able to get in any college. The states required general level of education in sciences, languages, social studies and arts ( like anywhere in the world). In addition to this there were few entrance exams for specific very competitive colleges like IIT's etc. Hardy anyone required private tutors and if they did it was looked down as " not being smart enough to learn in school", or waste of play time ( as it meant give up playing for extra academic help).. Things are different now ( i am told by my relatives) there are at least four options for high school board exams.
CBSE, ICSE, IB, State board - What you must know about school .
It is an alphabet soup and depending on how much money you are willing to spend, you pick one of these. Parents swear by one or the other system. I personally never knew that there are so many variations in teaching E=MC2 ...or any language grammar :) IN addition to this, most of the parents ( that I know) have private tutors to deal with home work and learn basic science. May be the world has become lot more competitive, or the kids have too many distractions or too much disposable income and time on parents hands or a combination of all of the above, but it seems like a mess to me.
On the other note, Monsoon is almost here. I got the preview here and there. I will love to see a good shower before i leave
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