Department of English and Foreign Languages

Faculty of Engineering and Technology, SRMIST

18LEM102T
Value Education

Work Book
For First Year B.Tech Students

(For internal circulation only)

Name:RAKSHANNA KANTHAN
Reg. No:RA2011003010145
Branch: CSE Section: C1
 Module 3 Youth and Society

S1

Class Activity

1. Watch the video on the poem “Where the Mind is without Fear” by Rabindranath Tagore.

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
In this poem, the poet is praying to God to grant his country such freedom
of thoughts and expressions, freedom from the shackles of superstitions
and bondage of social evils which leads towards perfection.

The poet prays to God saying that his country should be free from the
fear of oppression and each person should be able to hold his head high.

There should be an atmosphere of fearlessness. The country should be a

place where knowledge is available to everyone equally and free of cost
without any discrimination on the basis of caste, gender or religion.

He wishes for a country which is not ‘broken up into fragments’ by

prejudices and superstitions and where people stand united.

He wants a nation where people are truthful and words come out from
the depth of their hearts. He wishes for a nation where everyone is free
to toil and work hard for anything they desire for their own or for the
good of the nation.

Everyone is encouraged is strive tirelessly till they attain full satisfaction

in reaching their goals and perfection.

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way;
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee;
Into ever-widening thought and action;
Into that heaven of freedom,
My Father, let my country awake.
The poet prays to God that Indians should be logical and progressive in
thoughts and actions. He wants the power of reason to dominate the
minds of his countrymen. He does not want the ‘stream of reason’ to be
lost among outdated customs and traditions.

It should be a nation where blind superstitious habits of thought and

action have not put out the light of reason. Where people’s mind should
not dwell in the mistakes of the past nor be possessed by it. On the other
hand, they should be led by the power of reasoning to be focussed on
the future by applying logical thought and action.

He wants the country to be led forward by God into the freedom of

broadened attitude and mindset. He requests ‘The Father’ to awaken his
country into such a ‘heaven of freedom’. It is only by the universality of
outlook and an abiding passion for the realisation of great human ideals
that India will achieve her true freedom. This way alone will she realise
her destiny.
Individual Work

2. Do you think India has become the “heaven of freedom” that Tagore dreamt of? Write an
essay of 500 words justifying your views quoting real life contemporary instances.

Heaven on earth is an ideal vision.Heaven of freedom is a branch or a leaf of

that vision.Ido not think that it is currently exists in any country.I am not sure
whether the human race wants it badly enough as much as Tagore wanted it.

As a nation we Indians are not concerned with utopian ideals.There are

groups or individuals who may desire it but such individuals and groups are
in a tiny minority.

Tagore himself was not powerful or assertive enough on the political

front.The poet and the philosopher in Tagore looked inward and aimed at
developing his vision for the individual rather than for the nascent nation .

The human race is still evolving and has a long way to go on the notion of a
nation ,we have a long way to go in terms of being able to share our resources
with other nations selflessly.

Freedom as an idea has to go with a sense of responsibility towards

understanding it's boundaries as well.Currently even the advanced nations
such as the US,the Scandinavian nations who set a fine example are not going
to go on a limb to work for the development of similar societies elsewhere.

The jury is still out on whether the world has the resources to ensure an
egalitarian or more correctly an equitable division .Altruism is probably not
supported by human genes .

Tagore was echoing,the inherent longing of all humans to have a just father
figure.That his poem echoed or found resonance with the nascent nationalism
of India in the early years of the last century makes it tempting to look at his
poem through that coloured prism.

I do not feel that his ideal will become a reality ever.

Write brief notes on the following terms: respect for others, civic sense, bullying and substance
abuse, use of expletives, hero worship, gender insensitivity and moral policing.

Respect means that you accept somebody for who they are, even when
they're different from you or you don't agree with them. Respect in your
relationships builds feelings of trust, safety, and wellbeing. Respect doesn't
have to come naturally – it is something you learn.

