Sardar M Anwaruddin

Undoing the Dimorphic Paradigm: A Gender Perspective

2011-12-10T17:06:00.001-08:00

Abstract: By investigating two aspects of gender studies—the definition of gender and the denial of thirdness in the long-established gender dimorphic paradigms—the paper argues that binary gender categories need to be deconstructed. Section I examines how women have been and are being made subordinate to men. It also shows that belief systems, scientific and intellectual scholarships, and cultural norms are effective instruments for lowering women‘s status and roles. Section II, with a reader-response approach, explores how mainstream cultures have denied thirdness in a heterosexualized sex-gender dimorphism. It further claims that the reason why most cultures are firmly devoted to the binary gender categories is a fear of losing the privileges of heterosexuality. The notion of self-and-other which helps marginalize women in society fits conveniently into this binary system. Therefore, if the binary gender categories are deconstructed, several gender positions can become available which will eventually undo the dimorphic paradigm. Click here to read the article.

Hidden Agenda in TESOL Methods

2011-12-10T16:59:00.000-08:00

Abstract: One of the characteristic features of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) curriculum is its focus on language teaching methodologies which prescribe learning techniques, classroom activities, and behaviors of both teachers and students. Methods are no doubt an important element of any language teaching curriculum. However, I argue in this paper that TESOL methods excessively empower native-speaker teachers of English, teacher-trainers, and publishing companies in the UK and the USA to monopolize the global TESOL industry. The methods also marginalize the non-native-speaker teachers of English around the world. Thus, the legacy of TESOL methods has become a part of the USA-led neo-colonial enterprise. The article concludes with a plea that a more locally-situated approach to TESOL pedagogy needs to be adopted for a diversity we need in global TESOL education in the 21st century.

Keywords: TESOL, curriculum, methods, pedagogy, neocolonial, core, periphery

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Psychology in Ordinary Lives

2011-12-10T16:50:00.000-08:00

In her book Vygotsky at Work and Play, Lois Holzman brings the theories and insights of Lev Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist, into the lives of ordinary people and their everyday activities. Vygotsky's influence is enormous in the fields of psychology and education, but he seems to be too difficult for ordinary readers. Holzman does an excellent job in bringing him from academia into the field. In this book, her main purpose is to tell her own “story of bringing Vygotsky from the scientific laboratory to ordinary people and their communities.” Vygotsky at Work and Play can, therefore, be a great resource for teachers, psychologists, child development practitioners, and social workers. Click here to read the complete article.

BCS Examination: An Afterthought

2011-06-17T01:57:00.000-07:00

Let me start with a question: What are the candidates tested on in the BCS examination? A few days ago, a preliminary test of the 31st BCS examination was held across the country. I happened to look at the test items, which were all multiple-choice questions. I was wondering about whether or not the knowledge and skills required to pass the exam were worth knowing. I was not sure about how they would be useful in the "real-life" contexts in which the participants would need to perform in the future.

One of the multiple-choice questions asks the participants to identify the distance by railway from Dhaka to Khulna. Two things are important here. First, only the examinees who have memorised this specific piece of information can choose the right answer. Others, no matter how creative and intelligent they are, cannot find it. Second, this question is not meaningful and relevant to most candidates. For example, how can a person who lives in Sylhet and never traveled to Khulna by train make sense of this question? Moreover, it is not clear how this piece of information can be useful in the activities of the prospective BCS officers. This type of test item, based solely on memorization, belongs to the lowest level of cognitive domain. Click here to read the full article.

Future of knowledge

2011-01-11T00:29:00.001-08:00

In the history of epistemology, the invention of printing press was an era-defining event. It enabled people to exchange knowledge across the globe. When people were in need of a great synthesiser of knowledge, the idea of an encyclopedia came into existence. The notion of encyclopedia has been revolutionarily popularised by Wikipedia. Today, it is one of the primary sources of knowledge for many of us. What Google is doing is even more revolutionary. If you wonder about Google's power, write your name in Google search engine and hit the Enter. See what happens! You may be surprised to see that your best friend has written on her blog about what you did at thirty first night. If you are a researcher, forget about going to libraries and taking notes for hours. The Internet has stored all knowledge for you. And this giant store is just a mouse-click away from you. To read the complete article, please click here.

