Education == Career is a lopsided equation

I was asked by a C-suite person - How were my friends similar to me faring in the job scenario ? I was a little bemused by the question 'coz I realized at that time I did not know any woman wanting to get back into the corporate scene especially after the kind of break I have taken - 8 years ! :)

I have never been one of those people who think that women do not matter the minute they do not earn especially if they have been educated. I firmly believe contribution comes in various forms and the equation Education == Career ( solely counting rungs of the ladder climbed ) views only one aspect of it. To be sure, being financially independent is great and does give a lot of choice and a feeling of empowerment but I have never run down women who take a break or don't take a break. What works for each person / family is different.

Personal choices aside - bringing up a child to be a good citizen is not something that should be looked down upon or taken for granted. Still there are a whole host of people out there who believe "children grow by themselves" and if a woman is educated and does not work - it is a waste educating her. Yes, I have been told this in various forms including by one elder person who honestly should have known better considering how much of life he has seen. Never mind !!!

Getting back to the question - I reeled off ..........

I answered that friends who have taken a break from a formal career - are doing different things now or are entrepreneurs -

• One had opened a book shop, has developed soft skills modules which are being integrated into the Diploma curriculum across the state, has worked with teen suicide helpline and and ....... does so many things I cannot keep track of them since they are so varied ! :) She is now on her latest entrepreneurial venture which will be open soon.

• This friend has opened a pre-school, is being advised by ISB which had chosen her as a part of group of women entrepreneurs within a certain criteria. Prior to this she volunteered in Doorstep school - a school for migrant children.

• Many friends have turned to teaching - be it as Montessori teachers, Primary school teachers. Maths coaching or even a Language teacher.

• Another friend works with differently-abled children and organizes events for them

• In the next circle of acquaintances - some one is into jewellery design, another into saree design, one has opened a toy library, another lady is a fashion designer.

And so ........ I was aware I had not really answered the question since I did not know anyone in the same boat as I was in but I did realize - I have diverse set of friends none of whom are looking at getting back to the formal ladder !!!! ;) 

As an aside - if I were to expand to the next degree [ Six degrees of separation anyone ? ] - I will come across women involved in organic manure, dog training, costume dresses, designer kids clothing, beautician, pastry baking, counselling special kids, webdesign freelancing, book lending library and elder care!

Parent Teacher Meeting - A gladiator ring

Parenting is no easy job and I feel there is no better place to view this anxiety and concern than at a parent teacher meeting. I always come from any such session feeling completely bemused ! :)

A gladiator ring with many participants is what comes to mind when I attend one ! :)

So ....

• One set of parents are annoyed that there is too much homework and another wants extra homework in holidays too !! :) Seriously ?!!!

• Someone says there is too much writing in the class and another says the school should have weekly essays so the children can improve their handwriting ! 

• One set of parents are so anxious about marks that they want every single question that can possibly come in the exam - written and thoroughly drilled over and over again into the kid ... and another set complains no end about how much the school emphasises academics !

• Checking spelling in the test paper causes anguish - after all the kids do lose marks in this endeavour of learning to write correctly. Can it not be eliminated ? Justification is that .. hey spell check is every where. 

I envisage a future --- "their" or "there" - both are perfectly fine and can be used interchangeably ! ;) The poor kid does not know any better after all !!! But I am wrong I realise -- I mean in sms lingo - it will be 'thr' after all so why worry ? :)

          

• An entire group of parents bemoaned how they do not know Marathi words and asked the teacher to ensure the kids jotted down word meanings so that the parents could understand what was being taught in the class !!! Ha ha ha .. this made me itch to say - Get a Marathi - English dictionary people ... problem solved !! :) 

• We all believe our children are Einstein, Picasso and Mozart rolled in one - so this dazzling array of talent has to be displayed (for each child)  in the school concert of 30 minutes ! :)

• It does not matter how the school infrastructure is - there will always be parents for whom the sunlight is not bright enough or the rain is not wet enough ! ;)

• And let us not forget eating !!! The talk goes like this - children should eat their food and so the teacher should check their lunch boxes daily but but but .... they are to learn to make the choice to eat healthy food given to them [ Err when ?] ! :)  You know what happens right ? The food goes down the toilet ! Literally !

The list goes on and on .... 

And so while I listen to these contradictory demands - I wonder if internally the teachers have the following thoughts in mind ! :)

Book Review - Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife

The problem with reading someone else's Near Death Experience (NDE) is that you want answers to your questions and of course you do not get them ! :) That about sums up my frustration with the book.

However cannot blame the author for this ! Isn't this inability to adequately describe the experience part of NDE stories ? Every time ? Most of the stories say the same thing - that it is impossible to communicate just how loved and cherished one feels in the utopia land !

I picked up this book for a change of pace. I have been reading only business books of late it seemed like so I wanted something very very different and this caught my eye. First of all - a neurosurgeon ? And NDE - felt like a perfect combination.

The main idea of this book is that each and everyone of us is loved. Truly loved by the divine.
( Call it what you will ).

Hmmmmm okay I guess.

I have read the scientific explanations of what NDE means and that it is, simplistically put - a phenomenon of the brain itself. I personally prefer to keep an open mind about this topic. So I have no need to rip into the author's theory of why his experience is special ! :) And I have no need to argue if NDEs are true or not !

In the book the author goes into coma for 7 days due to bacterial meningitis and recovers completely with no after effects and his thinking abilities are intact ! Amazing really ! He explains that in his brain - the neocortex that controls the cognitive part of the brain is dead so his experience is not a figment of imagination ( as that part of the brain switched off during his coma ! ) ; so his experience is unique.

I have no argument about the experience itself. I just found, it was not too very different from any other NDE story. I did feel that - he got no answers ( other than being told he was loved ) and his story about his recovery was unexplained.

• From what he wrote I thought the E. Coli bacteria physically ate part of his brain. What happened to that ?
• Are all his cognitive abilities intact ? So was he able to get back to his practice ?
• And, did he finally understand where he picked up the E. Coli bacteria from ?

I also could not understand the author's fixation with his birth family. Really !!!! Here is this lucky guy ( born to a teen mother ) who has been brought up by a family where he is loved, taken care of, goes on to become a neurosurgeon and he is pining for his birth family to an extent that he feels depressed for a time. Jeez why ???? Seemed ungrateful to me !

While he mentions different realms and myriad dimensions and that evil is a minuscule part of the entire universe the explanation somehow lacked conviction and felt incomplete.

My 2 cents - this is an emotional writing about an NDE experience but does not give adequate proof of heaven as the title suggests.

I better look for other books for a change of pace ! :)