My enthusiasm faded and my days got longer, which led to me not blogging for a week. Horrible, pathetic, I know.
Needless to say, I’m more motivated to continue writing daily.
I’m very tired, I’ll tell you that much, but I’m motoring on.
This evening, post-dinner, I had a marvelous conversation with a senior of mine: one who’s already placed, has the safety net of a job, and therefore, all the time to explore all the things he wishes to, without being caught up in the rat race the rest of us are thrust in.
Long sentence, I’m aware. Read it again, if you’d like.
I asked him a simple question. Prior to applying for internships, you often change the “Areas of Interest” on your CV to indicate to the reader the team you’d like to work with. In my case, I’d possibly put Public International Law and Constitutional Law.
However, if you ask me to talk about either of these, or you question me on something that should be GK for a person interested in these fields, I’m not sure how adequate my response would be.
Put simply: Where do you find the time to read things you have an interest in?
Our system of teaching/learning is a cruel one, especially for students with multiple interests. Classes don’t teach you enough to satisfy your thirst for knowledge, but merely give you tools which you can use when you do supplementary (rather, additional) reading. They take up too much of the day. The Indian system flourishes on increased contact hours between student and faculty, a redundant system if the faculty teaches you things available on books.
I’d honestly prefer to see an experiment conducted by a couple of Law Schools. Implement rigor in the reading students have to do. Start your classes (from day 1) by assuming all students have done their reading and come to class. Continue the attendance requirement if you believe that this will disincentivize students from attending, but ensure that you’re building their interest in the subject you’re teaching.
Force us to read.
We do so much other work at University: Committee work, Moot work, Academic Projects, Studies, that it’s tough to make time to read.
To those who have, I salute you. I’m yet to find my way around this constraint of having 24 hours in day.
Also, stop making things compulsory. Especially when they don’t add any value. If you’re going to force students to attend something post-classes, make it worth their time.
Stop manufacturing machines, start creating interest.
Small rant, apologies. More tomorrow.
Curd rice, out.
Tejas Rao 