A group of students started helping staff to clean-up school area. No one told them to, they just got together and started voluntary service. It is not very often that you get to see such helpful attitude in schools but then the eight and nine year olds are innovative and nothing would stop them.
This was a great opportunity I couldn't let go. I wanted to use this chance to infect more kids with the same bug, I took photos and posted them around the school. Kids just love to see themselves in the photos. There was great excitement for two days.
Then something strange happened which I was not prepared for. After two days the spontaneous help stopped. Finished. No one came to help; kids said they prefer to play or chat. It puzzled me.
Many days later, I brought up the subject with them. The kids said there were too many others now wanting to share the work and no one got happy enough. Further, kids who started it didn't like the spot-light turned on them through the photos. My pro-activeness had effectively killed the social phenomena. The promotion had exactly opposite effect to what I naively expected.
Its been a months since then and some kids have returned to help again. This time around, I am keeping away from them. They know better.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
Lot of things, but nothing to do.
Today there is much more focus on things. Children want things that they see on TV or are talked about by their friends. Parents are also eager to buy things for their kids - books, toys, cloths, shoes, video games (you get the point).
However, things such as these can't teach as much as various activities could teach us. So we, parents and teachers, need a plan to convert demand for things into suggestions for activities.
For example, if a child demands a plane or a car then, can he or she rather buy aero-modeling kit ? Instead of buying a foot-ball, can we put that money in football coaching ? Instead of buying computer games can that money be saved for a programing course ? Instead of buying cloths can that money be used to pay for summer camp ?
While things give you instant pleasure they don't usually build useful skills. On the other hand activities require a longer term involvement and commitment. While most things you can't carry around with you or won't last long, the skills you learn stay with you life-long.
Do we give such alternatives to children and teach them to choose activities over things ? We should be ready with a list of "to do" activities when the demand comes.
Which would you prefer - a kids saying "I know how to do this" or a kid saying "I have so many things" ?
However, things such as these can't teach as much as various activities could teach us. So we, parents and teachers, need a plan to convert demand for things into suggestions for activities.
For example, if a child demands a plane or a car then, can he or she rather buy aero-modeling kit ? Instead of buying a foot-ball, can we put that money in football coaching ? Instead of buying computer games can that money be saved for a programing course ? Instead of buying cloths can that money be used to pay for summer camp ?
While things give you instant pleasure they don't usually build useful skills. On the other hand activities require a longer term involvement and commitment. While most things you can't carry around with you or won't last long, the skills you learn stay with you life-long.
Do we give such alternatives to children and teach them to choose activities over things ? We should be ready with a list of "to do" activities when the demand comes.
Which would you prefer - a kids saying "I know how to do this" or a kid saying "I have so many things" ?
Monday, December 7, 2009
The Cascade effect
A School is like any other legacy system. Over the time lethargy sets in and people tend to become fatalistic and disillusioned. I am not an expert on how to turn around such organizations but a couple of things I notice.
In such organizations, questioning fundamental premises or giving radical alternatives doesn't work. The system has lost any flexibility to respond to any such solutions. In fact, that is why it has became a legacy in first place.
What we need to do is to engineer small, successive and positive accidents. These may be trivial but they should work. This gives a feel that system is responding, which in-turn changes the mindset of stake-holders. The good news is that even though the grown-ups would have largely given-up, schools have large population of young crowd which is willing to try.
After many small positive accidents, one should try out bigger proposals that are also guarantied to succeed. And slowly people would get into good mood and are willing to try new things. At least that is the hope.
Schools, of all, need to be very responsive to changes happening in the society. Its only through such cascade effects that we may have of hope changing the schools.
In such organizations, questioning fundamental premises or giving radical alternatives doesn't work. The system has lost any flexibility to respond to any such solutions. In fact, that is why it has became a legacy in first place.
What we need to do is to engineer small, successive and positive accidents. These may be trivial but they should work. This gives a feel that system is responding, which in-turn changes the mindset of stake-holders. The good news is that even though the grown-ups would have largely given-up, schools have large population of young crowd which is willing to try.
After many small positive accidents, one should try out bigger proposals that are also guarantied to succeed. And slowly people would get into good mood and are willing to try new things. At least that is the hope.
Schools, of all, need to be very responsive to changes happening in the society. Its only through such cascade effects that we may have of hope changing the schools.
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