Oh! I got one more opportunity to interact with a young mind yesterday. This is the greatest benefit i have as a teacher. So many young brains - energetic, courageous, innovative and of course, unpolluted to a large extent - are always available to be explored. Interaction with them is always refreshing and full of new ideas. But for this, some steps have to be followed. First, pierce their defence. Motivate / force them to be their own selves. Make them speak their mind. And then second, listen with an open mind. Don't allow your teacher to interrupt in between. Just facilitate the discussion with leading questions and enjoy the bliss!
I know that many teachers know all these tricks. They also replenish their bank of ideas following this process. I am also sure that it greatly benefits the young minds as well. They speak up, feel relaxed and in the end, they tend to know themselves better. A perfect win-win situation, isn't it?
Last evening, i travelled with a young mind. She is preparing for CAT. She also happens to be a full time working executive at a professionally managed and fast growing education group. After four or five aborted attempts, finally, i was able to make her speak up.
She began with the central idea first. "I don't know what will happen in future with me. I just follow the advice of the most trusted person around." I noted that the words 'most trusted' were preceding 'person' and not 'advice'. She continuously referred her daddyji to be the most trusted person in her life. I raised the question about the placement of the adjectives. And she gave me the most shining idea of the evening, albeit unknowingly, " How do you know the trustworthiness of an idea unless you try that out?" I tried to reason. But she was not in a mood to relent. " Sir! Aap hi to kahte hain na ki everything is changing. We can never predict the next thirty years of life and existence." I preferred to listen.
Yes, it may be true. We human beings are students of the most important discipline of study i.e. How to live life? We are ever evolving. Then, is it feasible or even possible to know ourselves? Doesn't knowing one's true self imply one's being a static fellow? Should i try to know myself as an individual or should i believe that every moment i can choose to be whatever i like to be. Should i know how hardworking i am or should i decide to be as much hardworking as i can be at a given situation? If someone tells me that i lose temper quite often, he probably means that i did lose my temper in his or her presence more than i should or need. Period.
Yes! We need not know ourselves. We just need to decide how we choose to be!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
And what is your opinion Mr/Ms Student?
Daily when i open the newspaper in the morning, Asmita, my daughter - a class 8th student, is preparing to go to school. Astitva, his younger brother and a student of class 3rd, is also following suit. I find them busy arranging their books and notebooks while packing their schoolbags. Normally they refer their homework diary to check whether they have not missed out anything. They also check their daily school schedule to ensure they are carrying the right set of books for the day. When Astitva finds me observing him, he usually throws some question. These questions are rather very casual ones such as,
"Did you also have to carry such a heavy bag when you were my age?" or
" Will i also carry such a small bag when i will be your age?" or sometimes
"I am really annoyed at this rigorous schedule!" or even
"In my scheme of things, schools would be much different!"
When i find myself unwilling or sometimes unprepared to reply to these questions, i push myself in the headlines. For the last so many days, more often than not, i find some musings by our honourable HRD minister about his innovative and striking ideas about 'just going to happen' change in our education system. To every action, there is a reaction - equally forceful. I also find some opinions by status quoists. They mostly happen to be senior teachers or some parents or some bureaucrats or some 'swantah sukhay' letter writers.
People are really busy thinking about education. Everybody is contributing to this intellectual noise. All of us are, in some way or the other, responsible for this ideational pollution. AICTE must go! - says some educational revolutionary. Long live AICTE! - says some beneficiary of the the present system. We must have uniform syllabus!-says some reformist. No need to meddle with the system that has produced some of the best brains(!) of the world! - says someone.
The noise confuses me. I just listened my child say something about education. I want to find that in the newspaper. No, it's not there. "Did you say something about education system, my son?" He doesn't reply. But, my wife rebukes me. The kids have already left for the school.
Isn't the newspaper or the media at large missing their frank, off the cuff remarks? Or we have chosen to be selectively deaf?
The real question is, "who will decide the future of educational controllers such as AICTE?". Shouldn't we listen to the technical and professional students or even better, the potential recruiters?
"Did you also have to carry such a heavy bag when you were my age?" or
" Will i also carry such a small bag when i will be your age?" or sometimes
"I am really annoyed at this rigorous schedule!" or even
"In my scheme of things, schools would be much different!"
When i find myself unwilling or sometimes unprepared to reply to these questions, i push myself in the headlines. For the last so many days, more often than not, i find some musings by our honourable HRD minister about his innovative and striking ideas about 'just going to happen' change in our education system. To every action, there is a reaction - equally forceful. I also find some opinions by status quoists. They mostly happen to be senior teachers or some parents or some bureaucrats or some 'swantah sukhay' letter writers.
People are really busy thinking about education. Everybody is contributing to this intellectual noise. All of us are, in some way or the other, responsible for this ideational pollution. AICTE must go! - says some educational revolutionary. Long live AICTE! - says some beneficiary of the the present system. We must have uniform syllabus!-says some reformist. No need to meddle with the system that has produced some of the best brains(!) of the world! - says someone.
The noise confuses me. I just listened my child say something about education. I want to find that in the newspaper. No, it's not there. "Did you say something about education system, my son?" He doesn't reply. But, my wife rebukes me. The kids have already left for the school.
Isn't the newspaper or the media at large missing their frank, off the cuff remarks? Or we have chosen to be selectively deaf?
The real question is, "who will decide the future of educational controllers such as AICTE?". Shouldn't we listen to the technical and professional students or even better, the potential recruiters?