An expletive is a word or phrase inserted into a sentence that is not needed to

express the basic meaning of the sentence. ... Expletives are not insignificant
or meaningless in all senses; they may be used to give emphasis or tone, to
contribute to the meter in verse, or to indicate tense.

We’re born into a world that rewards winners, but some people learn that
they can rise to the top without labor. Those people knock others down to
boost themselves up. They lie, cheat or steal credit for the ideas of others. Or
they criticize, mock or degrade others to make themselves look better. People
who repeatedly take advantage of power to intentionally harm others are
bullies.
Bullying is defined as repeated, undesired and aggressive behavior that
involves an inequality of power. Power can be physical, social or
psychological.

Gender sensitivity is the process by which people are made aware of how

gender plays a role in life through their treatment of others. ... Gender
sensitivity trainings are used to educate people, usually employees, to become
more aware of and sensitive to gender in their lives or workplaces.

Civic means city or town, and the word sense means awareness about
something. ... Civic sense is a consideration for the norms of society. It includes
respect for the law and for the ease and feelings of others and maintaining
etiquettes while dealing and interacting with others.

Moral Policing is when you try to force your morals or your own notion of
right or wrong on someone else. Even when you try to force the notions of
society on someone that's moral policing. When you use force, violence or try
to make someone feel bad about them using your own morals you are guilty
of moral policing.

1. Find a relevant video or make a short film on any one of the above ideas, screen it in the
class and make a presentation based on that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbIo9qztEn0

1. Find a relevant video or make a short film on any one of the above ideas, screen it in the
class.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dGUHXY0L30

1. Find a relevant video or make a short film on any one of the above ideas, screen it in the
class.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EhGm0ZR6V0
 Write a brief account of a common man who is heroic in his actions or write a brief
account of the “Face in the Crowd” in your locality.

Heroism and the Common Man

Before we can determine what makes a hero heroic, we must establish
the meaning of heroism. We recognize heroes as people like George
Washington, Mother Teresa, Rosa Parks, and Charles Lindbergh. Yes, these
prominent figures contain similar characteristics such as overcoming
adversity, changing society for the better, and the willingness to help others
when in risk of personal safety which is define heroism. However, we
misjudge and overlook the true hero, the common man. He is the one who
wakes up early to get put on a dress shirt and tie; the one who kisses his kids
goodbye before heading to work; the one that sits at a desk trying to finish the
financial report for his boss; the one who stands next to the chalkboard all day
trying to explain limits to his students; the one who leaves for Iraq because it
is his duty to defend his fellow men, all to support his family, country and help
others around him. The common man is a hero because he contains the
characteristics of prominent figures we call heroes, but receives little to no
recognition.

            The routine actions by common man are taken for granted. We overlook
the challenges that face him and deem them as ordinary, but not heroic.
Providing shelter and food for one’s family is just as heroic as sitting on a front
seat in a segregated bus defending beliefs of equality. Both represent the
willingness to help others and attempt to overcome a challenge, whether the
challenge of the law or of a tough financial situation. The common man and
the “heroic” Rosa Parks feel it is their duty to provide these actions, which is
the most heroic concept of all; the instinct to follow their beliefs with actions.
            Soldiers, who represent the common man, are the greatest example of
this heroic concept. They go to war, without question, because it is instinct to
help their country (the appeals of war stated by J. Glenn Gray in Warriors are
only supplements). Gray also states that “for him [a soldier] war is no sense a
game or a dirty mess. It is a mission, a holy cause, his chance to prove himself
and gain a supreme purpose in living” (Gray 156). This “mission” is the
instinct to help and define his life’s meaning. It separates the heroic, who don’t
need recognition, from the followers, who spend life without continuity and
only think about how others think of them.        This separation is also
apparent between the common man and the famous heroic figures. The
difference is recognition. This is not to say that people like Mother Teresa feel
the need for recognition, only that they acquire it. The true hero is one who
continues to provide without notice. He is in constant challenge, continually
trying to overcome it, trying to cover his fellow soldiers, defending his
country’s honor, trying to pay the bill without falling behind, supporting his
wife and her beliefs, and pushing his kids through the best education he can
provide. This common man is the true hero.