‘Broadstreaming, not Mainstreaming’ – An Approach towards Solutions for Inclusive Development was delivered at XLRI, Jamshedpur as inaugural address in the conference on ‘Solutions to Inclusive Development’ on January 29, 2010.
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Broadstreaming, Not Mainstreaming
Creative Knowledge was released on the occasion of inaugration of Ritu Sinha Knowledge Centre for Creative Learning at School of Creative Learning on December 27, 2009. Visit Picasaweb RSKCCL for RSKCCL Inaugration pictures.
For a PDF of the same, click Creative Learning Games I
Before starting a game, the first task is to collect players. Two or three children decide as to which game is to be played. Then they join hands and go on chanting in loud voice by shaking joined hands up and down.
We want to play Queenie, Queenie.
We want to play Queenie, Queenie
Who wants to play Queenie, Queenie.
Who wants to play Queenie, Queenie.
Or
Come and join, come and join.
Join the ring, join the ring.
(Replace Queenie, Queenie by the name of the game played).
On hearing the chanting the children interested in playing “Queenie, Queenie” join hands and start chanting. This way the voice becomes louder and louder. The process continues till the required number of children have given consent to play the game.
(Excerpt from the book Creative Learning by Vijoy Prakash)
One of the interesting findings of researches on learning is that the child should be exposed to reading books from quite early in life. This process should start as early as possible without even waiting for the child to show responses to the stimuli. Now it is also being suggested that a child should be read a story or shown pictorial stories right from his/her birth, when he/she returns from the hospital. It may appear that the child is not responding to the story or is not looking at the storybook, but gradually, it would be realised that the faculty of reception sharpens. It has been found that if a child is read a storybook right from birth, he/she may start reading the book right from the age of 3-4 years.
Similarly, if a child is exposed to songs, tunes and rhythms right from birth, s/he becomes more receptive to the rhythmic tunes. If a child were shown more and more pictures from early childhood, his/her spatial intelligence would be more developed in comparison to the child who is not shown any such pictures. Since information is received through sensory organs, all sensory organs should be fully developed to receive information. Hence, games and activities must be designed for developing all sensory organs in early childhood.
Grandma’s Techniques
Many children show great reluctance in eating. There is an age-old tradition to make various designs of ‘rotis’ (breads) for children. Some breads will look like animals, for example, goat, or birds like parrot, or in some geometrical designs. These designs are not only suited to the temperament of the child to facilitate eating, it also makes them learn about various animals, birds, geometrical designs, etc.. Even if the child may be reluctant to eat, he eats the bread, when it is presented in the form of some geometrical design. Many parents further facilitate eating by linking the design to some story. For example, they may narrate a story of a bird and present the bread in the form of the bird to the child.
(Excerpt from the book Creative Learning by Vijoy Prakash)
Dining time is another great occasion for learning. Dining together in a family situation is helpful not only in binding the family together, it helps in understanding likes and dislikes of family members also. It is also useful in effecting emotional closeness among family members.
Traditionally, mother and grandmother used to remain present during dining time of the children and other persons, even if they were not dining themselves. This was helpful in showing concern for the family members.
Dining time interactions can be an extremely useful period for learning. This period could be used for
• Learning the experiences of the children during the day in the school and outside.
• Telling the experience of parents during the day.
• Telling the history of the family and the village.
• Discussion on the problems encountered during the day by different members of the family and possible solutions thereof
• Story/puzzle/jokes telling session by children/parents
• Discussion on any news items or important events of the day.
(Excerpt from the book Creative Learning by Vijoy Prakash)
When young infants go to bed, they expect their parents to be with them. This is a good occasion to interact with them. It has been seen that songs and stories narrated to them at this time have great impact on the development of their brains. Earlier, we had folk stories for these occasions. Now, as parents are living in a nuclear situation and are generally extremely busy people, most of them do not remember these stories. As such, they are not able to make best use of these occasions. There is an urgent need to collect such stories or to write new stories and supply them to young couples.
Shampa learns Hanuman Chalisa at 3 years
Shampa was born in a middle class family. When she was a child of 3 years, her mother Sharda Sinha, a teacher educator, used to sing Hanuman Chalisa (40 couplets in the praise of Lord Hanuman), when she went to sleep. She used to start singing, when she was going to sleep and continued till she was fast asleep. As a result, Shampa learnt Hanuman Chalisa by heart, even at the age of 2 years, which is a commendable feat for any child. Today Shampa is a teacher at Teacher’s Training College, Patna. She feels that such techniques used by her mother had a great impact on her life.
(Excerpt from the book Creative Learning by Vijoy Prakash)
Family is said to be the first school, but we have done little to develop it as the first school. Swami Dayanand had identified father, mother and teacher to be the three pillars of education of a child. In Satpatha Brahman it was said,
matriman pitrimanaachryavan purusho ved
(A man is knowledgeable, if he is under the guidance of learned mother, father, and teacher.)
Unless all pillars are equally strong, the child cannot be said to be properly educated. Today couples get married. They also have children. But, they are never trained in the methods of rearing the children. They are never told how they should steer the child in the elementary stages of learning. It has now been established that about 90% of the development of brain take place before the end of 5 years. Since couples do not know how to take care of the child, they depend mainly upon hit and trial methods. Thus, children may not attain full development of brain as per their own potential. As such, they are not fully prepared to take advantage of the learning system, when they enter the school system.
Abstract
The gamma-ray luminosity due to the decay of pions produced during spherical accretion onto rotating black holes has been calculated. The model consists of a Kerr black hole of arbitrary angular momentum surrounded by interstellar gas consisting of completely ionized hydrogen atoms. There is an 80% increase in flux as we go from Schwarzschild to the extreme Kerr case.
Paper published in The Astrophysical Journal, 280:848-852, 1984 May 15
Continue reading Gamma-Rays from rotating black holes
For viewing a PDF, please visit Achhe ko Achha kahein
The book Abhivanchiton ka Shikshadhikar – Education for Underprivileged, authored by Vijoy Prakash and Prof Shailendra Kr Shrivastava has been published by Rajkamal Publication, New Delhi.
About the book
Modern education system serves the needs of upper and upper middle class only. Confined to their own world realities Lower middle and middle class children don’t get anything get anything except imitating others. We have tried to take education to underprivileged and marginalised, but we are yet to assess the real impact of this education system on them. This book tries to develop parameters of assessment of nature, quality and quantity of education to different communities. At the same time it provides the assessment of education in different communities based on the detailed census of one Panchayat.
Based on the action research the book also suggests a practical model for making positive intervention empowering underprivileged to take better advantage of the education system.It also underscores that underprivileged children are as much valuable capital as are children from well off families. What is needed is an honest and sincere effort to bring them into mainstream. For this purpose the book also suggets modalities for broadsteaming of education for mainstreming of children.