Children need to know what the water birds say

Kutwadi lake near Gaddige

Last Sunday we decided to visit some lakes as a pre-survey of migratory water birds. We drove towards Gaddige, a village situated about 45 km to the west of Mysore city and had mixed experiences. A number of irrigation tanks were dysfunctional; some were encroached upon by humans for cultivation or for residential sites. Some had simply dried up as the inlet area for runoff water was blocked due to various reasons. Some water bodies were stripped off their soil in their shoreline for making bricks or for land filling else where! Water bodies once alive had died an unnatural death.

Daitana Katte

It was almost very near to Gaddige, when we found a water body alive with flora and fauna flourishing in it. It is a small sized perennial lake called “Daitana Katte” right on the main road. We had a nice bird watching session there. Except for the coots and cotton teals there were no major representation of the winter visitors. Median Egret, Cattle Egret, Coot, Cormorant, Dab Chick (Little Grebe) Swallow, Red Wattled Lapwing, Pond Heron, Pheasant tailed Jaccana,  and Sand pipers were a few that we saw.

 

Reeds in the lake

As we walked around, our attention was caught by the hydrophytes – the water plants. Many plants that I had seen as a discoloured specimen in the biology lab were very much alive, green and luxuriant here! Marsilea, a pteridophyte, commonly called fern was in abundance on the shore. My class room instincts made me to look for the fruiting bodies but could not find them as it was not the right season to expect for them. Nymphaea lotus has bloomed into beautiful flowers. Chara, a green alga, different species of Ipomoea, different types of reeds, Barlaria on fringes, Polygonum, a number of green algae were found on the edge of the pond. The kids felt honored to be asked to pull out a specimen for examination.

Ipomea

Hygrophylla auriculata

Nymphaea lotus

After a while, we drove past Gaddige and pulled to the right towards Gurupura and found another lake at Kutwadi.  It was a beautiful morning and there were a lot of water birds. White and black and purple Ibis and Gray Heron, Median Egret, Little Egret, pond Heron and Jaccanas were seen. The bright morning with a little over cast made revealed Purple Moorhen in its splendor. It was a feast to watch. But many people do not know what their abundance signify in a pond. They inhabit dying water bodies! They live in ponds rich in reeds and rooted water plants which are indication of settling of more silt in the lake.

 

Marsilea

It was hard to believe what these birds, as indicators of the quality of the water body were telling?  The lake may entirely dry up like most of them we passed through in the morning. All the beautiful water plants may vanish and replaced by terrestrial weeds. And then how can we find the winged visitors as we used to do, all these years?

What is the future of this lake?

Exposing children to the strengths of Solitude

Sitting all alone in the jungle

My mind roams in darkness,

Even an ant looks like a Tiger

Amidst the stalks of wild sunflower.

So writes a teenager of TVS school, Hosur who was put through an activity called Lone in the Jungle. With a general instruction to stay alone by themselves without any communication with anyone was the task. Every boy and girl was given a specific location in the forest; -a shade under a bush, a rocky ledge, a ravine or a stream bed.  Every one chose to be where they felt convenient. Most boys selected a rock ledge as they probably wanted to be at a good vantage point. Girls found it convenient to sit in the shade of a bush and very few of them went up a rock. Some wanted to be out in the sun, visible to others. There were 37 students and were kept on guard for safety by five teachers. The idea was that teachers kept an eye on them but never showed up or communicated with any.

Even for the teachers the hour was long and lasted-for-ever. They could observe several new behaviors in their students. Simply sitting through for an hour was the greatest challenge for most students. They pelted stones at bushes; some never even settled down at one place but kept walking around to see what the others were up to. A boy ran back to the dorm with an excuse to use the wash room. While a couple of them huddled under a bush and kept talking most of the time a very few of them did what was said to be done. One of them slept in a shade and dozed off.

School educator and curriculum advisor Diana Senechal of New York Public School observes the behavioral inconsistencies and inability to focus on a subject is a consequence of too many distractions at a given time in the environment we have made for them.   In her book, “The Republic of Noise,” she reasons for such problem is the students’ loss of solitude: the ability to think and reflect independently on a given topic. Schools have become more concerned with the business of keeping students busy in a flawed attempt to ensure engagement of the student. Compelling to memorize phrases and passages and repeatedly writing to learn are activities which do not enhance the spirit of learning in the child. In some schools children at a very young age are subjected to imposition writing in the name of punishing, learning spellings or improving handwriting. Such students at a later date will lack the ability to express independently and look for others standpoint, feeling that it would be more acceptable.

