Donate to Raghavendra Brindavan
Download
Tamil Fonts
|
|
Set your children on the THINKING PATH
|
Education |
 Have you ever watched a child play? Even if there are no friends or toys, they still engage themselves in imaginary conversations, asking questions, answering them and remaining occupied this way for long hours.
Children learn not just by listening but by talking. Talking sets their thought process in motion and they start questioning, not only those around them but themselves too. Indeed what better way of learning can there be if not questioning? But what happens when a child is put to school? The first thing they are taught is "Be Quiet!" This is catching on at homes too where parents ask the children "to play without making any noise!"
It is in this context that PSBB Schools have introduced what they call, "Language laboratories", where the insistence is on listening and conversing, and not on writing. "We learn a language by speaking it and listening to it, never by writing it", explains, Mrs. Y.G.P. Language laboratory was a curriculum, originally planned by the Americans, where the children create situations and develop the language to express them.
Children should also be encouraged to experiment with thoughts. Experiment is not something one does in the labs alone. "Lateral Thinking" is one such feature, where children are given unusual situations and unusual problems and they come up with unusual solutions.
I am reminded of a story that is an eye-opener of sorts in lateral thinking. In this story, a wistful king gives a strange pardon to a condemned man. He says to the prisoner facing the gallows, "If you make my horse fly, I will set you free!" and he gives him exactly a month to achieve this feat. The man is overjoyed but his wife was still weeping uncontrollably thinking of the fateful day one month hence. The prisoner consoles his wife saying, "Don't worry, Dear. There are three possibilities that may happen within the allotted time and I may still be free." When his wife asks him what the possibilities were, he explains, "One month is a long time. Within that time, the horse may die; the king may die; and the third possibility being the horse may fly after all!"
 "Futurology" is another concept where the children's imagination is kindled to think about the future, today's effects on the world of tomorrow, and they discuss, draw or present in varied ways, solutions to the future problems that may have to be implemented from now. This ensures not just a fertile thinking ground but also responsible future citizens.
|
|
