Education of First Generation Students

SEBASTIAN V.J.
Almost in all underdeveloped and developing countries, educating the first generation is a great challenge. Who are the people belonging to the first generation? Those who are receiving formal education for the first time in the family can be called first generation students. There is also a degree of difference with reference to the level of education (primary, secondary and tertiary-under graduate, post graduate and doctoral degree) of the immediate parents.
Very often, educators get frustrated with first generation students. They don’t have self initiative in the learning process, lack of motivation and interest, high level of fatigue, poor retention, less exposure to mass media etc. Home environment is not always conducive for learning, lack of self discipline and prone to bad habits may even have anti-social behaviour. What else the teacher requires to get frustrated? If you are a frustrated teacher there are some other reasons also to point out. In psychology all these come under defense mechanism.

I come across many students who complain about their teachers too on account of their teachers belonging to first generation teachers or first generation students turned teachers so that teachers have no initiative, interest, self motivation in teaching, high level of fatigue, even after roll call teachers get tired, short tempered, lack of language skill and communication skill, lack of content knowledge, read the text content correctly or otherwise before students, instead of getting into the class get into the canteen close by and chat on last days ‘match fixed’ cricket match or silly things like that till the last bell goes or get exhausted, lack of teachers punctuality or truancy, unbearable inhuman punishment, bias, prejudice, nepotism, negative attitude towards subject, students, colleagues, democratic administration and values like that.
First generation students as well as teachers belong to the same category; have same personality traits that reflect in their behaviour according to the context. As a student he/ she wants to avoid learning or any difficult task even without a try. The same is the story of such teachers too. The so-called first generation people never experienced self discipline or any form of discipline without compulsion. They work only if there is no other way to escape. They even enjoy physical harassment that is why many of such harassment at home and school environment continues without compliant and notice.
The question is how can we overcome such a situation? Let us go back to history.
Napoleon Bonaparte was the first administrator who initiated formal education under school board for the so called first generation students by probably first generation teachers. He followed a strict administration, inspection and supervision to achieve the declared end since there was no other alternative to impart education to first generation people. At present the quality of education in India has been systematically brought down to make sure all aspirants can afford it. Hence we reached a stage where supply of qualified candidates is not available to appoint as teachers. It is up to the appointing agency to make sure that their teachers/staff are properly trained and mended during probation time and even after that. So almost all the universities started Staff Training Colleges to train their staff. There are NCERT, SIET, DIET etc for training school teachers. These facilities should be extended to private college teachers and school teachers too since second phase of expansion of education is through private institutions. In course of time educated people choose standard private institutions for the education of their ward, so that all the inefficient private institutions close down like government educational institutions close down due to lack of takers at the end of first phase of educational expansion. This is what happened in developed countries, and the same trend has started in south India. The history may not repeat in the same manner, but irrespective of government or private, all the inefficient educational institutions will close down due to lack of takers.
Like the case of wages, the workload also should be optimum to motivate the workers. When the wages are above or below optimum level, people prefer leisure to work with certain exception. It is applicable to both teachers as well as to students. Under semester system, at least five theory papers excluding practical papers in each semester are necessary to make sure both teachers and students engage in optimum level of work. The universities which are following semester system with three theory papers including or excluding practical papers in each semester found that students and teachers are free just after three hours/ periods. The work load is not sufficient enough to keep them engaged for at least five hours in the college/department. When we compare secondary and higher secondary curriculum with that of university curriculum, it is found that the latter is very thin. The curriculum should address the need of the hour and also be spirally integrated. Very often lazy people are involved in the curriculum framing, so that on behalf of all lazy people, they prepare skeleton curriculum. It may not satisfy the needs and requirements of the society.
In the context of under developed country, the B.Ed curriculum should emphasize the principles, need and importance of administration, supervision, and inspection of schools, colleges, departments by respective agencies/authorities as well as special reference to educate first generation students. Irrespective of whether it is government or private, schools or colleges must be inspected and supervised quarterly or half yearly by competent agencies/ authorities to make sure quality education. During inspection, students and teachers feel that they are cared and also reinforced about their good work that is sufficient enough to carry on their work till next inspection. In addition to that, before the inspection, usually the institution comes up with required standard and window dressing which makes sure things are in order. These types of inspections should be with notice as well as without notice to make sure the system is working and the wrong doers are punished. As long as wrong doers get red carpet everywhere to take cake walk, the society would not progress instead degenerate. Hence the educational officers at top level should make sure all the educational institutions are properly inspected and supervised periodically.
Quality education depends on curriculum, teaching and evaluation of learning outcome of students which are inter-related too, required proper supervision and inspection. Even the ministers and other top level officers on the way to other destinations can step into educational institutions for at least five minutes to oversee and motivate the teachers and students, remember where ‘would be human resources’ of India is molding. All these inspections and supervisions should be developmental instead of detrimental to institutions/ students and teachers.
As it is noticed by teachers in their action research that first generation students can’t submit home assignments regularly since nobody at home help them to accomplish it, teachers should step in and help students by locating answers in their text book during their teaching i.e. PSI method. But I observed that if teachers correct the home work regularly, students submit it regularly. Students imitate teachers’ behaviour rather than their words. Maximum class work, field study, laboratory experiments, recitation, group project, library reading under strict supervision and minimum home work yield desired result. Regular questioning before, during and after the presentation of subject matter in the class naturally improves the study habits of these students. Exposure to mass media and CAI, ETV display of educational CDs can do wonders. They should be directed from nursery onwards in this direction. All on a sudden nobody can be good boy or good girl; it is a continuous and gradual process. Patient and scholarly teachers can overcome this problem.
[The writer is an Assistant Professor at the Loyola College of Education, Namchi]