We have two choices
- To evolve
- To repeat
More than the Book name the subtitle caught my attention.But what is social equality and social equity?
How to review a book talking about a good thing?
It’s a good thing, right? As a reviewer, I must judge its strengths and weaknesses. But with a book having political, and religious overtones, it’s going to be tough.
But before I talk about the book, I will tell you some social context in which my review should be read. I was listening to Swastika a very talented Bengali film actress (I am name-dropping here because she was a classmate at Carmel High School in Kolkata ), giving an interview on a popular news channel in Bengali about her new film Srimati talking about the taboos and biases, women face every day throughout their lives when they make their choices as parents.
She said on social media it’s okay to talk about one’s work and that’s it. Giving an opinion about anything nowadays is a problem.Because you must come back and explain what you said or people will not like your version of reality and ask for your “head” on a platter (literally).
So, a disclaimer: These are the author’s opinions I am just the reviewer. If my opinion inadvertently causes any hurt or discomfort, you have my heartfelt apologies for that. But I will stand by believing parents all over the world try to raise their children, the best they can. There’s simply no one-size fit all advice for parenting because each kid is unique and parents are unique too.
India is an ancient land and our civilization is both equal and equitable in many ways . Social justice is ingrained in us because our forefathers fought to get it. Saying that I am presenting one of Blogchatter’s library gems which is free for download.
Name of Book: Instilling Social Equality in Children
Author Nandhini Chandrasekaran
Nandhini Chandrasekaran
An erstwhile Biotechnologist, now an EdTech Science Content Specialist and a Mom of two under eight.
Book Blurb
When our children grow up, how would it be if they exchanged a smile with an under-served child who stood by their car window? If they gave a helping hand to the needy and treated people fairly? How would it be to see the children of today grow up this way?
This book is an attempt at this possibility!
Book Review in brief
Book Cover:I wish the Book subtitle and Author name popped more. I loved the name and subtitle. The contrast being low I had a little trouble reading it.
Likeminded people will nod along. It’s a book of opinions and for a topic like this, I would love facts and figures to share with my readers. Its thought-provoking.As the author says “Equality is a lie. Personalization, traditions, and moving with the times with empathy are crucial if we want to raise inclusive children, and that’s the message of the book. But for that, we need to work on ourselves first. What do you think? The author tries to give a balanced view but unfortunately, her heart is missing and the effort shows. For talking about equality if you sound biased it’s going to be a problem. A book with a lot of political, religious, and social opinions which I won’t be commenting about.
Interesting parts of the Book which will give you many coffees table discussion opportunities:
In the acknowledgment section and Ying yang section, the author talks about talking to like-minded and those holding different views. For a societal change in any form, we need to talk to everyone. Understand before making judgments. The first time I realized, how “equality “means reservations forever and ever was during NEET PG. We were upset about more reservations coming. Me, I talked about equality, how we are all equals and should be treated as such. Social justice and equality by any benchmark, I felt needed to be limited to one Generation, not continued forever,for that way another version of inequality is perpetuated.
Anyways you know how that turns out . Maybe because of the worries I studied harder. The point as the author puts it very succinctly, we need to learn from the past and you need two hands to clap. Social equality cannot be possible with crutches extending for several generations. That creates inequality and society is left with a much bigger problem.
How do we retell history? History differs often according to who tells it. The whitewashing of history is unnecessary. What’s there is there. Accepting the good bad ugly makes us stronger. But age-appropriate information is important. Creating strong, fair-minded children who remember their roots and grow stronger is crucial.I am not sure I made sense but social equality cannot be possible with crutches extending for several generations. That creates inequality and society is left with a much bigger problem.
Is Equality then a myth?
We are born equal. Naked crying and dependent. How we turn out depends on genetics and epigenetics. Ignore either it’s a problem. Children learn from what we do more than what we say. At the end of the day, we are all a sum of our Epigenetics and genetics. You cannot disown history and heritage, but you can believe you are an avenger and stronger because of them.
A big Maa Durga fan here and I support raising strong, kind, children who are open to discussions with empathy. That’s how I want my daughter to grow up. By her own abilities, not crutches.Religion, color, caste gender all when used in the wrong context can pull us down, so with that, I thank author Nandhini for writing a thought-provoking book. The definition of equality will however keep changing, but diversity and acceptance we can work towards every day.
This is part of BlogchatterEbook Carnival and my book is available for download too!
Read this book, Skin in the Game, if you want another viewpoint of the things that this book talks about.
Read all about my journey with #BlogchatterEbook since 2017.
