English textbooks get an Indian makeover
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Now that summer vacations have been done and dusted, kids are back to school. However, they can rejoice, for their English textbooks have just had a makeover.
The English language curriculum across schools will now include more local content in its textbooks and supplementary reading, in a bid to expose students to more Indian writing.
Many schools have now replaced Aesop’s fables with Karadi Tales or Panchatantra Stories. Manasi Subramaniam, Commissioning Editor of Karadi Tales says, “We at Karadi Tales run a course curriculum for schools as a part of the English language course.
I think it is a great move that Indian writing has been introduced in English textbooks. It’s high time our homegrown writers are given the right platform. However, we can’t get rid of what is tried and tested. A balanced curriculum is the need of the hour.”
Interestingly, last year, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) recommended a separate reading list of books for children from Class 5 to Class 12, which included a list of Indian authors.
Naresh R, who runs the Book Lovers Programme of IloveReadin and works closely with school children on their reading habits, says the move is a welcome one.
“It is only in a very few countries, India being one of them, that a foreign language is given more importance than the native language,” he says, citing the example of France, where everyone reads and studies in the local language.
“Since I work outside of the curriculum, I have always had the liberty of suggesting a mix of books that is interesting as it is informative.
It has always been a conscious decision to include Indian writing in these reading lists, so that children have a more balanced and wholesome approach to the world,” explains Naresh.
One can also attribute this innovative move to the vibrant growth of India’s publishing industry. “There are plenty of Indian publishers who have made their foray in the last few years,” says Chandini Khanna of Hippocampus, an activity center for kids, which regularly conducts storytelling workshops for children.
“In the past, whenever we have conducted storytelling sessions, we have made it a point to include Indian stories too. Children can grasp these concepts better and thereby relate better to the story. Kids can make easier associations that way,” she adds.
It is a welcome move for parents too, who say that they don’t have to go through the ordeal of explaining fairly westernised concepts to children.
Babu Venketesh, whose eight-year-old Srinidhi goes to Pon Vidyashram says, “It is easier to explain Indian stories to my kids, simply because the setting is more Indian.
For instance, children find it difficult to visualise what a snow-capped mountain is, or what it means to build a snowman, unless they have seen it first hand,” he says.
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