Follow courses till you ‘drop’!

By Samangie Wettimuny

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How clever my dressmaking teacher may be, she took several weeks to teach me how to sew a frock. Since I could not wait any longer , I decided to cut the sleeve on my own without waiting for her instructions and took it to the class next day. It only earned her wrath and that marked the end of that chapter!

Similar experiences are faced by many and you always feel that it is a waste of precious time, especially when you are forced to follow courses of study which you really do not want to do.

In Sri Lanka children start attending classes soon after they enter school at the age of six. The mini war which commences with the preparations for the Year Five scholarship does not end even when the student sit for the A/L’s. A series of ‘post’ school courses in computer, law, accountancy etc then await them.

But the demand for such classes is insignificant compared to the interest people show in attending dress making classes or cookery classes.

Those two have always been on top of the ‘agenda’ of ‘fashionable’ women, but now there are even further additions to the ‘list’. “In fact there’s nothing left to add to the list now.” says Mr. Jayatilaka, a retired school principal.” Almost everything is in the list now.

There are even meditation classes now, I mean not the series of lectures conducted by temples. There are also certain laymen who conduct meditation classes either for six months or for one year. At the end they offer you a certificate too! What a world. Astrology teachers are the worst of all” he grins.

It seems that following courses is no longer the exclusive business of women. Men too attend them. Human beings by nature are inquisitive and they want to try their hand at everything.

“Astrology classes too are gradually becoming popular among women and men alike.” says Prasangi whose aunty is a regular student of an astrology class. According to Prasangi her aunt even forgets to attend to household chores sometimes because of the class! “

Anyway I do not feel her astrology teacher is thorough with the subject. He is known for his bogus predictions. Some time back a son of a close relative of mine passed away at a very young age. In utter grief my relative then took his late son’s horoscope to the astrologer without saying that he was no more.”

Prasangi revealed to me how the astrologer had predicted a bright future for the child who was dead and gone by then!

Anyhow some of the astrologers who conduct classes are no better than him. An eminent astrologer who is known for his accurate predictions recently expressed to me his disapproval of the way astrology classes are being conducted.

There are enough and more astrology guide books in bookshops but they are only sufficient enough to give a basic knowledge. Ironically some of the so called astrology teachers have only the basic knowledge. “You can imagine the plight of their students after finishing the course!!”

Astrology classes do much harm than we think. In fact they are the worse of all. The students of charlatan astrologers won’t keep what they learned to themselves. They too would start classes and it is an endless cycle. There are people who follow astrology blindly and the predictions made by charlatans would put such people into further trouble.

The increasing demand for people who are well conversant in English has become a fine way of earning for many. People who have only a smattering of English too are conducting spoken English classes and most of the students become victims of such charlatans.

“I sent my son to a spoken English class as it was said to be a crash course. Posters were put up all over saying “Best way to learn English in six months.” But at the end of the course I saw no improvement, he only ended up starting an unwanted romantic affair,” says Malini who is completely at sea.

The time period for most of the courses are either three months or six months. Some even conduct mobile classes. They will conduct a series of classes in one district for a particular period and then move on to another. “It is nothing else , but a lucrative business.”

Most of the teachers are not qualified enough in their respective fields. They only have a surface knowledge of the subject. That is why the sewing class did not work well for twenty six year old Varuni. The course was set for six months and the teacher had a fixed syllabus. First she taught the students how to make the block. Then how to stitch it. “She taught how to sew six types of dresses.”

“ But I saw a very fashionable blouse in one of the foreign magazines. I wanted to sew that. So I thought the ideal person would be our sewing teacher as she always said “If you have any problem you come to me.” With high hopes she took the book to the class and showed it to her teacher.]

“She got excited. This is not in fashion now” she said. But I insisted and said I would even pay extra if I can get a block done. Only then Varuni realised the truth.

”Don’t be too smart. I do not have time to waste.” she blasted. But Varuni knows the reason behind her anger. She only knew how to sew the six types of dresses. She did not know how to use her brain to get other things done.

As ex-banker Vipula says cookery classes has made things difficult for his wife! “ Earlier she used to make cakes, and puddings without referring to any book. But after attending cookery class, she does not do anything on her own” he smiles. His accusation is that now even for the slightest thing she phones her teacher who is said to be an expert on culinary matters.

“She would start making a pudding and in the middle of the process would return to her cookery book to check whether she had taken in the sufficient amount of flour! “It is more of a fashion, than a dire need.” says Mr. Jayatileka. According to him attending meditation classes too have become a fashion now.”

It is perfectly all right to follow such lectures if you want to have peace in mind as it trains you how to concentrate. But what happens most of the time is that people just attend such classes without any aim.”

He recalled the words of a woman who had been recently awarded a certificate for attending a series of lectures on meditation! “I asked her, whether the certificate states what status you have reached sovan, sakuddagami etc. That made her so angry and since that day she tries to avoid me!”