“ANYONE WHO STOPS LEARNING IS OLD, WHETHER AT TWENTY OR EIGHTY.” —HENRY FORD
According to the socio-cultural theory of Vygotsky, learning starts from the interactions at the social level and then it gets carried to individual selves. In other words, these thought processes can be bundled under the theory of constructivism, which serves as the foundation of collaborative learning. Vygotsky felt social learning precedes development. The contextual aspect of learning emphasises that learning should take place in many sites, or multiple contexts, not just in classrooms to form associations and bring in impactful learning.
We enjoyed reading Jungle book, watching it as a movie, and sang ‘bear necessities’ but forgot to discover its powerful lesson.
Finally, a citation from Transforming the Systems Movement by Russell Ackoff.
“A student once stopped me in the hall and asked, ‘Professor, when did you teach your first class?’ That was easy: I answered, ‘September of 1941.’, ‘Wow!’ he said. ‘You have been teaching for a very long time.’ I agreed. Then he asked, ‘When was the last time you taught a course in a subject that existed when you were a student?’ This question required some thought but finally I got it and answered, ‘September of 1951.’ He said, ‘Do you mean to say that everything you have taught for about 50 years you had to learn without having it taught to you?’ I said, ‘Yes.’, ‘Wow,’ he said again. ‘You must be a pretty good learner.’”
Covid and the lockdown proved this beyond words. The teacher struggled to meet the demands of the student. Learned the technology, overcame the hurdles and emerged triumphant.
The NEP is giving a semblance of professional status to academia. I look forward to the day when teachers’ children would want to be teachers just like that in the army or the doctors or the engineers’ family!
Cater to the learner in a teacher. Keep that fire in the belly alive. The teacher and the parents need to work in tandem to make that little bundle of joy blossom into a global citizen.
Open your laptops and key in your reactions.