 At the end of the hour all the students were made to share their experience of being alone in an unknown environment. Most students explained why they chose that place and how bravely they had managed to be isolated from their friends. Of course every single one of them who had not accomplished the task blamed upon a growling leopard or a grunting wild boar which probably they imagined for not accomplishing their task. One girl had engaged herself in making a stone tool by chiseling and polishing a piece of rock to resemble a caveman’s axe.

Many students across different age groups who I have subjected to this activity have involuntarily shed tears. Not because of some kind of grief but with joy which they could not put in words! It must probably be the joy of being free for first the time or experiencing their strength and courage to take on for themselves.

In most schools, students are not given the time and space to devote for themselves or to completely study and understand of one specific thing. It’s a need Senechal finds reflected in our culture as a whole: We are a generation glued to smart phones and computer screens checking email and twitter in our need to stay in some loop by reading and responding to rolling updates.

 This observation is not advocating that we give up our iPhones or unplug from social media, but rather that we think more slowly, give ourselves time for reflection — as such practice would only serve to enhance the very conversations new media and technology is making possible.

History lessons are not just about buried bones and broken stones

Field visit to the ruins of Hampi

After a day’s dousing in Archeology, the children were taken to the ruins of Hampi and the folklore museum at the University of Hampi. We looked for someone to interpret local history based on facts and Mr. Ramachandra Shetty came on hand. While most people make it feel a jumbled time line of events, he made a nice narrative and yet he gave several versions of the events of the medieval times on either side of the Tungabhadra River.  After the down fall of the Hoysala rule and repeated invasion of the Delhi Sultans, the Hindu rule saw difficult times.  The resurrection and rise of Hindu rule was accomplished by the rulers of Sangama dynasty that was founded by Harihara Raya I also known as Hakka, and his brother Bukka Raya. Based in the Deccan, in peninsular India, from 1336 onwards Viyayanagara kingdom grew into an empire that in its peak reached out till the present Orissa in the north and Kerala in the south.

It lasted from about 1336 to perhaps about 1660, though throughout its last century it was in a slow decline since 1565 due to a massive and catastrophic defeat at the hands of an alliance of the Deccan sultanates. Once the capital Viyayanagara was taken, it was brutally razed and looted. People never returned to the capital city for a long time. Temples and other structures deteriorated due to vandalism beyond one’s imagination. Their impressive ruins surround Hampi in Hospet taluk of Bellary district. Today it is declared a World Heritage site and a large scale restoration is in progress.

Students admiring the ruins of Ugranarasimha

Though its foundation, and even a great part of its history, is obscure its power and wealth are attested by several travelers, such as Domingo Paes and Nuniz of the Portuguese, and the Venetian Niccolò Da Conti. Trade of spice, cotton, jewelry and ivory to countries as far as Venice and China thrived through the ports of Mangalore, Honavara, Batkala and Barkur. The main imports on the east coast were non-ferrous metals, camphor, porcelain, and silk.

Exposing students to History is important in a democratic society. Knowledge of history is the precondition of political awareness. Without history, a society can share no common memory of where it has been or what it has gone through. Its interpretation reveals what the societies’ core values were and what decisions or acts of the past account for present circumstances. Without history, we cannot undertake any sensible inquiry into the political, social, or moral issues in society. And without historical knowledge and inquiry, we cannot achieve the informed, discriminating citizenship essential to effective participation in the democratic processes of governance and the fulfillment for all our citizens of the nation’s democratic ideals. 

Students during the field visit

French philosopher, Etienne Gilson, mentions the special significance of the perspectives history affords. “History,” he says, “is the only laboratory we have in which to test the consequences of thought.” History opens to students the great record of human experience, revealing the vast range of strategies individuals and societies have taken up to the issues confronting them. It also discloses the consequences that have followed the various choices that have been made by people of the past. By studying the choices and decisions of the past, students can face today’s problems and make conscious choices of the alternatives before them and the likely consequences of each. 

Current problems, of course, do not duplicate those of the past. Extrapolating knowledgeably from history to the issues of today dependent upon how one understands the past. Is it on the basis of relevant historical antecedents or those that are clearly irrelevant? Students must be sufficiently grounded in historical understanding in order to bring sound analysis to the service of informed decision making. 

Students window shopping at Hampi

What is required is “critical history”- the ability, after painful inquiry and sober judgment, to determine what part of history is relevant to one’s current problems and what is not. Whether one is assessing a situation, forming an opinion, or taking an active position on the issue in exploring these matters, students will soon discover that history is filled with the high costs of decisions. They become so because of false analogies from the past and the high costs of actions taken up with little or no understanding of lessons that the past imparts. 

