BLACK HOLE INFORMATION SYNDROME

I watched Alia Bhatt's Genius of the Year video yesterday and found it to be hilarious...a number of laughable moments...but at the same time as an educationist, I found it disturbing underneath. It takes so much for a girl to prove that she's not dumb.

It speaks a lot about our society's obsession to know trivia of general knowledge...and also the impact it has on people who dont know this trivia called general knowledge. It has a huge cost especially if you see from an educational angle. Thousands of teachers despise their students when they dont know whats obvious...and not all students reach the Dumb Belle Mental Gym.

Knowing or not knowing something doesnt make a zilch of a difference as far as education is concerned. And the biggest mistake an educationist can do to make somebody learn is to mock that person about not knowing something.

Now I know she said Prithvi Raj Chauhan was India's President or something and I dont know why she said what she said. And you could consider it as an information important enough. But frankly speaking how does it matter if she doesnt.

Though it was a spoof kind of thing, but when Alia cried in the end. It was all the pain of the person, who has to prove herself...prove herself for what. Thousands of people make this effort to attain trivial general knowledge to prove that they are cool. They dont even know the pain they are in...of having to know everything...because its endless. Thats what I call Black Hole Information Syndrome. Are you suffering from it.

I was just sharing with a friend how annoying it is to sit with people who know everything...music, politics, films, international affairs, food, science, history etc. And then my friend remarked...actually all these people must perhaps be very lonely in life and have nothing else to do but to gather information. Dont know if thats true...but I am sure they are out there to prove...they are not dumb.

Guys you are not dumb...stop gathering this information...stop proving yourself.

Its all right to know something and not to know something.

On a different note and I have written a lot about it earlier...Quiz is the most dumb thing educationists created. Testing people on information they memorised. When I was in school people memorised country capitals and currencies. Why would any sane person do it? What use is this information? But somehow Quizzing has reached our DNA...Imagine KBC. We enjoy us being challenged around the information we have? Its a sport or a game to get more marks or less? Hardly do we realise that in this game of information gathering we kill the real learning? No wonder then the information gatherers are in IITs and in IAS, while the real learners do some odd jobs. Ha ha.

P.S- The movie also has a pedagogical discourse on teaching methods...teaching through dance etc. Enjoy the film...even if you are not an educationist. Its meant to entertain not to educate.

Learning from Conflict

The entire country and especially Bangalore is protesting the rape of a 6 year old in a school. Parents are out protesting on the road demanding action. CM’s remarks are making the news. All parents with school going children know about the issue and are talking about it at home, office and public places…everywhere.

But what about the children? Somehow we tend to leave children out of all conversations with regards to the ugly side of the society. For most parents and even educationists, children must live in a cocoon, not only unharmed but even uninformed about what’s happening in the society.

But do you think a child doesn’t get to know when the parents fight? Of course they do because they have been watching you closely. However, the same may not happen when it’s a social issue. Children often get misinformed or illinformed, making their own meanings of a situation.

Having said that, what most of us parents and even educationists miss out is the opportunity available to us to talk about these issues with children at such points and consequently impact their learning. This is the time for parents to talk to their children about the menace of rape.

I checked with a fellow educator friend. Thankfully, she told me that she spoke to her daughter about it but not the son. She now plans to have a conversation with her son as well.

Krishna Kumar, former director NCERT had taken this matter up beautifully in the book ‘Learning from Conflict’. He shares that every time there is a riot or bomb blast in the city, while everybody talks about it, the schools remain silent. The teachers don’t talk to the children about it. I am told that’s what’s happening in Bangalore.

While the entire media is talking about the issue, all that the schools around India are doing is gossip about it in staff rooms and corridors. It’s a time for schools to ‘learn from this conflict’ and engage students in a discussion around the issue, appropriately. There is a lot of learning which will happen in the process. They will be surprised of what comes out of it. At least get the teachers in a room and have a discussion on the issue.

There is a lot of discussion around the issue of sex education in this country and its still a big taboo in the top schools of this country.  People see the Bangalore incident as related and desist from the topic. It’s the same mentality of women not talking of abuse. But what would explain the schools not discussing the Muzaffarnagar riots or the Gaza invasion and killings?

Its high time we realise that we could utilise conflicts as great learning opportunities for us as well as our children. Are we really educating children merely to become great professionals (read Maths/Science) or are we educating them to become citizens of this world? who know how to deal with issues like hatred and conflict. Its time to reorient education. Its time for education for peace and sustainable development. 

