The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : A must read

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Wednesday, Sep 07, 2005

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Opinion - Letters to the Editor

A must read

The article "For a child-inspired education system" (Sept. 6) is a must read for every teacher at every level of education. On the issue of knowledge not being encapsulated in our genes, we should use our other `replicator,' the memes (an element of a culture or system of behaviour passed from one individual to another by imitation or other non-genetic means), a concept propounded by Prof. Richard Dawkins. We have to spread memes amongst our children through education.

Raghuram Ekambaram,
New Delhi

It was the eminent educationist Dr. A.N. Whitehead who coined the expression "tunnel vision" to describe the conventional system of education, which suppresses unconventional and original thinking in a child.

A mother took her five-year-old for admission to a school. The headmistress, after putting a few simple questions to him, asked: "What makes the day bright?" The conventional answer would have been sunlight. But the boy said: "flowers and butterflies." The headmistress burst into laughter and said, "This is the best wrong answer I have ever received. I see a future Wordsworth in him. I shall take him."

K.S.S. Sarma,
Kurnool, A.P.

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