Historical memory is also the key to self-identity, to seeing one’s place in the stream of time and one’s connectedness with all of humankind. We are part of an ancient chain and connect to our descendants for years to come. Denied knowledge of one’s roots and of one’s place in the great stream of human history, the individual is deprived of the fullest sense of self and of that sense of shared community on which one’s fullest personal development as well as responsible citizenship depends. For these purposes, history and the humanities must occupy an indispensable role in the school curriculum. 

Nature camp unveils Archaeology and History shrouded in Mythology

Children admiring the hominid skulls

Most people who visit Hampi are bombarded with reams of mythological accounts of the place that conveniently shroud the history and natural history of the region. For many years we used to hear about a detailed account of the Viyayanagara dynasty and the ‘Mohammedan’ invaders who destroyed it.  But today the stories go further back to the age of ‘Kishkinda’ and into Ramayana. Every rock crevice and gulley is used to narrate the incidences of epic whose age never settle down on a convincing time frame.

Even the professors of Archeology or History at the University of Hampi fail to help children draw a line between history and mythology. By not enabling children to develop a consciousness about the difference between History and Mythology we keep them out of the spirit of science and pickled in beliefs.  

A four day workshop on ‘Sloth Bear Ecology’ was held between 20^th and 23^rd Nov 2013 at the Nature Camp site of Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary, Kamalapura in Hospet Taluk of Bellary District. Thirty seven students and four teachers of TVS School, Hosur in Tamil Nadu took part in the fun filled camp. The camp had sessions on evolution and ecology of sloth bear and revolved around fact that among the eight species of bears over the world, sloth bear in spite of being a tropical animal is endowed with black shaggy coat. Why? The students went through a series of brainstorming sessions and games that stimulate the life style of a sloth bear. They sat through sessions on evolution and ecology of sloth bear, traces of earliest Man around Hampi based on the excavations at Sanganakallu in Bellary District and the conservation efforts in the recent times. Thanks to the fossil collector Mr. Santosh Martin who put on display the replicas of the skulls of various hominids. It was a thrilling experience for the children to touch and feel the skulls of the bygone ancestors. Starting from the skulls of Sahelantropus tchadensis whose brain case measured only about 350cc to the more recent Homo heidelbergansis with a cranium of 1400 cc were on hand for the children to inspect. The slides of different stages of development placed in order the long sojourn of our evolutionary path.

Along with the skulls were box loads of stone tools and artifacts which revealed the cultural history of various human settlements. They bridge the gaps in history with material evidence, and enable us to understand the changes that took place in human societies across cultures.  Children were astonished with how something as little as broken bits of pottery, or carvings, archaeological analyses can turn the pages of history upside down. They realized that Archaeology is a mysterious gateway to the human past. It is the discipline that complements history best with its hard evidences and methodological analysis.

Santhosh Martin with a prehistoric skull

On the second day the children had a series of hands on activities right from the crack of dawn. Observation of the day break was a fascinating experience in itself. ‘Lone in the jungle’, ‘finding food as a Sloth bear would’ were activities that took the students through the menu card of a bear. The A/V session in the evening was about biodiversity of Hampi area with special emphasis to Daroji.

In the following days the campers visited the ruins of Hampi and the museum at the University of Hampi. They had a guided tour for history and folk studies. To culminate the workshop, the team visited the Sloth bear sanctuary to watch the sloth bears first hand. The team which had felt a bit difficult in catching up with the routine of the camp had just started feeling home while the tents had to be pulled down.

Lone in the jungle....

Lone in the jungle...

As Kodai Kandhan a ninth grader recalls, “We learnt so much about sloth bears, many of us didn't even know sloth bears were in India. We got a lot from your games. It is not just winning or losing that mattered us. We learnt a lot about team spirit, coordination, staying calm and brave. The treks we had with you were tiring but nothing can beat that extraordinary one hour we spent in the forest all alone. It was scary but thinking of it now, we just want to be there once more.”

There are a lot of such responses by her batch mates. For us it is a pat on our back. Keep it up; keep involving the kids in Nature.

Nature Camp can sooth every Psych: Sakhi in Nature II

Jeevan's class

Residential Camps in which the participants stay over night have dual benefits. It simply gives more time for every session as well as isolates the participant from their mundane life.  Students not only get intimate with the teachers but develop interest in the subject. There are a several more of advantages for both the teacher and the taught in residential camps. The participants are known to develop stronger bonds among themselves, show higher tolerance levels and more readily socializing. Team building games enable the individuals accept one another and work together. Individual activities and of the kind of ‘Lone in the jungle’ makes any person think about oneself and the world he lives in.

