RonMutana

"People will divide into "parties" over the question of a new gigantic canal, or the distribution of oases in the Sahara (such a question will exist too), over the regulation of the weather and the climate, over a new theatre, over chemical hypotheses, over two competing tendencies in music, and over a best system of sports." - Leon Trotsky, Literature and Revolution At the start of the twentieth century sport had not flourished in Russia to the same extent as in countries such as Britain. The majority of the Russian population were peasants, spending hours each day on back-breaking agricultural labour. Leisure time was difficult to come by and even then people were often exhausted from their work. Of course people did still play, taking part in such traditional games as lapta (similar to baseball) and gorodki (a bowling game). A smattering of sports clubs existed in the larger cities but they remained the preserve of the richer members of society. Ice hockey was b...

Children spend most of their day time at school, albeit they are deprived of time for sports and fun. The main reason for this is that either the schools do not have enough facilities to organize sports or the management does not realize the importance of sports and other physical activities. In schools, the break time is hardly of 20 to 30 minutes. Children can either play games with friends or have their lunch during this short time. They do have games session, but that is just once in a week. Even on that day the children cannot play sports as there is nothing for them to play. All they do is to spend that time in either learning a test or doing their homework. Teachers and parents both emphasize on doing homework and learning lessons after school. There are only a few parents and educators who understand that a child should have a balance routine, and get time for studies, games, and proper rest. Education is not just reading, memorizing, and writing homework, it is, in fact, the d...

'Abdu'l-Baha emphasises that the equality of men and women presents issues which will negatively affect us all until they are resolved; "Until the equality between men and women is established and attained, the highest social development of mankind is not possible....Until woman and man recognise and realise equality, social and political progress will not be possible." Supporting the advancement of women is clearly in the interests of men, on many levels. Because women are the first and most influential trainers of sons, their development will in turn enrich men, who will be better educated from the earliest years at the hands of proficient mothers. When fully one half of the world's human resources, lying largely untapped in the hearts and minds of women, are released and developed, the potential for global transformation on every level is profound. Therefore, in view of the eventual advantages to both males and females, it is easy to see why Abdu'l-Baha s...

Not often does it fall to individuals to be a part of history in the making. For the few who are given that privilege, its true value can only be estimated only in hindsight. More than 150 years ago in a garden at Badasht, Tahireh - Iranian poet and revolutionary - renounced her veil and before the stunned participants announced through the power of this deed a new age in the cause of women. Four years later, at the moment of her execution, she cried "You can kill me as soon as you like but you cannot stop the emancipation of women". One and a half centuries later, and a decade into a new millennium, I pause to remember Tahireh, and all those men and women since, who have kept the flame of her cause burning brightly down all the years and passed this torch on to our generation here today; another people, another land, another century. In my mind they remain with us, and will continue to inspire and guide us just as we too must inspire and guide the generations still to come....

Education is something that many have said much about. Most of these are complex or vague. Consider the Greek philosopher Aristotle's saying that education is 'an ornament in prosperity' and 'a refuge in adversity'. There have been a great many attempts to explain this description, but none have quite succeeded in satisfying my curiosity. Alternatively, this is what the English essayist Joseph Addison has to say on education: What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to a human soul. This too, has a great many explanations and elaborations. But does it really tell us what education is? Does it tell us why we need education? Not really, since the concept of the soul is, till date, a shadowy area. So how can we begin to comprehend what everyone claims is essential to life nowadays? To put it simply, education is a process of training our mind so that we can apply it in a field of our choice: which is why we have education not as a single seamless entity, bu...