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Where TEACHERS become STUDENTS
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It was an interesting exchange of roles for the 40-odd teachers from various districts in a recent programme. R. KRISHNAMOORTHY writes
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THEY DANCE, jump, walk and run. Suddenly they split themselves into groups and make formations of lotus, tree, plant, etc.
There is more to the activities than entertainment.
It is a training programme for pre-primary and primary teachers in an informal atmosphere in the precincts of the Sivananda Balalaya, an institution advocating creative teaching and learning, located at Ramalinga Nagar along Vayalur Road.
For once, the 40-odd teachers, drawn from various districts, experienced immeasurable excitement in transforming themselves into avid learners. They had no inhibitions whatsoever in getting acquainted with interesting classroom sessions. And making them respond to the measured doses of creative instructions was R. Srinivasan, an experienced teacher-educator belonging to the Gandhigram Rural Institute.
His logic is simple. Sophisticated teaching materials are immaterial, if the teachers get into the creative teaching mould. Waste papers, cardboards and watercolours and most of all a presence of mind are all that required for making the classroom situation interesting.
It is one among the series of teacher development programmes to prevent schoolteachers from getting stagnated in their profession. Those sessions are designed to enable the teachers to shed their preconceived notions about classroom learning.
The main objective of such programmes, according to K.G. Meenakshi, the founder of the Institution, is to make the teachers realise that their skills, in fact, grow along with their students. Teachers need a constant introspection to break free from the clutches of monotony. In an ideal classroom situation, there must be enough scope for the children to infuse innovation into the learning process.
Of course, teachers' responsibility in shaping students into all-round personalities is infinite. But, should the learning process be teacher-centric? This question has, of late, begun to rankle in the minds of educationists. Educational planners, now, have to make a choice between phased learning in an independent environment and dumping of information in a controlled situation. The question now trickles down to the foundation.
Meaningful learning is just not possible for tiny tots in a dull, drab and silent classroom. Infusing elements of music, drama and dialogue in a classroom situation constitutes a positive approach, opines Dr. Meenakshi.
The misconception among parents is that play-way learning leads to dilution of academic content. The academicians, on their part, do know that such expectations are unreasonable. But, when it comes to experimentation, there is a whole lot of hesitation. None for instance, is ready to dispense with the system of heavy school bags, monthly rank cards. But the rot has to be stemmed somewhere. The Sivananda Balalaya intends to hold a convention of parents during June to sensitise them to the intellectual assimilating capabilities of children of different age groups. The kids have to be trained to be imaginative, creative and original, says Dr. Meenakshi.
As the students grow, time has to be allotted within the school hours to complete the writing works, and visiting libraries, so that the time they spend for learning at home could be devoted for reading, she adds.
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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