The aim of the workshop was to expose youngsters to Nature. Unlike many other camps were only the urban and privileged kids join in for a fad or recreation of a different sort, this was for the exclusively downtrodden youngsters who had failed to hear to the poetry of Nature. So that even they realize the every-day sort of magic in nature- the inexplicable connectedness they should not miss to experience with places, people and the world.

Sakhi Team

Though many activities were designed impromptu, the organizing team felt content of reaching out to these first generation learners. The motherly Organizing secretary of Sakhi Mrs. Bhagyamma felt that it was a very meaningful and most intimate nature camp she had ever involved. She felt happy that the participants could learn lessons about nature. She opined that "feeling " nature is more helpful than "talking " about nature. She could watch the participants blossom like flowers who were like unopened buds. Presentation on "women in conservation" was the most appealing to her. She could see the participants getting bolder, more practical in their approach and more independent. She looks forward to have more and more of such workshops for the underprivileged.

  

Here are some of the experiences of the happy participants from Sakhi, who are in the process of becoming teachers in their communities.

Gayatri:

The workshop was unique, and gave a different experience. Living in the tents was most exciting and joyous. The most powerful and the most favorite experience was " lone in the jungle". The opening session taught useful techniques of self control and the importance of facial expressions during communication. Could come out of the familial pressure. Wants to attend such nature camps again and leaves the decision of designing the sessions to the coordinator, Mr. Manu, for being creative. Learnt the importance of " doing and learning" rather than " teaching and learning".

Shilpa:

First ever experience of a nature camp, that too a residential camp. Elated to learn the interrelationship of different organisms and living and non living things in nature. Learnt to be more independent, felt intimate with nature. Living in the tent was an unforgettable experience. " lone in the jungle " was exploratory, both inwardly as well as in nature. Could overcome the inferiority complex that she couldn't draw pictures like her sister, after realizing the ability to draw a landscape. Able to understand the real meaning of environment after attending the camp. Samad sir's session was the most inspiring  and thinking of carrying out the conservation activity in her locality. She learnt how to watch a documentary and analyse it after attending audio-visual sessions with Manu sir. She has become a source of inspiration to her siblings as well as the children in her neighborhood.

Nature Camp can sooth every Psych: Sakhi in Nature

At the beautiful camp site

Nature camps, generally is referred to children and youngsters who go to college. Often it would have a very broad theme and the information delivered is rather shallow. In the elementary level the camps are to be involving individuals in nature and they must sense the wonder in it.  A sense of appreciation of nature is the most essential ingredient of any well brought up child. So an assortment of game based activities is ideal for them. While some games are of the designs that decide on a single winner and develop a fighting spirit in children. Other games are of the type that does not help decide on a winner. Such games help in building cooperation among the participants as well as communication skills, both of which form the bedrock of the formation and functioning of community. Further, the active participation of an individual within the community and her ability to involve and influence in decision making is augmented by the same traits. Nature education based camps must not cease to perform for the next level. Delivering insights into the mechanisms of ecology is a challenging and essential task.

CF , DCF and the participants

 However, some design the camp for deeper understanding of a segment of a wider subject. These camps are not so general in their approach and would have activities that are meticulously designed to give an elaborate feel the subject. The intention would be to unravel the complexity of the relations in nature and there by realize oneself in a holistic context. The wilderness area or the countryside provide a wonderful opportunity for self realization and help to overcome self-consciousness. Getting away from the mundane life to the outdoors will ensures a greater relaxation of the body and mind. Many people are deprived of such an indispensable ingredient of normal life. Corporate and academic elite manage to include it as an initiative of the organization or as a fashion of their pear group. A vast majority of the middle class and almost all of the under privileged mass of the urban locales never get an opportunity to experience nature and be with it.

Sakhi Trust an organization working for the school dropouts- especially girls of urban and semi urban area of Bellary district since the past two decade is trying out every method to put in confidence to these suppressed lot. Many of them belong to casts that have faith in primitive practices such as Child marriage and Devadasi system. Providing them their lost childhood, securing financial and social status has been the first priority of Dr. Bhagya and her team.  Identification of such girls and getting them out of the clutches of the male dictated families is a herculean task in Northern Karnataka. Providing shelter and counseling the teenage girls for various short falls and finding a seat back in the school or college demands a lot of determination.  Dr. Bhagya a social scientist an a psychologist Dr. Ajay and Dr. Umesh who strive for the noble cause of Sakhi took a bold step this November to send in thirty of their benefactors for a Nature camp organized by Hasiru Hejje at Daroji Nature camp in Bellary District.

Grabbing the fish!

