Thursday 5 August 2010

Instant Sociology

Q. Is education an agency of socialization or a means of social control? Explain with examples. [10]

The pen twists in my hand. Scratches fretfully. Reach down for a drink of water. Clock's ticking. Heads are bent busily, writing, writing. I'm next to the window today. The nursery classes are in the foyer two floors below. Medley of littleone voices singing along with the 'aunties' and the piano:

"Who made the great big mountains tall?
Who made the birds and fishes small?..."

Toddlers have a lot to think about, I suppose. I keep listening, and the song continues, now changing tack, crescendoing into the chorus.

"...Kisne banaya machhliyo ko?
Kisne banaya phoolo ko?
Kisne banaya duniya ko?
Hamara Jesus lord."

Education. Social control. Explain with examples. I could. But somehow, I don't think it would be considered suitable for examination purposes.



8 comments:

Unknown said...

You're wrong. Everything is suitable for exam purposes as long as you have a point. Lawyer your way through the essay section. It's always a good tactic.

Anushka said...

Oho.
(Noor, stop talking about irrelevant details. As for how much I 'got' your post, let the beautifully flexible 'oho' and my reputation speak for themselves :P)

Kaustav Saha said...

Lazy bum! At this rate I will thrash you hollow in ISC.. :P

Jit Shankar Banerjee said...

Ei sala.
Kemon Sophie's World theke jhara mone holo.

Shalmi said...

Jit, what are you talking about? It has nothing whatsoever to do with Sophie's World. Please explain or you will be accused of reading too much into things.

Jit Shankar Banerjee said...

Arre, nothing nothing.
There was this episode in the book where she writes a test. This reminded me of that.
And that's it.

joey said...

A)I wish ther had been a 'like' provision on blogger.
B)I think the last line makes your point TOO explicit. I prefer the 'show rather than tell' technique.

Shalmi said...

B) I know, but it would have been too obscure for a general audience then, no?

A) I like this post a lot too, and I knew you would :)