I've really fallen behind, haven't I?
Now I could say "Gosh darnit, it's 12th! Don't expect me to write blog-posts!", but I won't say that - it'd be a bit out of character - truth be told, I've kept writing but I don't get a hold of the laptop a lot - even in he summer break...would you believe it? E-mails are handled by my ever-present electronic sidekick - my mobile - and so are chats, IM's and the whole lot.
I honestly can't wait for April '13 - Those beautiful halcyon days when my current state will be a distant memory and I can start working on my ever-growing list of things to do..and there are the books...
...but let's come back to reality now.
Apart from being the first day of what will be the first of 7 tumultuous months [huzzah!], today was special for two reasons, both of which pertain to my life ~12 years ago - two people that I recall from then - my Montessori teacher - and one of my first close friends, N.
Today's N's birthday :) - And if you do read this, I'm over-the-moon enthralled that we've caught up - better late than never right?
My Montessori teacher - I met her today - it was a bit surreal, the last time I saw her, I was half her height...the situation reversed itself this time! It was wonderful to have a talk with her - and it was during this talk that the topic of today's post came up -
Education - or rather a student's perception of it.
It was when she told me about how they tackle learning at those formative years that I thought about education - rather my education and how people around me responded to it. It seems that after nearly 12 years in the same system, people seem to lose their curiosity if they aren't careful. What needs to be studied needs to go in...forget the excitement - the textbooks themselves are bland to the sight. What we really need is a change in the way students perceive education - and it isn't impossible. We just need to get people interested in what they learn, make them - as Discovery Science would always say - 'Question Everything.'
The question isn't 'When' [ does this get over? ] it needs to be 'Why' [ is this happening? ] or 'How' [is that possible?]. People need to stop being passive about learning and more pro-active about it. Don't just listen to what teachers say, think about it simultaneously as well. That's where those great questions come from. Learning needs to be more 'hands-on' as my teacher said...it's practically the only way people will ever learn for life. Get flashcards, animations, charts, graphs - heck, bring an army of animators and designers into the field of education, so that people can see what they learn - so that they can envision it - so that it isn't just all theory. And always answer questions - even if you think that the inquisitive one may not just be ready for it - human beings can surprise you - kids most of all.
Here I bring in an anecdote my teacher told me:
She watched a little preschooler play with his water bottle out in the yard. After a while, the child came up to her and asked he if she'd like to see a 'magic trick', she replied with an affirmative. The child then proceeded to place his bottle over his ID card and kept moving it towards and away from it. He then exclaimed "Look! It keeps getting bigger and smaller! It's magic!"
This little kid had just stumbled upon refraction.
It's going to take a huge revolution in the field of education to change things - and even more effort to convince orthodox and obstinate minds - but one day, it could be possible.
Hopefully.
Now I could say "Gosh darnit, it's 12th! Don't expect me to write blog-posts!", but I won't say that - it'd be a bit out of character - truth be told, I've kept writing but I don't get a hold of the laptop a lot - even in he summer break...would you believe it? E-mails are handled by my ever-present electronic sidekick - my mobile - and so are chats, IM's and the whole lot.
I honestly can't wait for April '13 - Those beautiful halcyon days when my current state will be a distant memory and I can start working on my ever-growing list of things to do..and there are the books...
Apart from being the first day of what will be the first of 7 tumultuous months [huzzah!], today was special for two reasons, both of which pertain to my life ~12 years ago - two people that I recall from then - my Montessori teacher - and one of my first close friends, N.
Today's N's birthday :) - And if you do read this, I'm over-the-moon enthralled that we've caught up - better late than never right?
My Montessori teacher - I met her today - it was a bit surreal, the last time I saw her, I was half her height...the situation reversed itself this time! It was wonderful to have a talk with her - and it was during this talk that the topic of today's post came up -
Education - or rather a student's perception of it.
It was when she told me about how they tackle learning at those formative years that I thought about education - rather my education and how people around me responded to it. It seems that after nearly 12 years in the same system, people seem to lose their curiosity if they aren't careful. What needs to be studied needs to go in...forget the excitement - the textbooks themselves are bland to the sight. What we really need is a change in the way students perceive education - and it isn't impossible. We just need to get people interested in what they learn, make them - as Discovery Science would always say - 'Question Everything.'
The question isn't 'When' [ does this get over? ] it needs to be 'Why' [ is this happening? ] or 'How' [is that possible?]. People need to stop being passive about learning and more pro-active about it. Don't just listen to what teachers say, think about it simultaneously as well. That's where those great questions come from. Learning needs to be more 'hands-on' as my teacher said...it's practically the only way people will ever learn for life. Get flashcards, animations, charts, graphs - heck, bring an army of animators and designers into the field of education, so that people can see what they learn - so that they can envision it - so that it isn't just all theory. And always answer questions - even if you think that the inquisitive one may not just be ready for it - human beings can surprise you - kids most of all.
Here I bring in an anecdote my teacher told me:
She watched a little preschooler play with his water bottle out in the yard. After a while, the child came up to her and asked he if she'd like to see a 'magic trick', she replied with an affirmative. The child then proceeded to place his bottle over his ID card and kept moving it towards and away from it. He then exclaimed "Look! It keeps getting bigger and smaller! It's magic!"
This little kid had just stumbled upon refraction.
It's going to take a huge revolution in the field of education to change things - and even more effort to convince orthodox and obstinate minds - but one day, it could be possible.
Hopefully.