In this three days exposure to Nature camp the girls under took numerous activities that unrevealed many simple truths of nature.  Mr. Jeevan Kumar, a play Director used many theatre games that enabled the girls express themselves. His innovative methods of improvisation gave them a sense of accomplishment.  Mr. Pampiah Swamy and Samad Kottur were the resource persons for the audio visual sessions in the evening. Mr. Manu K coordinated the Workshop and designed activities for joy and replenishment. He presented a special session on Women in conservation that highlighted the life of many women who strived to find a place in their fields. The struggles and achievements of scientists from Rachel Carson and Jane Goodal  to the contribution of Vandana Shiva and Sunitha Narayan were intensively discussed to inspire the girls.

Manu addressing the gathering

The three days of involvement in nature did miracles to the girls. They felt they were no less than men and would explore a way to beat their personal obscurities of life and go ahead. The forest officials of the Conservator cadre who visited the camp sat for an elaborate discussion with the participants and gave many words of appreciation for the organizers and wished hope and success for the participants.

Relaxing at the end....

ಮೊರಖ ಇಲಿಗಳನ್ನು ಕೊಂದ ಕಥೆಯು : ಒಂದು ವಿಮರ್ಶೆ

ನಮ್ಮ ಬಾದಲ್ ಈಗ ಕೇವಲ ಕಲಾವಿದ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಕತೆಗಾರ ಕೂಡ ಅನ್ನೋದು ಸಾಬೀತಾಗಿದೆ.'ಮೊರಖ ಇಲಿಗಳನ್ನು ಕೊಂದ ಕಥೆಯು' ಈತನ ಲೇಖನಿಯಿಂದ ಹೊರಬಂದ ಫ್ರೆಶ್ ಆರ್ಟ್! ಚಿತ್ರ ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಕಥೆಯೂ ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಕಾಣಬಹುದು ಅನ್ನೋದಕ್ಕೆ ಈ ಕಥೆಯೇ ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ.ಕಥೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬರುವ ಮೊರಖ ನಮ್ಮ ಮದ್ಯೆಯೇ ಎಲ್ಲೋ ಇರುವ ಅನುಭವ. ಮೊರಖ ಎನ್ನುವ ಹೆಸರಲ್ಲೇ ವಿಶೇಷ ಕಾಣುತ್ತದೆ. ವಿಚಿತ್ರ ಎನ್ನಿಸಿದರೂ ಮೂರ್ಖ ಶಬ್ದದ ಅಪಭ್ರಶದಂತೆ ಕಂಡರೂ ಮರಾಕ್ಕೊ ದೇಶದ ಹೆಸರಿನ ಸಾಮ್ಯತೆಗೆ ಹೋಲಿಸಿ ಲೇಖಕ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಆ ಹೆಸರಿಗೆ ಅರ್ಥ ಹುಡುಕುವಂತೆ ಪ್ರೇರೇಪಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ.ಸಮುದಾಯ ಭವನದ ಮುಂದೆ ವಾಲಿಬಾಲ್ ಆಡುವ ಹುಡುಗರು ಸಮಾಜವನ್ನು ಪ್ರತಿನಿಧಿಸಿದರೂ ಅವರ ಆಟ,  ಮಾತು ಇವುಗಳು ಅವರ ನಿರುದ್ಯೋಗವನ್ನೋ ಮತ್ತೇನನ್ನೋ ಸೂಚಿಸುತ್ತವೆ.ದಲಿತ ಸಮಾಜ ಎದುರಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಹಲವು ಹತ್ತು ಸಮಸ್ಯೆಗಳನ್ನು ವ್ಯಂಗ್ಯಭರಿತ ಹಾಸ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಲೇಖಕ ತರುವ ಬಗೆ ಅನನ್ಯ. ಮೊರಖನ ಜೊಲ್ಲುಸುರಿಯುವಿಕೆಯೂ ಈ ಸಮಾಜದ ರೋಗಗ್ರಸ್ತತೆಗೆ ಹಿಡಿದ ಕನ್ನಡಿಯಂತೆ ಕಾಣುತ್ತದೆ. ಮೊರಖನ ಅಮಾಯಕತೆ, ಅಸಹಾಯಕತೆ ಅವನು ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇವೆ ಎಂದು ನಂಬಲಾದ ಇಲಿಗಳ ಮಾತಿಂದ ಎದ್ದು ಕಾಣುತ್ತದೆ.ಇಲಿಗಳ ಸಂಭಾಷಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇಂದಿನ ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ, ಆರ್ಥಿಕ ಹಾಗೂ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ವಿದ್ಯಮಾನಗಳೂ ಕೇಳಿಸುತ್ತವೆ. ಇದು ಲೇಖಕನ ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ಆಲೋಚನೆ( ಕಂಟೆಂಪೋರರೀ ಥಿಂಕಿಂಗ್) ಬಿಂಬಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ.ತಕ್ಕಡಿಯನ್ನು ಮುಟ್ಟಲೂ ಅವಕಾಶವಿಲ್ಲದಿರುವಿಕೆ ಇಂದಿಗೂ ಜೀವಂತವಿರುವ ಅಸ್ಪೃಶ್ಯತೆಯನ್ನು ಅಣಕಿಸುತ್ತವೆ. ದಲಿತ ಸಮುದಾಯಕ್ಕೆ ಇಂದಿಗೂ ದೊರೆಯದಿರುವ ಶೌಚಾಲಯದಂಥ ಕನಿಷ್ಟ ಸೌಲಭ್ಯ ಲೇಖಕನನ್ನು ಕಾಡಿವೆ ಎನ್ನುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಆತ ತರುವ ಜಂತುಹುಳದ ಪ್ರಸಂಗವೇ ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ. ಹೆಣ್ಣುಮಕ್ಕಳ ತಂದೆಗಿರುವ ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಜವಾಬ್ದಾರಿಯನ್ನು ಕೊನೆಯಲ್ಲಾದರೂ ಅರಿಯುವ ಮೊರಖ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದೇನು? ಅದು ಮೂರ್ಖತನವೇ? ಅಮಾಯಕತೆಯೇ? ಸಾವಿನಲ್ಲಾದರೂ ತಕ್ಕಡಿಯನ್ನು ಮುಟ್ಟಿದ ಪರಿಯೇ? ಇಲಿಗಳನ್ನು ಕೊಲ್ಲುವ ಉಪಾಯವೇ? ಇಲ್ಲ, ಎಲ್ಲಕ್ಕೂ ಮೀರಿ, ಇನ್ನು ಬದುಕಲಾರೆ ಎನ್ನಿಸಿತೇ? ಹಾಗಿದ್ದರೆ ಅದೇನು? ಆತ್ಮಹತ್ಯೆ??? ಲೇಖಕ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಊಹಿಸಲು ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಾನೆ.ಮೊರಖನ ಅಂತ್ಯ ಇಂದಿನ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯ ವ್ಯಂಗ್ಯ! ಕಥೆ ಓದಿ ಮುಗಿಸಿದಾಗ ಒಂದುರೀತಿಯ ಅಸ್ವಸ್ಥತೆ ಕಾಡುತ್ತದೆ.
ಒಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇಳುವುದಾದರೆ ಒಬ್ಬ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಕಥೆಗಾರನ ಉಗಮ ಕಾಣುತ್ತಿದೆ.

