Creative combination

Creativity is not something innate, it can also be inculcated. To this end, last year, the National Council for Educational and Research Training (NCERT) had introduced Creative Writing and Translation as an optional subject in class XI. However, very few schools have included the subject as part of their curricula.
Nine students from Modern School, Barakhamba had enrolled for this subject in the last academic session and the number has increased this year, according to the officials at CBSE.
According to Ram Janma Sharma, head, department of languages, NCERT, it is interesting to see how different languages can co-exist and be shared and this has been proved by this bi-lingual text that has four units - creativity and writing, literary writing, media and translation that seem to be ideally and creatively linked to each other. He says, ���This is an independent subject like any other subject and can be easily clubbed with any stream - be it humanities, science or commerce. The course is a window to the world of print and electronic media, print media, publication, animation, mass communication, public relations, films, radio jockey, interpreting and translation.���
Firoz Bakht Ahmed, an English teacher at Modern School, says, ���There is not only lack of awareness among schools and parents about the subject, but also a stepmotherly attitude as it is different from one of those ���conventional��� subjects. In fact, the beauty of the subject is that it can be clubbed with any of the streams as it is a language subject.��� He adds, ���The course aims at a departure from the parameters of four walls of the school believing that children���s life in school must also be linked to life outside school.���
The idea is essentially to ���develop sensibilities towards languages,��� says Kirti Kapur, one of the co-ordinators of the book. On the contents of the book, she says, ���Nevertheless, the inherent challenge before teachers in teaching the discipline lies in the fact that all students do not have the same level of creativity and understanding. But, teachers need to guide students according to their interest and creativity.
Thus, their role in a learner-centered environment becomes more of a facilitator.��� As regards the faculty, are our schools adequately equipped for that? To this, Sharma feels that there is no need to hire separate faculty for these subjects as postgraduate teachers (PGTs) in English and Hindi can effectively teach the subject. ���In fact, we are holding workshops for teachers from CBSE schools, Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas to train them in the subject,��� he says.
Elaborating on the content of the book, Ahmed says, ���The book has a student-friendly approach as there are translation exercises to test and enhance students��� ability to translate and help them improve their vocabulary. Besides, it has rich dialogues, group discussions and activities, which will keep students as well as teachers thoroughly involved.��� According to P K Jain, a senior Hindi teacher from Modern School, ���The content has been prepared by experts from various fields besides the NCERT language department.���