by fl » Sat Jun 04, 2005 4:46 pm
since so much is being discusses abt this
here is a mail written by one of the senior faculty of IITB
its not exactly what is being discussed but still the POV of a prof.
From: "Prof. Narayan Rangaraj " <narayan@epsilon.me.iitb.ac.in>
To:
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2005 03:37:39 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: Great Indian Pit Stop
Get the feeling that for UGs, IIT Bombay is one long pit stop, in between
the grind of JEE and the big, bad world out there.
Assessment of life is something like this for a typical student:
Age 10-14 or so: Good student in school wherever. Put on uniform, pack
lunch in box, listen to history teacher reluctantly, maths teacher with a
little more attention. Do well in exams
Age 15-18 : World of Board exams, JEE preparation, etc. Solve lots of
"problems"
Enter IIT : Long break
Age 22 or so:
Path 1: Enter IIM, SPJain, MDI, etc. where slog for one year, party for
one year and then begin real life
Path 2: Join good job in Bangalore and begin real life
Path 3: Do an MS in the US (ie. slog faithfully for 2 years) and then
begin real life
Real life for many is eerily similar to the earlier part, if joining the
corporate world. i.e. put on tie, listen to boss or client reluctantly,
some other people a little more attentively and try to do well in
performance, as certified by others.
If doing something on one's own, life is hard anyway.
So from the UG perspective, the time to party is now.
Now, from my side, I am getting annoyed by this constant reference to
faculty draconianism at every stage. For example, facilities. It is not
that all facilities on campus are _student_ facilities that faculty are
muscling in on. To save cost and space, we may both use the same
facilities, but with different priveleges and costs. What's wrong with
that? Same for parking, resnet and everything else. And it is very
likely and reasonable that faculty will get higher priority in this.
Perform the following thought experiment. Suppose some student becomes a
faculty member in later years. The same facilities are now part of the
job perks and are part of the attractions of a career on an academic
campus. After all, someone has to do the tough job of selecting and
certifying you students (apart from doing our own thing). So that's the
incentive we get - good schooling, a safe campus, resnet with Windows,
swimming pool etc.
Just to clarify, I do not have kids, use Linux at home, do not own a car
or a motorized two wheeler and do not play tennis. So this is a
completely intellectual exercise for me and therefore I am pure and
unbiased. Believe it or not.
Now back to classes. But I was told most students get up after 8.30-9.00
a.m., in keeping with the strain of enjoying themselves (see the Great
Indian Pit Stop - above). But we have to show up.
Narayan Rangaraj