Richard Louv and the eighth intelligence

Richard Louv

The time spent in outdoors playing in nature has become very less among the children especially so among the urban counterparts. A lot of research is going on in the west in this regard. Reasons are many in the modern families. A lot of time is spent in front of the T V and the computer by children and adults alike, making them grow obese. The sedentary childhood may be linked to mental and physical health problems. It also results in poor recreational skills. The children so grown up into adults make them insensitive towards nature. The policy decisions taken by such grown-ups can be detrimental to nature.

According to a British study, average eight year olds can better identify characters from Japanese cartoons like Pokemon, Pikachu, Doremon, Metapod, etc., than oak, otter, or beetle. Japanese photographer, Keiki Haginoya says that either the indoor spaces have become more attractive or outdoor spaces have become less attractive or both.

Are we letting this happen in our households?

Most of the children when asked to choose between a nature trek and mall visit showed no interest towards nature. In some of the developed countries toddlers confine to their seats so much so that they are hardly physically active, may be for just 20 minutes a day.

Most often this confinement to indoors is due to safety concerns. Young children are not allowed to yonder in the streets let alone the wild. The net result is alienation from the nature. Richard Louv calls this detachment as “Nature Deficit Disorder”. This can be detected in individuals, families and communities. He says that it can even result in inaccessibility to parks and open spaces in cities and high crime rates, depression and other urban maladies.

Can a classroom be like this?