India's new HRD minister Smriti Irani

Smriti Irani is India's new HRD minister and she is not a graduate. Thats the news and everybody is talking about it. Now I am not a BJP guy but an aam aadmi. Still I guess that shouldnt stop me from being on her side.

Now, let me tell you that I am one who thinks that India's sports bodies should be run by sportspeople and not politicians but I wonder why when it comes to education I am ok with a rather less educated HRD minister.

Perhaps because I am a pedagogue by heart and I put learning above knowledge. I think education is everybody's business. Everybody learns...even an illiterate. Perhaps the learning of an illiterate is more experiential than the lettered. And mind it experiential learning is what everybody wants.

I am thinking of giving some absurd examples of Shatrughan Sinha being a succcessful Health Minister and Lalu being  a successful Railway minister...but let me refrain from that logic and follow the pedagogic line.

What India requires is not a Hoxbridge educated person as the Education Minister but a person who understands learning. We talk about 3 idiots and about how the education is not delivering what is wanted because we put something else in the forefront rather than learning. We are more interested in having the correct definition of a machine and less interested in the simplicity of what it is ( 3 idiots style). Similarly, we are more interested in a educationally defined HRD Minister rather than a learning oriented HRD Minister.

I think academic qualification is no merit for being a HRD minister as long as a minister understands the learning needs of the people of India. That ways Raju Hirani or the script writer of 3 idiots would be a better HRD minister. And why not...what we want in India is someone sensible to be at the helm of affairs at HRD...and who knows it is Smriti.

Also, let me make it clear that I am not against a highly educated HRD minister but for me the first criteria is the person being open to learning. As I say many a times, a gold medalist in Physics may not be the best physics teacher. A second class in Physics person may be a better teacher.

I am not a great fan of Modi but I happened to listen to one of his speeches long time back (one of the numerous he made in the run up to the elections)..I think at a college in Delhi. And he reiterated that he would like to create the best teachers so that they can impact this country. Now if Smriti got that then I think a lot could be done in the HRD ministry because I am in for a strong teacher education oriented HRD ministry.

All the best Smriti.

Stellar Museum at Ambience Mall

With such a strong ad campaign...I couldnt stop myself but to be at the Children's Stellar Museum at Ambience Mall in Gurgaon.

I wonder why they chose to be called a Museum...may be because they thought parents would be happy to take kids to a museum than an entertainment centre.

Anyhow...here are my thoughts about the place.

Its basically a space with multiple areas where kids can entertain themselves and also get educated about some aspects. So, there is a space which has some dynamics of air...things fly, a place where you can build up stuff with blocks, a section...where you can play and channelise water...a place where you can play doctor doctor type games...some other sections where you can paint and play with clay...and other such activities


There are few more games...the most popular, where you can push some assorted straws to make some patterns. There is also a gear wall...which I was most amused with.

While its a good start by Indian standards...I think those guys need to do a need analysis with children and see what works and what doesnt as there are clearly some sections which kids are not at all amuse about.

I think a lot more can be added to make this place interesting. Right now as there is a vacuum in this arena...thats why this place has a foot fall...parents leave there children at this place..if they need to roam around the mall. Also, it seems to be a good place to do your birthday parties...saw many parents doing a reccee for a birthday party. The place also has a cafe.

While you should definitely take your kids to this place once...they need to do a lot to make this place happening. They need to be  introducing more stuff in the museum and may be stop calling it a museum and get some more hands on stuff.

Bihar and Bihar Curriculum Framework

Life took me to SCERT Bihar. A place which is the center stage of pedagogy in Bihar. And it was an experience to be remembered.

The place itself was awesome. The Bihar SCERT is housed in a palatial building ( as my friend Sushant puts it) and it is indeed palatial. Informal conversations revealed that some portions of the campus were used in World War II. That makes it historic.

But this isnt only about the historicity of the place.

For me it was surprising that a state of India, which is considered to be at the bottom of the development index is simmering with pedagogues, whether from SCERT or some small District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) in a nondescript place like Lakhiserai.

Most Indian pedagogues take pride in the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005 and it came as a surprise to know that Bihar was the first state to come up with its own Bihar Curriculum Framework. This was interesting news as Bihar is not considered any way up the literacy ladder.

No doubt that the people at SCERT took pride in it and the fact that they challenge the NCF and in fact made it add a chapter or two with inputs from Bihar.

I havent read the BCF or Bihar Curriculum Framework till now but its exciting that Bihar was the first state to produce its own Curriculum Framework.

I was also bowled over by the participation of the DIET teachers and Principals which attended a workshop done by my organisation. They were indeed grounded in pedagogy and towards the end surprised me as they summarised the learnings from a workshop which we conducted.

