Challenges aplenty to educate, train recruits and upgrade with reval short courses, as background and mindset of subjects to instil syllabi for useful circumstantial situational recall without loss or delay is what’s it about. Easily said and done? Doubtful! Forget jargons like ‘knowledge transfer’, rote memory as for RoR (CA in Nav), memory bank and HR lingo too. Yes IQ, SQ, CQ … count. Best comparison perhaps is Docs who adeptly use their brains, senses, limbs, memory, pharmacology etc to prescribe best quick treatment with affordable medicines and modes for patients coming to call with trust.
Does our MET pass such tests? As a veteran of visiting faculty for over three decades, I am concerned. For, when I fish around to clear my own serious doubts on dubious education/knowledge related posts in groups by `seniors’, I must confess that I get doubtful responses and not redoubtable clarifications! Silly as it may sound, outdated knowledge recalls, imaginary conclusions, application of guess work etc.
In spirituality logic (pl pursue Shounaka, Swethakethu,Nachiketa etc ) is doubted-questioned (with compromise chosen) and philosophy itself -that most tend to believe is admirable position and truth- are genuinely `intuitions’ after all! Yes Socrates paid for it with life -though he has been proven right ever since hemlock. Eureka streaking it was for our own funda-man! For those stuck with science, here are caveats: In Karma, every action is not credited with equal and opposite reactions; what goes up need not come down or what goes down needn’t come up. Hence, never get your brain blindfolded!
Simulation is more important than practicals which are more important than theory. Most educationists go the other way with cost based systems! Online and zoom have serious shortcomings/disadvantages. Teaching is a sacred task right from our very ole days in gurukul, starting with disciplining shishyas aka students, dakshina in return for upkeeps and not fees as profit for METs. As idealism may not suffice to survive, pragmatic approach need be pursued in E&T converting intakes to safe trustworthy responsible fit for purpose job seekers; obtaining placement with good ship managers is would be the proof indeed.
Seafaring has lost its attraction as a career over last few decades with better opportunities elsewhere, but alluring girls (as during industrialisation to increase headcount and cost cut) is not an option. The number of daughters and daughter in laws of mariners opting for sea career speaks for itself; ain’t it?!
Heard of dialetheism? Ambidextrous? Polyvalency?!
Back to Class Room. Eyeball contact is a must; body language conveys a lot. Must enter students’ grasp and thought flows to educate and anchor utility of knowledge of what all taught for practicalities of use as mariners, as in seamanship, cargo handling, watch-keeping, risk assessment, record keeping et al at support levels capable of moving up to operators and managers. Tall order? Neyt! Indians doing better!
As in spirituality, sages have learned and improved from sishya’s probing questions. Lecturers could without pretending to be a know all, ask for time to revert after verifying! Changes are apace in all fields of science and knowledge. Hence, updating teachers’ knowledge and skills too are paramount. Monitor students well to impart observational powers. Surprise them once in a way to usher in fresh streams of enthusiasm. As ‘to err is common’, getting over faltered steps must be exemplified unassumingly, with balanced corrective measures, enthusiastically. Else teaching will be an also ran boring takeaway, letting students get distracted naughtily.
Unlike most other professions, seafaring calls for use of all the senses all the time, expecting surprises any time -but not fearing- with readiness to react, handle and control, as individuals, team and groups away from the securities of home and ashore, with back up helps.
Creating doubts in students itself is an art of teaching and thence leading them to probable solutions is being scientific and then choosing the safest, speediest, economical one is decision making under time and other constraints. Most mariners would have learned from seamen and seniors, and have stories to share of close encounters. Spoon feeding them wouldn’t do. Analysing near escapes and case study will impart confidence in and to the system -of MET, closing with accident enquires, corrective measures meted out to defaulters and new Rules/regulations drawn up to protect life, environment, resources etc from overlooked/underestimated risks. Hasn’t seafaring been so for millennia?
Focusing on mediocre/below average, while toting general average group, potential of outstanding rankers must be fine-tuned. Such leveraging generally helps raise levels of all; morphic resonance for one! For, mavericks make difference, like dropouts who turn successful in life’s various endeavours.
Reversing problem solving -often resorted- is brilliant way of learning-understanding processes creating formulae and theorem solving backwards: encourage to reap benefits. Isn’t opening hitches and knots without spoiling ropes a requisite seaman like attribute? Contrarians make a difference. Revel bounden calls of duty-satisfaction-achievements. A Class X topper girl developing a method of converting concepts to stories for easier understanding and recalls. Heard why ‘hogging’ in Great lakes summer?
Addendum: Nothing ever learned or taught may be right is a new finding! Aliens seeded earth to create life is a persistent doubt bothering evolutionists! Quantum mechanics is digging deeper than Mariana’s trench! Zealandia is a new continent. Magnetic rivers in earth’s mantle is altering `variation’ fast! Much energy is whizzing around that we know naught about. Diseases are nature generated -cures also- to cut human population damaging resources. Fuzzy logic is newfound! Spawn geniuses!
MET academia upto mark on global warming, CII and its impacts on operation, design of new ships? Are they planting/enabling innovation and creativity in their wards? Else, waste of time going by syllabi. Worsening weather! Are water crafts/ships designs/classed going by historical weather data? Average wave and swell heights have increased. Freak waves galore! Storms/cyclones etc too! Climate change?! Moisture rivers in firmament are draining wherever whenever dumpable causing flashfloods! New mariners need to learn Meteorology on the trot, with improving data collection/analysis!! Imbibing knowledge for application through inter-extra-polation derivation is art and science combined. Amen.
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