Question Discussion & Solution

Social stratification can be defined as the arrangement of groups of individuals in hierarchical positions based on criteria like wealth, prestige, ethnicity, gender, and power. Because of the similarity of their positions in the social structure they develop a consciousness of who they are, what their common problems are, and what should be done to remove these problems. A social class is a group of individuals who have more or less similar wealth. 

Important Points

Class: Most modem societies have class-based stratification.

• However many features of traditional stratification may be observed in modem societies such as elements of the caste system and feudalism found in India.
• But with economic development, class-based stratification is becoming increasingly imminent.

Caste: Caste is a much-debated topic in India. The word 'caste refers to the Spanish word 'Casta' which means 'breed' in Spanish.

• In the Indian context, it represents caste and its related social practice.
• The caste system influences the social life of the Indian in several ways, as it assigns ascribed status to its members.
• According to the Rig Veda, the oldest and most important of all the four Vedas, four Varnas are placed in a hierarchical order-the Brahmans, the Kshatriyas, the Vaishyas, and the Shudras.
• The profession of brahmans is that of priests and teachers. The Kshatriyas are warriors and rulers. The Visayas(Vis)are traders and other common people. The Shudras occupy the lowest position in the hierarchy and perform menial tasks.
• According to some historians, there is a fifth Varna, the untouchables, and they are not considered as a part of society. The tribes and people of other religions are also considered outside the Varna system

Gender: The unequal access to resources, opportunities, and rewards, and rights between men and women are legitimized by patriarchy across societies and cultures.

• Status inequality between men and women is not a new phenomenon that is reinforced through patriarchy and its institutions, gendered division of labor, and social institutions like marriage, dowry, property, and inheritance, and subordination.
• Women’s value is defined by their reproductive abilities rather than by their productive activities.
• Bridewealth is considered as compensation to the bride's parents or her kin for the productive and reproductive rights of the bride; dowry as a form of inheritance provides a bride with land and other wealth and helps her to attract a husband.

Religion: Another important aspect of the pluralism of India and at times cause a social conflict is a religion. As is well known, India is home to many religions. Almost all major religions in the world have followers in India.

• These include Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, and several others in small numbers.
• Hindus constitute 79.8% of the population and are present in almost every part of the country.
• Islam is the second most dominant religion, Sikhs, Christians, and Buddhists are comparatively small in numbers yet are an important part of India’s diversity. Sikhs constitute a majority in the state of Punjab, Muslims constitute a majority in Jammu and Kashmir, and have a significant presence in the states of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Assam.
• Christians also are spread all over India with a significant population in North Eastern States, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
• At the Social level, in general, there is harmonious co-existence and respect for each other’s religion.
• However, some vested interests particularly for political support, exploit the religious sentiments of the masses to keep them divided. That at times causes conflicts and growth of communalism.

Hence, we conclude that social stratification in India is mainly based on caste, class, religion, and gender.

The Montessori method is propounded by ‘Maria Montessori’, an Italian physician and naturalist. This method lays emphasis on student's all-round development which includes personal, social, moral, emotional, and cognitive development of the child.

The Montessori system of teaching is focused on the child as it ensures student's all-round development by:

• making learning fun and burden-free by including self-directed activity, hands-on learning to reach full potential in all areas of life.
• providing many practical exercises in her school to enable the child to learn good habits of cleanliness and order.
• making students learn the lesson of the dignity of labour and self-reliability by attending to their needs themselves.
• introducing concepts such as ‘Learning through living’, ‘Sense training’, ‘individual teaching’.

Hence, it could be concluded that the Montessori system of teaching is focused on the child.

The goal of mathematics teaching at school is to build usable skills notably in the areas of numeracy (numbers, operations, measurements, decimals, and percentages). The overall goal is to teach the student how to think and reason mathematically as well as how to follow assumptions to their logical conclusions and deal with abstractions.

Key Points

•  Desirable teaching practices in mathematics-
  • Encouraging students for reasoning while solving problems- The teacher should create challenging and meaningful problems for the students to include hands-on activity in the class and determine that every student has actually learned the objective of the class.
  • Incorporate storytelling to make a connection to the real world. this method contributes to the mental development of children and also helps them to be comfortable in the classroom, story function in terms of a pedagogical and social sense.
  • Memorization should not be promoted- Memorization does not lead to a deeper understanding of the information and there is no scope for developing logical thinking and investigation.

Hence, we can conclude that the most desirable feature of mathematics teaching is to create and pose challenging and meaningful problems for the student.

Social science is the branch of science devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. 

Key PointsMain objectives of teaching social studies at the primary level are - 

• The teaching of social studies is aimed at helping learners to develop greater awareness of themselves to clarify and examine their values and to establish a sense of self-identity.
• The teaching of social studies helps promote learners' concern for the development of an understanding and acceptance of others in the society with different values and lifestyles.
• Social studies teaching helps provide learners with an understanding of past events and persons and their roles in shaping present day lives and a visualisation of future changes.
• Social studies teaching helps provide learners with a knowledge of human systems in areas of economics, government, and culture, and how they are part of this society.
• Social studies teaching helps provide learners the skills necessary to carry out an independent investigation of problems and to react critically to the solutions posed by others.
• Social studies teaching aims at providing learners with an awareness of possible situations and their possible roles in shaping the future.
• Social studies helps provide learners with an appreciation of people's efforts to improve human conditions through creative expression and problem-solving.
• Social studies teaching provides learners with an understanding of the decision-making processes involved in human interaction and with the skills necessary to become effective decision-makers. 

Therefore, from the above points, it is clear that to keep record of crimes in society is not an objective of teaching social studies at the primary level.

Inclusive Education means education for all children in school. It refers to the inclusion of all children in the education system, regardless of their differences and disabilities.

• Hearing impairment refers to hearing loss that prevents a person from totally receiving sounds through the ear. If the loss is mild, the person has difficulty hearing faint or distant speech.

Key Points

If a teacher has a 'hearing impaired' child in her middle school class. She needs to make the child sit at a place from where she can see the teacher's lips and facial expressions clearly. 

Strategies for teaching Hearing Impaired child

• It is not possible to establish enough special schools to accommodate every hearing impaired\child. The other alternative is to use the already existing infrastructure in the general stream and integrate the hearing impaired children into the mainstream of education.
• Generally, hearing impaired children are as intelligent as children with normal hearing. Given timely help, these children can get successfully integrated into the educational system. 
• Children with hearing impairment find it difficult to have focussed listening for every word which is spoken. Children with hearing impairment find it difficult to have focussed listening for every word which is spoken. 
• Children are often comfortable with signs, and to facilitate them to understand the message, one may use signs freely. Once the child has understood the word or sentence, you may not need to use signs. Do encourage your child to speak words. You may repeat the word.

We can conclude that teacher can make the child sit at a place from where she can see the teacher's lips and facial expressions clearly.