The scholars of south Madras.

There was a time I used to live with Aristotle. No other author the history has ever known had affected me so much philosophically. I remember his famous quote:
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." I believe this should be the fundamental premise on which every teacher should pursue his/her mission of educating children.

My friend Mr.Kasturirangan, who is working in "The Hindu', the leading daily newspaper in India, gave me a copy of "Scholar', a supplementary edition of "The Hindu".

As an academician, I love to keep myself updated in the field of education. The "Scholar' made me sit up. I have assumed that I know a lot of things about various schools. When I read "The Scholar", it was obvious that I am lagging behind on my knowledge.

For the first time, I came to know about so many extraordinary schools that are functioning in and around Madras, the side of which I know little about.

The magazine has introduced to the parents of Madras, so many well performing schools in the southern suburbs of Madras that include BOAZ public school, Bharathi Vidyalaya Senior Secondary School and Tagore Matriculation School.

Another unique feature of the "Scholar' that caught my attention is the number of special schools that are dedicated to children with myriad disabilities.
* Chrysalis school for children with Autism
* Vatsalaya learning center for children with specific learning difficulties

There are 33 special schools listed in the 'Scholar'-a real noteworthy effort of the team behind 'Scholar' that has also recognized the high performers in the recently concluded school final exams.
I liked a couple of headlines too:

* "Bagful of issues" that addressed the burden of carrying huge bags loaded with books, notes, stationeries, food, water and many other paraphernalia.
*” Work hard but play harder” dealt with students' inability to find time to play.

Generally schools in Tamilnadu tend to be identified with one religion that I am not an advocate of. Photos of religious leaders are used to lure parents that belong to that particular region is still a camouflage. I really don't feel the necessity for such practices.

Oh, well, opinion differs-right?

Overall, the 'Scholar' is a colorful issue loaded with very useful information to the parents; ultimately that alone matters, not the articles and messages of school heads and professional journalists.

People search for information and the Internet is yet to be used to its optimum by schools in India. It is the only the medium of newspapers, students and parents depend on to gain insight.

Well done "Scholar". I thank Zigma marketing India and Sandhya Sridhar Synergies for their combined effort for the excellent content. I have asked a few of my ex-colleagues to read the 'Scholar. I am sure it will be useful to them too.

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