By Gerald Pde
I can recollect one of my happiest moments as a kid when we used to hike up Shillong Peak through the Malki forest. At that time those forest trails were like treasured secrets. The joy of discovering new spaces, seeing nature at work, the orchids growing wild on mossy trees, the glimpses of exotic birds and butterflies – it was all so joyful. It was like nature teaching us while we asked those silent questions along the trail.
I feel this whole path to development thing – the rat race, has really put a strain on our children that compels no learning beyond the classroom. My own learning in school was based on the widely practiced model which is to stare at the teacher’s face from 9 am to 3 pm, mug up a number of boring books and spit it out come exam day – no questions asked. This is what everyone needed to do to get a “job”. The funny question we should ask ourselves is – how many of us really remember everything that happens in a classroom – apart from the guy next to you eating tiffin at first period? The irony is that while it is difficult for us to remember any subject related teaching, we can remember “non teaching” related events such as an epic joke, eating outside the lunch break, heavy rains when the school gets washed out or some quaint teacher.
The point here is that we tend to remember these things more as they are usually funny, sad, joyful, experiential or interactive. And these are primarily what we as kids learn outside the classroom and in most cases they teach us life skills – the skills that define us. A child that is more exposed to the world around us, who interacts readily and asks questions without fear, a sponge – is likely to be more prepared in life. The more important question is how are we supporting our children’s learning and what are we doing to prepare them for a far more advanced future than our own- do we have an environment conducive for overall learning – the learning that will help define them?
Learning can be made so much interesting than the status quo. Being creative in teaching can help build all-round individuals who are capable of making better decisions in life. Why does learning have to be confined to a classroom? My wife who had the opportunity of studying in a western system of schooling would tell me of the fun times she remembers in school when she was actually learning a subject. In class 2 her class dug up wood louse insects and transported them and their habitat to a classroom to observe how they lived. She had to invent her own country and everything that came along with it including naming it, mapping it, currency, food, etc. Her class was broken into teams to come up with their concept for a time machine. She was taken on school day trips to museums, parks, zoos, etc. I listen to these recounts with awe and realized that we can create similar experiences here.
There are many facilities in Shillong that can be spaces to encourage hands on learning so that kids will actually remember what they learn and start thinking beyond what their textbooks tell them. We have a diverse botanical garden with many species of plants. The horticultural department tends to an array of flowers, vegetables and trees. Our forests, which hug the periphery of Shillong, are rich and teeming with life. The veterinary department manages farms keeping different domestic animals in stock. There are a number of car enthusiasts, who can enlighten us on automobiles. We have some good museums too where we can experience history and culture first hand. These are examples of immense untapped opportunities where our educational institutions can tie up with these organizations to plan day trips or workshops for students and have them see them how things work up close and make it fun.
It is quite sad that currently our parks and gardens are so badly managed. The animal land at the Lady Hydari Park has animals that are living in conditions so pathetic that someone should complain about that to animal rights groups. How can anyone take his or her kids there? The botanical garden is in shambles with liquor bottles lying all over the place – and the Golf link is one massive beer garden.
We need to revive Shillong so that it is also conducive to the kids that will inherit it. Our government departments and educational institutions should start realizing some of the treasures as play or pedagogical tools to assist in overall learning. Spaces should be created such as playgrounds, parks, botanical gardens, art and creative centers where a child can play and learn safely.
Given the chance, children have this immense ability to be creative and it is their environment that can enhance that. For those of you who watch Junior Masterchef, it is extraordinary what those children come up with and the dishes they create. I was watching TED Talks the other day and was mesmerized what little Serina Huang could play on the violin. Some of them are born with that talent others pick it up at home or elsewhere, but what’s important is that it’s the environment they are in which hone their skills. The more kids spend time in spaces conducive for play and learning, they have greater chances to realize their inner calling and who knows where it goes from there. It is our responsibility as grown-ups to provide them such spaces.
(The writer is a Shillong-based architect and environmental designer. He studied Architecture at School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi and went on to pursue a Masters in Building Design in Arizona, USA. He was working in New York till 2008 then returned to Shillong to start his own practice. He continues to travel extensively with his family)