Here is a response from a respected teacher on one of our workshops for teachers!
Let us read it in her own words.......
The urbanization has created such a situation where we are scared to send our children out alone. The cruelty of assaulting young children at the slightest opportunity has become a common shocking event. In the plight of protecting and providing children the best knowledge at the safest place on earth is- enclosed protected classrooms at schools and TV and computer tables at home. To day it is inevitable that both parents run around to pull the family cart forward to meet the ends. We know there is no end for those “ends”. Parents obviously have less time to spend with their children. We have raised and created children who are aliens to our own Natural environment.
In my career I have seen thousands of children suffering from learning disabilities just because their curriculum for learning is made up of materials using only two dimensions 1.Auditory input 2. visual input. The other sensory organs like tactile, sense of smell, sense of taste are barred of learning. Majority schools insist on reproducing the printed or written material as it is in their test or exam papers. Understanding of the subject or the concept is not focused at all. The concept of depth, space, etc are all learnt through formula and to apply this knowledge in real life is very difficult for these kids. One of my10 year old student used to wonder why is it so difficult to learn something that is already discovered, invented. If we our selves had to discover or invent how much more difficult it would be?
As a child I remember playing out doors for long hours with so many friends. We used to hide a piece of glass bangle in between the mud , divide the mud heap in to three and ask the other one to find the bangle piece. Now the glass bangles have replaced to plastic and rubber. Our children don’t see colourful glass pieces like that in any common place. Touching mud, playing in the mud helped us to overcome our sensory issues.
We also played a game with 5 small pebbles called as “Achinakallu”. One has to throw the pebbles from palm side and hold them back on the dorsal side of the palm drop down 4 of them and catch one in the hand, now throw the single pebble up take one of the pebble which is lying down and catch the thrown pebble before it drops down. This game taught us balancing, counting, eye hand coordination, spatial judgments, sense of timing, quickness, judgment of how much effort to apply to throw the pebble up to catch it back after picking a pebble from the ground and the great sense of achievement. This single game taught us Physics, maths, hand function, language skill as you interact with your friends and socialization skill.
Our parents never pampered us with junk food, we would have only three meals a day, when ever we went out to play we were ever hungry we could eat any thing irrespective of the item’s edible nature, we as friends used to plunge in to any bush and eat the fruits grown on them eg. Lantana fruit, some creepers bore white fruits, the inner core of a marigold flower below the petals, the inside portion of the gulmohar seed and many such things used to be very very tasty. We used to steal grocery from home to play family games and cook, it used to be fried dal, beaten rice, dry coconut, jaggery, ground nuts, tamarind, salt chilly powder etc. Now a days we see so many parents complaint that their only child’s only problem is being fussy in eating. Child is not allowed to get hungry there is utterly no physical exertion, above all they are allowed to eat harmful junk food. These practices naturally lead to Hyperactivity and inattentiveness. They are unable to focus on their learning activity which does not involve any physical activity.
It is high time that we need to change Teaching methodology to our future generation, facilitate and enable them to explore, learn through reasoning, and thinking. Allow the children to experiment, learn through trial and error method, touch, feel things about which they are learning to understand and learn better. In this regard Hasiru Hejje has already stepped forward we just need to pool in all those who wish to provide better learning environment to follow their foot steps and join them. Let us strengthen Teaching-learning programmes in a better way to handle this earth more meaning fully.
Champa Jaiprakash
Let us read it in her own words.......
The urbanization has created such a situation where we are scared to send our children out alone. The cruelty of assaulting young children at the slightest opportunity has become a common shocking event. In the plight of protecting and providing children the best knowledge at the safest place on earth is- enclosed protected classrooms at schools and TV and computer tables at home. To day it is inevitable that both parents run around to pull the family cart forward to meet the ends. We know there is no end for those “ends”. Parents obviously have less time to spend with their children. We have raised and created children who are aliens to our own Natural environment.
In my career I have seen thousands of children suffering from learning disabilities just because their curriculum for learning is made up of materials using only two dimensions 1.Auditory input 2. visual input. The other sensory organs like tactile, sense of smell, sense of taste are barred of learning. Majority schools insist on reproducing the printed or written material as it is in their test or exam papers. Understanding of the subject or the concept is not focused at all. The concept of depth, space, etc are all learnt through formula and to apply this knowledge in real life is very difficult for these kids. One of my10 year old student used to wonder why is it so difficult to learn something that is already discovered, invented. If we our selves had to discover or invent how much more difficult it would be?
As a child I remember playing out doors for long hours with so many friends. We used to hide a piece of glass bangle in between the mud , divide the mud heap in to three and ask the other one to find the bangle piece. Now the glass bangles have replaced to plastic and rubber. Our children don’t see colourful glass pieces like that in any common place. Touching mud, playing in the mud helped us to overcome our sensory issues.
We also played a game with 5 small pebbles called as “Achinakallu”. One has to throw the pebbles from palm side and hold them back on the dorsal side of the palm drop down 4 of them and catch one in the hand, now throw the single pebble up take one of the pebble which is lying down and catch the thrown pebble before it drops down. This game taught us balancing, counting, eye hand coordination, spatial judgments, sense of timing, quickness, judgment of how much effort to apply to throw the pebble up to catch it back after picking a pebble from the ground and the great sense of achievement. This single game taught us Physics, maths, hand function, language skill as you interact with your friends and socialization skill.
Our parents never pampered us with junk food, we would have only three meals a day, when ever we went out to play we were ever hungry we could eat any thing irrespective of the item’s edible nature, we as friends used to plunge in to any bush and eat the fruits grown on them eg. Lantana fruit, some creepers bore white fruits, the inner core of a marigold flower below the petals, the inside portion of the gulmohar seed and many such things used to be very very tasty. We used to steal grocery from home to play family games and cook, it used to be fried dal, beaten rice, dry coconut, jaggery, ground nuts, tamarind, salt chilly powder etc. Now a days we see so many parents complaint that their only child’s only problem is being fussy in eating. Child is not allowed to get hungry there is utterly no physical exertion, above all they are allowed to eat harmful junk food. These practices naturally lead to Hyperactivity and inattentiveness. They are unable to focus on their learning activity which does not involve any physical activity.
It is high time that we need to change Teaching methodology to our future generation, facilitate and enable them to explore, learn through reasoning, and thinking. Allow the children to experiment, learn through trial and error method, touch, feel things about which they are learning to understand and learn better. In this regard Hasiru Hejje has already stepped forward we just need to pool in all those who wish to provide better learning environment to follow their foot steps and join them. Let us strengthen Teaching-learning programmes in a better way to handle this earth more meaning fully.
Champa Jaiprakash
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