The present schooling system emphasises more on rote learning. It stresses up on the scores in the form of either marks or grades by the children. This has put more pressure on the parents thus holding back the children indoors in order to make them “study”. Howard Gardner, an authoritative educationist from Harvard University devised the multiple intelligence theory in 1983. He argued that the traditional notion of intelligence based on I.Q testing was far too limited. He proposed seven types of intelligence viz., linguistic (‘word smart’), logical – mathematical (‘number smart’), special(‘picture smart’), bodily kinaesthetic (‘body smart’), musical, interpersonal(‘people smart’), and intrapersonal(‘self mart’) intelligences. Recently he added an eighth intelligence that Charles Darwin, Alfred Wallace, John Muir and Rachel Carson had. It is called “Naturalist Intelligence” otherwise termed ‘nature smart’. It is the intelligence or ability to recognise and analyse plants, animals and other parts of the natural environment.

Children learn in nature better

If we allow our kids to enjoy nature they become stronger enough to fight their emotional turmoil. This sensitises the children towards nature.

Let us connect the child back to nature. 

Varying Modes of Interaction: Enhancing Classroom Interaction - Soumya Kumar

“About two-thirds of classroom time is devoted to talking at the tertiary level.

About two-thirds of the talking time, the person talking is the teacher at the tertiary level.

About two-thirds of the teachers’ talk is “direct” at the tertiary level.”

Sociologists normally define interaction as a process that takes place when people act in relation to one another in a social context. It is a process in which social actors relate to one another, especially in face-to-face encounter. Interaction can therefore take place between people and not in an isolated setting. The presence of other is essential. The concept rests on an important distinction between action and behaviour.

While behaviour consists of all that a person does, action is behaviour shaped by how other people will interpret and respond to that behaviour. If we have to describe action in simple plain English, without any sociological sheen, it simply means that, a person tries to think how the other person, who is in contact with him, understands him, assesses his probable reaction, anticipates the other’s response and then acts. (When we are trying to put the sociological concept of action in simple English, we are already trying the above process!). Thought process based on meaning is what distinguishes action from behaviour and this lies at the core of interaction as a social process. The capacities to empathise, to be able to think feels and enact like another person, is essential for social interaction to take place.

In this background it becomes a cliché if we persist to prove that class room is a site of social interaction. Classroom is where knowledge is shared and sharing can take place effectively only when the other is taken to consideration. Interaction is a dynamic process, not just a static concept. Anselm Strauss rightly characterizes this as a negotiated order: it occurs in and through people negotiating with each other. Teacher-student interaction is probably one of the most intense social situations we can encounter and which has far reaching implications.

Teacher-student interaction is intense and has serious implications because the student learns to practice critical thinking. A teacher also practices critical thinking but at present our focus is on students. To practice critical thinking, students need to participate in the discourse of the discipline--to think, speak, and be listened to as they participate in the discipline's particular mode of inquiry. Students will not get enough practice just by talking to the instructor, and very little by just listening to the instructor. Students develop competency and become critical thinkers in classroom that provides opportunities for intensive, structured interaction among students.

There is another social dimension to this interaction setting. The teaching learning process takes place in a controlled environment. Order is given equal prominence, if not more, with the way in which the express objective is pursued, i.e., sharing of knowledge. To complicate things further, teacher-student interaction, by its very nature, can be characterized as a systematic and intensive social contact, necessitating a mechanism that maintains order and control. The variables associated with the process of classroom interaction are determined by school roles and the structure of the lesson itself. In the course of the interaction, the teacher has the following roles: instructional, motivational, evaluative, managerial, and social. All classroom speech acts can be categorized according to these functions. Traditionally, the teacher controls learning and behaviour in the classroom with these kinds of speech acts.

Further, research on gender, class and race in education has examined the relationship between teacher and students in the classroom. It has been noted that different types of student groups receive varying amounts of teacher time in the education setting. It has been normally observed that boys receive higher amount of teachers’ time than the girls. It is interesting that this factor is counted as a major reason for the differences in education status of men and women. In the Indian context however it is usually the girls who perform better than boys and the links leading to this situation needs deeper exploration.

When we want to engage in finding ways to enhance class room participation in higher classes it is necessary to remember this unequal status of the participants of social interaction. Those with power are frequently least aware of – or least willing to acknowledge-its existence. Those with less power are often most aware of its existence.

Normally how does the interaction occur in a class room? Contemporary education at all levels tends to cast students in the role of content consumers; they are presented material which has been developed by others - teachers, vendors, instructional designers or other professional developers - and are expected to demonstrate that they have absorbed the content in some way.  At the level of higher classes, the learning process is very weak as the class environment is based entirely on rote memorization. There is no provision for the development of intellectual and thinking skills among students who are given very little time for active participation and interaction.  The teacher seems to be in a very dominant role in the class.  Unfortunately, the poorly structured classrooms quickly deteriorate into a vacuous waste of time.