Appropriate Curriculum for Pre-Primary Education

2010-09-12T12:25:00.000-07:00

Nobody can deny the importance of pre-primary education in Bangladesh. The government’s decision to introduce pre-primary education is a timely response to a pressing national need. From the news media, we have known that the government is going to attach a one-year pre-primary program to the existing primary education. A number of things need to be carefully considered in the curriculum of this program. Otherwise, the pre-primary education will be nothing but an addition to the existing problems of primary education. Our primary education sector is already plagued by numerous problems such as low performance, high drop-out rates, grade repetition, poor attendance, and low contact time.
Moreover, there are about 1,500 villages without primary schools. It’s needless to restate the importance of establishing schools in those villages. In addition, many primary schools are badly suffering from a lack of teachers. Now the question that concerns us is: Are the teachers ready to take this extra responsibility of pre-primary education on their shoulder? Click here to read the full article.

Journeys Across Mindscapes

2010-05-02T20:16:00.000-07:00

Robert J. Sternberg presents a synthesis of intelligence, creativity, and wisdom in his book Wisdom, Intelligence, and Creativity Synthesized. He carefully examines each of these three domains and reviews the background work on them. Then he presents his own theories of intelligence, creativity and wisdom, which are sufficiently supported with research done by him and his associates. His theories are particularly useful for teachers who want to play significant roles to help their students become intelligent, creative and wise. Sternberg's theories of wisdom can be linked to the issue of social justice because wise people, according to him, should work toward a common good.

Conventionally, intelligence is measured by IQ tests, SAT scores, GPA and the like. This approach encourages students to focus excessively on memorization. However, Sternberg in his theory of successful intelligence claims that a person is successfully intelligent if she is able to achieve success according to her “personal standards” and within her “sociocultural context.” Her success is also dependent on her ability to capitalize on her strengths and correct or compensate for her weaknesses. Moreover, a successfully intelligent person needs “to adapt to, shape, and select environments.” Finally, she has to maintain “a balance of analytical, creative, and practical abilities.”

According to Sternberg, four types of fallacy are likely to occur in the thinking of a conventionally intelligent person. The first one is called stable-trait fallacy which holds that if a person is smart once, s/he will remain smart forever. Some students believe that their success in life is guaranteed because they have high test scores or GPA at school. The second type called general-ability fallacy occurs when people think that they are smart in one domain, so they will be smart in all other domains. The third one is called life-success fallacy, which claims that success in schools guarantees success in life. However, research shows that “people cannot succeed in their lives on the basis on IQ alone.” The fourth one is called moral-equivalence fallacy which claims a “belief that to be smart is to be good.” To read the full article, click here.

Birangana or muktijoddha?

2010-04-07T21:28:00.000-07:00

THE very idea of equality which sparked our liberation war was violated by a failure to recognise the women participants of the war. The women war victims did not receive the due honour from their families and society. Most of the families considered the "loss of chastity" a shameful act, and treated their victimised women unfairly. The inability to marry off their daughters created extra anxiety for many parents.

The society also failed to honour the victims and labeled them "violated women" or "dishonoured women." The government's initiative intended to honour the victims with the title Birangana ended up being discriminatory. I argue that the title Birangana has played significant roles in marginalising and dehumanising the women freedom fighters.

Linguistically speaking, each sound signifies a specific concept. Although the selection of a sound is somewhat arbitrary, the concepts associated with the sound are culturally agreed upon. People living in a community have to agree on how they will create meaning of a particular word by means of culturally acceptable associations. If we analyse the associations that come to our mind as soon as we hear the words muktijoddha and birangana, we will see how the word birangana has dehumanised the women war victims.Click here to read the full article.