I have always felt that India would change the day Bihar changes and I am glad to know that it indeed is on its way in a bright way.

Sixteen - a peek into an urban teen's life

Sixteen is the latest flick at the box office, all about teens and their socio-emotional life.

One thing was clear for me while watching this film...that I need to spend some time with the teenager students in a school and understand their lives before writing articles as an educationist and pedagogue.

This is a film about four friends from middle and upper middle class studying in a upmarket school in Delhi. After a long time I have seen a film about schools where adults dont rule the movie. The four teens rule this film.

The film does not sermonise on how life should be but just presents it to the audience. Yes...the director has picked up some exclusive cases...perhaps not all teens go through the events shared in the film. But for sure...all teens would relate to the film in having portrayed their lives vividly.

The film shows the parent child relationship very beautifully and has a variety of parent characters starting from overtly strict/abusive parents to parents, who give a lot of freedom their kids.

As the posters tell you...this film is also about sex and how teenagers take to it. It somehow takes away all the significance that the society attaches to sex. The film has been given an A certificate, which means the average school going student cannot watch this film. Thats the irony as I would certainly want to screen this film in a school.

For all the adults who talk about how teenagers should be and those dealing with their lives...its a must watch. Perhaps you could take a lesson in parenting through the film.

Touching a variety of issues like peer pressure, teenage pregnancy, teenage delinquency and alcohol...its a delight to be in a teen's world for the duration of the film.

Watch it just to be in the world of an average urban middle class teen.

P.S - I would love to break the rule...screen this film for a group of teens and have a group discussion around it. Any takers.

As a pedagogue, the only thing I want to do is to go and have discussions with teenagers on issues raised in the film

Some of the scenes I enjoyed were:

1. Conversation between two teens as they are bunking the morning assembly...and the morning assembly goes on.
2. Conversations between the son and the father, who wants his son to be an IAS
3. Conversation between the daughter and father, who trusts her daughter not to let him down
4. Conversation between the drunk teenaged girl(Tanisha) and a young lad in the lawn of the house.

Tanisha is a star...I loved her.

Repairing-Restarting-Reusing: Teaching Innovation in schools

Everybody swears by innovation and wants innovation. We have numerous anecdotes and stories about how innovation happened...How some people created some new things/ideas/processes. But nobody knows how does anyone teach innovation.

There are exercises and activities to initiate people into thinking and creativity...But innovation is still far far away. But outcomes of these activities dont lead to innovation.

One thing that I noticed early on was that one key element in many innovations is a problem and then creating a solution to it. Another thing that I realised is that 'repairing' something is a key innovation activity.

Was glad to read about the 'Restart Project' being run in UK somewhere...where people get together to restart or repair something...(restart)old transistors and other electronic gadgets. The founders knew that this was a regular affair in developing countries but had perhaps died out in the developed world.

Also, repair has a lot to do with the environment as well...no wonder the tweet that led me to Restart project was tweeted by a environmentalist. 

But right now my effort is to bring environment, innovation and education on the same platform...and actually talk about the interface of all the three.

In my book...To, The Principal...Yours sincerely, I have talked of the idea of a 'kabaaad se jugaad' innovation lab...a lab at the interface of environment, innovation and education.

A lab full of all the tools (read screw drivers, spanners, springs, pulleys etc) and full of kabaad (read junk) old machines etc which are now junk. Using all of these to first get acquainted with how things work first and then using some of the material available to make something knew.

If children and left with constructive material to work with...even if it is junk...you dont need a Lego. Just old junk can work wonders with children and even adults. And the process of repairing leads to innovation. It could be even as simple as repairing a chair with a broken leg. 

My father was an Aeronautical engineer and often used to tell me that there are so many innovators in Old Delhi and Ludhiana that they could make a plane if asked to do. Dont think it was an exaggeration.

What the Restart project is doing is intrinsic and embedded in developing economies. 

I started on one such innovation lab in a school in Delhi. We asked students to get old material from home and we got some basic tools, screw drivers and spanners. It was fun dismantling stuff for all of them.

In subsequent classes we went on to take some specific items. We got a locksmith to our lab and got him to show us whats inside a lock...how do levers work. It was all fun.

Found out later that a Sweden based organisation called Snilleblixtarna is doing similar activities with children even in Grades 1 and 2.

Its just activities like these, which will get us to innovation as there is no specific path.

If we can teach innovation embedded in repair (reuse or recycle)...it will be best for the planet as we would be addressing the two most pressing needs of the planet envisaged in environment and innovation.