Lecturing is a very effective and time tested method of teaching is undisputable. However, we need to remember that lecturing is not the only method of imparting knowledge. Using questions as an effective tool finds separate sessions and need not be repeated here again. It needs to be noted that in both the lecturing method and questioning method the primary role is assigned to the teacher. It is the teacher who lectures, who initiates discussion and concludes. The asymmetrical relation between teacher students imposes its own limitations. Further, in the social sciences field where the scope for having a differing view point is very large, even questions as a tool of interaction is bounded by the way questions are framed.

Interaction in the class room is not just between the teacher and student. It also happens between students-students and students-content. Since the students do not have much choice as far as their co-students are concerned, and the class room itself becomes a microcosm of the outside world, the social relationship needs attention. Students not only share the content of the course drawn from different sources including the teacher but we also see bullying, bonding and sexual harassment. In the higher classes tapping this source of diversity is essential. Directing one’s energy to this area can definitely lead to diversity in role, content and procedure. Diversity then becomes an opportunity rather than a threat.

The single most important challenge before the teacher in a class room is how to make learning a participatory exercise. Researchers have identified various types of strategies that enhance class room participation. When we say participation it is implicit that the teacher too is a participant and collaborator rather than a dictator (pun intended). Models have been given, different methods have been identified and key elements have been listed. To name just a few, randomly, we have Array Management Model based on Array Interaction Model, key elements identified by Walberg and Anderson’s Law and some basic rules given by Chet Myers. H Walberg identifies seven factors as key elements of effective teaching: engaged academic learning type, use of positive reinforcement, cooperative learning activities, positive class atmosphere, higher-order questioning, cues and feedback and use of advanced organisers. Interaction styles have also been classified as reluctant, cooperative and marginal.

Chet Myers suggests some basic rules for creating an interactive class room. He suggests that, classes can start with the statement of a problem or controversy, arranging or rearranging the available classroom space such that interaction is encouraged, effective use of silence so that students have time to reflect on the problem at hand, arrive at possible answers without too much of intrusion from the teacher, friendly atmosphere between the actors (teachers addressing the students by their name, for example).

Collaborative learning and group learning have also been frequently advocated to effectively create an interactive classroom. In all these suggestions, it should be noted that the role of teacher becomes more important and the work that the teacher has to put in increases considerably. Fundamental to these suggestions is the recognition of the fact that there is no one method of teaching and learning that can be applied to different groups of students at different points of time. The background from which both the students and teachers arrive assumes crucial significance in this context. Hence, while designing collaborative tasks it is imperative that the background of students needs to be taken in to account apart from relating it to the objective of the course and the subsequent tests that may be administered. Once the task is given the teacher should become a facilitator rather than resorting to lecturing,

 It would not be fair if we speak only of the opportunities and do not pay any attention to the structural constraints that a teacher faces while imparting knowledge and interacting with students in the classroom. Teachers do not have autonomy as far as the content of the curriculum is concerned, let alone the course they want to offer; framing of the curriculum itself has become a site of contention and dominance. They are not able to decide the number of students that a course they offer can contain. Structure of evaluation is decided by outsiders and the input from the teacher who is continually in touch with the students is of marginal significance when the final awarding of grades is concerned. The role of teacher is reduced to mere agents of information transfer where the content is provided by anonymous authority figures and the methodology is decided by “experts in the field.” These academic issues are then administered by bureaucrats and this bureaucracy is built upon suspicion rather than trust and freedom. This is not to deny that individual teachers have attempted and succeeded in innovations. This is an exception however rather than the norm. Added to this is the matter of number of students in the class room. Designing collaborative activities and providing resources for such a large number of students is simply not feasible. We also have to remember that there is a severe shortage of essential infrastructure including toilets for girls and lady teachers. In short, what we witness is overall systemic failures of the educational system.

Selected Reference:

1.      Anderson, T 2003 Getting the mix right again: An updated and theoretical rationale for interaction. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 4(2).Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/149/230

2.      Franks, Anton and Carey Jewitt 2000 The Meaning of Action in Learning and Teaching, Institute of Education, London

3.       Halsey et al 1997 Education: Culture, Economy, Society, Oxford University Press, London

4.       Maley, Alan 2003 The Dividends from Diversity, 16^th Educational Conference, Melbourne

5.       Sener, John In Search of Student-Generated Content in Online Education, e-mentor, No 4 (21) / 2007 www.e-mentor.edu.pl/eng

6.       Zinaida Z. Ilatov "Teacher-Student Classroom Interactions: The Influence Of Gender, Academic Dominance, And Teacher Communication Style". Adolescence. FindArticles.com. 08 Mar, 2011. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2248/is_130_33/ai_65306451/