Are You Successfully Intelligent?

2010-02-27T16:39:00.000-08:00

"There is no singular way of being successful in life."

Conventionally, intelligence is measured by IQ tests, SAT scores, GPA, and the like. This approach encourages students to focus excessively on memorization. However, Sternberg in his theory of successful intelligence claims that a person is successfully intelligent if she is able to achieve success according to her “personal standards” and within her “sociocultural context.” Her success is also dependent on her ability to capitalize on her strengths and correct or compensate for her weaknesses. Moreover, a successfully intelligent person needs “to adapt to, shape, and select environments.” Finally, she has to maintain “a balance of analytical, creative, and practical abilities.” Click here to read more.

Last Wake-up Call

2010-02-15T15:10:00.000-08:00

The recent university killings bother everyone. Why can't we remove this death trap? We need sincere willingness from our political parties. Many political bigwigs send their children abroad for higher education. Therefore, our public universities' anarchy does not directly affect them. However, they should realise that most Bangladeshis clearly cannot afford to send their children abroad for better education and security. For most parents, their dream is fulfilled if their child can get into a university in Bangladesh.

I am unsure of the benefits of student politics. Maybe I am not short-sighted enough to see the immediate and unethical gains at the cost of our future. But, do political leaders find it illogical to unite under one platform and ban their student-wings? Can't they give up immediate gains and selfish dominance for the Abubakars and their families? If not, then the future will likely be catastrophic. Click here to read more.

Understanding special educational needs

2010-01-21T20:45:00.000-08:00

DO all students have similar cognitive styles and abilities to perceive and organise information? Social and educational research says "no." Learning styles and preferences vary greatly among students. It is then obvious that some students face difficulty achieving success at school. Among them are those whom we categorise as students with special educational needs. They have learning difficulties or disabilities which make it harder for them to learn or access education than most other students of the same age. A student with special needs may need extra or different help at school and home because of physical difficulties, problems with thinking and understanding, emotional and behavioural issues, or a combination of these. Due to a lack of awareness and sincerity, we fail to attend to their needs. However, we should properly accommodate students with special needs in regular classrooms and give them an equal learning opportunity both at school and home. Click here to read rest of the article.

Uni-Track Education

2010-01-21T20:42:00.000-08:00

ALMOST a century ago, the famous American philosopher and educator John Dewey tied democracy and education together in his groundbreaking book Democracy and Education, written in 1916. The central message of the book, which revolutionised the educational discourse was that "a democratic society must provide equal educational opportunity not only by giving to all its children the same quantity of public education -- the same number of years in school -- but also by making sure to give to all of them, all with no exceptions, the same quality of education."

One can reasonably argue that the "equality of quality" in education cannot be achieved by forcing all students to take exactly the same courses of study because such factors as students' socio-economic background, teachers' capacity to impart quality education, and the school administration's attitudes and ability are crucial. Granted the anticipated challenges, I will argue that an educational change is necessary, not an option, to strengthen democracy and its associated institutions. To read the full article click here.

Teacher evaluation by students

2010-01-21T20:38:00.000-08:00

THE relationship between teachers and students in our education system is similar to what Paulo Freire, a famous Brazilian educator and writer, calls "banking concept of education." In this type of education, a teacher is a depositor and students are the depositories. Students are considered empty accounts to be filled by their teachers. Freire suggests that the dichotomy between teacher and student be eliminated. Both teachers and students should be equal participants in classrooms. A teacher should teach and learn; a student should learn and teach. Thus, Freire's view on education and pedagogical practices is very democratic.

I do not think that our students at any level enjoy this democratic participation in their learning. Freire would tell us to have a "dialogue" between teachers and students, which must be based on "love, humility, and faith" if we wanted mutual trust between our students and teachers. Unfortunately, the existing student-teacher relationship does not seem to be founded upon love, humility, and faith. Click here to read more.