The+Headmaster's+School

=What do I need to know about ... The Headmaster's School?=

Brief Description
The Headmaster's school symbolizes freedom and is in contrast to Krishna's college as it is not British influenced. Krishna's college represents the stranglehold that the British government has over the Indian education system. In the school the children are more free and individual learners. Even on Sunday's the children still go to school and enjoy learning because it is made fun so they are constantly engaged and focused on their work. The key aspect of the Headmaster's success in the school is that it is based around enjoyment through learning. The school and its Headmaster lead Krishna to rediscover his love for education, in turn his renewed love of education leads him quit his job to work at the school which has saved him from the horrors of a distinctly british type of learning.

Key Quotations
//**"It was a pleasing smell, and seemed to take us back to some primeval simplicity"**// - Krishna's thoughts. Not only is this ironic as Krishna does not expercience **//"simplicity"//** often, but it suggests that Krishna's life was once simple and not hectic. //**"It's all curse, copying copying copying"**// - Headmaster. It shows that he is very open. Krishna agrees with this but lacks the willpower to speak out against the British system which has constrained him for so many years. //**"I hardly feel time passing"**// - The Headmaster about time in school. This is a contrasting perspective on time compared to Krishna's time in his college as Krinshna's life is very hectic due to the fact that he is a single parent and his routine does not allow him to be both a parent and a teacher. //**"... ledge covered with a crazy variety of objects: cardboard houses, paper flowers, clumsy drawings and bead work"**// - Krishna's thoughts on the school. These primary thoughts seem to be very mixed which you can tell through this quote. He does not agree with the //**"crazy variety of objects"**// but his drawn to the **//"pleasing smell"//** that it omits. He is also taken a back by the way the Headmaster teaches and treats his students. As it is so contrasting to the ways he has always known, form both his education and his teaching. **//“There was no sign at the school to show that it was a Sunday”//-**This shows that the both the headmaster and the children enjoy learning and teaching at the school as they go in even on Sunday when other schools are shut. It also shows that there is no routine in the Headmasters school like the rules in the British school that there is no school on Sundays. This also shows that there is more freedom in the Headmasters school and the difference between the two sytems. **//“filled with glittering alphabets”-//** symbolises freedom and purity of the school which contrast to how Krishna's school is, dull and unlively as you never see any of these colorfull features such as "glittering alphabets" in his school. "Glittering alphabets" also shows that the headmasters school teaches the students by helping them visualize things and make them intresting whereas in Krishna's school, everything is taught and dug out of a book. **//"running about and playing: the swings and the see-saw were all in full use"-//** shows us once again that The headmasters school is full of fun and joy whilst Krishna's colledge is'nt. Also, the headmaster's school has equipments such as swings and see-saws which provides fun but Krishna's colledge does'nt have any of these equipments for children to play on which shows that the colledge is very strict and serious. "why worship sports, and the eleven stalwarts idoits who bring in a shield or a cup" - 'headmaster'//** -shows us how much the headmaster dislikes the teaching system of the foreign schools in india, the word "worship" shows us that the only thing these schools actually care and are glad to teach is sports rather than other academic subjects which they **//"study"//** just for the sake of passing the exam. **//"stalwarts idoits"//** is another quote which shows us how much the headmaster dislikes the foreign teaching system. =Role Of Setting= This is where Krishna begins to change as a person due to the children at the school, as well as the Headmaster. The young children are important as they haven't been intorduced to the British system so their minds are still clear of thoughts about religion, rationalism and other systems and it is this purity that helps him with his meditation and keeping his mind clear from other thoughts to communicate with his wife. The Headmaster's school is more caring and loving. It opens Krishna's eyes to an other more freeform version of teaching, a form which contributes to both the eductaion and the lives of the children who go there. All these things are what ultimately leads to his self development as he sees a new side of learning and thinking that he did not experience in his college. Note: whilst The Headmaster has a **house** this school plays a key role in providing him with a **home**.
 * //"They are even made to pass examinations!"//** - Headmaster. It shows that in Krishna's college they have to study and work hard.
 * //"It was thatch-roofed. Its floor was covered with clay, and the walls were of bamboo splinters filled in with mud"// -** Krishna. It shows that Krishna is suprised and interested in the school as it is very different to any other place he has been. Krishna seems to analyse the surroundings alot more at the Headmaster's school than he did in his own college.
 * //"I invent a story, write it down in words, find fascinating"//** - Headmaster. This relates to Krishna as Krishna enjoys poetry, yet he fails whereas the Headmaster writes stories and he succeeds in fascinating and engaging the children, as well as himself. Again, the education is very different. You get the impression that Krishna can be taught something from the Headmaster. During the Headmaster's speech about his stories, this is very evident, especially as he succeeds in what he's doing and Krishna seeks success.
 * //"The teacher will be angry if you like the bear..."//** - The students say this at the Headmster's school. In the following sequence it shows that the Headmaster wishes to mold his students through their own understanding, rather than dictating their learning as Krishna has to, in his college. It also shows that the children have an understanding of authority yet choose to challenge it.
 * //"They are the trophies in this school. I consider them a real source of joy."// -** Krishna in reference to the aforementioned **//"crazy variety of objects"//** after his original disgust at the chaos layed out in front of him. He seems to identify with the treausres that Leela has contributed to his life, the things she has done or made that have both astounded him and made him proud of her. This recognition of **//"trophies"//** helps krishna to understand the Headmasters love for all his pupils and the school they are taught in.
 * //"I was filled with pride and satisfaction"// -** Krishna's feelings when introduced to Leela's first work as a student at the Headmaster's school. He is initially taken a back by the chaos in the school, many of the childrens works left him unimpressed, but when he sees Leela's green paper boat he proclaims **//"My little Leela in relation to an outside world, making her own mark on it: ..."//** this shows his new found love for both the Headmaster and his school. It also quells his worries about his previous encounter with the **//"crazy variety of objects"//** and allows him to view the school with the same love and pride as the Headmaster himself.
 * //"the walls were hung with diffrent pictures, tigers and lions and trees drawn with childish hands."//** - shows us that the students work are appreciated and valued by the headmaster and is presented all over the school. The **//"diffrent pictures"//** that are drawn shows that each child has thier own thinking about things whereas in Krishna's colledge everyone is made to think the same and that only 1 answer is correct. Also, the use of simple words and the repetition of **//"and"//** in the quote **//"tigers and lions and trees"//** shows simplicity which contrast to Krishna's colledge as they are forced to get everything right even spelling and gramma which does not matter at all in the headmaster's school.
 * //"what a fuss they have learnt to make of sports!"-//** shows us that Krishna's colledge and other british schools care mostly about sports more than other academic subjects which is to most more important. the quote **" //learnt"//** shows us that the schools in india never use to focus on sports so much but more on academic matters until the british came over and **//"taught"//** them to start **//"fussing"
 * //"No,no he is quiet safe. he will be quiet all right, trust me"- 'headmaster' -//**shows that there is a trustfull and strong relationship between the students and teachers in the headmaster's school whereas very less, almost none in krishna's colledge. The word **//"trust me"//** shows that the headmaster has given his trust to the students and in return has got thiers to show that there is strong relationship between them and the students.