Lesson 7 - Are 'traditional subjects' still relevant in the education of today and tomorrow?

My daughter loves to paint – she is quite good at it but most importantly, she enjoys it. Once we took her to an arts gallery and she saw lots of paintings. Below each painting, there was the name of the artist and besides it was the price tag. She enquired about it – I explained that these artists sold paintings to earn money. Innocently, she asked, “Baba, why don’t they work like you do in an office?”. I replied that arts and painting was their ‘work’ and that it was the means to earning money for them, just like what I did in my office. Her eyes lit up and I could sense the wheels turning in that little, yet fertile brain of hers. I braced myself for what was coming.

Over the next few days, she started ‘selling’ her paintings – meaning, she started putting price tags on her work and insisted on holding impromptu exhibitions for guests who came home. The tags had no correlation to anything. Some paintings were for INR 300 and others were for INR 2000. She started talking to guests and tried to sell her stuff – during this process, she got asked questions like, “Why is this painting costlier than the other one, if it is small? Shouldn’t smaller be less expensive?”, “This painting has more colors and must have been difficult to paint – so why is it priced the same as the other one?”.

As she was answering these questions, she started adjusting the paintings’ price tags -  for things like how beautiful the painting looked, how large/small was the canvas, how much time/effort it took for her to make and what mediums/ colors she used. After a few more days, she started including things like the cost of the canvas and the colors used as a reference point in determining the cost. Later, I saw that she was changing the price tags – when I asked her the reason behind it, she said that a few paintings were not getting sold and she thinks it is because of the price – so she was reducing it for some paintings. Finally, I was amazed one day when I asked her the cost of a house she had created. She replied, “Who is buying it? If it is you, then the painting is INR 2000, if it is Poonam Tai (our maid), then it is INR 200”.

I said, “Asya, why should the painting price differ based on who is buying it?” to which she responded, “I know you have the money but she does not. So if she wants something, I will reduce the price for her.” In just a matter of days, she had learnt so many things on her own – economics & the law of supply and demand, behavioural sciences, demonstrating empathy, behavioural economics, mathematics and of course, arts! I did not think it was possible for a child to learn all these multi-disciplinary concepts in such a short span of time through the medium of painting – it was almost like several business school courses crammed into one, albeit with a lot of underlying practical edge to it.

My reflection: It is very difficult to pinpoint what and how children will learn through their life experiences. What was meant to be a simple arts lesson, devolved into a multi-dimensional learning situation! As I reflect on the education needed for tomorrow, I think it will be imperative to break down the silos of ‘subjects’ – in language class, you learn languages and in Maths, you do Maths. This is so archaic – through gymnastics, my daughter is learning geometry (shapes like pyramids to stand on each other, physics (principles of balance and weight) and biology (importance of stretching, need for nutrition). How I wish there were schools which just had ‘time-slots’ throughout the day and the actual content was determined very differently – based on say, a song that was being played on the road, or from the fact that a kid got hurt and blood was spilt on the floor. Such experiences are far more memorable for kids and can be used as learning moments for ‘lifelong education’ rather than the artificially created constructs taught in a structured manner.

This also reminded me of the epic book, Totto-chan (a must read for all parents with school-going kids and all teachers), by Tetsuoko Kuroyanagi, wherein the Headmaster teaches kids based on actual events. For example, he tells them about flora and fauna from different surroundings by asking them to get ‘one thing from the sea and one thing from the hills’ for lunch and the class has a great discussion on the sea and hills! Similarly, a walk through the garden after lunch helps the kids not only to digest food but learn about flowers and plants in a playful environment. He also uses a ‘visit to a ghost temple’ as a means to remove the fear of ghosts and demons from the minds of kids. The Headmaster truly redefined what ‘teaching and learning are’ – the best learning happens outside the formal classroom, textbook and maybe even outside the school?

Lesson 6: The Past is History, Present a ‘real present’

I (think) I am a very patient person. It takes a lot to hassle and anger me. Yet, both my kids are able to do this quite successfully every once in a while. And this ‘success’ implies that all logical entreaties, outpourings of love, assertive statements to get them to comply are of no use. We have reached the final stage – that of anger and shouting or even more, of using physical punishment (often a slap on the bum or getting them to do 50 sit-ups or 50 jumping jacks).

Now in this final stage, both kids use various strategies to get me to dial down the escalation level (e.g., start wailing till the neighbors ring the bell, change their face to reflect the innocence of 50 rabbits, apologize profusely, run to their grandmother). However, I don’t relent – I insist on going through with the ‘stated punishment’ and I win (most times) since I am an adult and they are still kids. After getting beaten or after a set of sit-ups, they cry or sulk for 10 mins max.

What happens afterwards is truly miraculous – they come back to me and ask, “Papa, will you read this book to us?” or “Shall we play [xx] game?”. The impact of the punishment and its aftermath is over almost as if it never happened. They are fully in the zone and have moved forward – whereas, I am still thinking about my behavior – feeling guilty partially, feeling a sense of remorse or even vindication at having corrected a wrong! So I am still caught up in the past, whereas they have moved ahead in life…

This is true not just about the interactions with me but also amongst themselves. In one moment, the two siblings are each other’s worst enemies, pulling hair, taunting and teasing each other. A few minutes later, all that is forgotten and they are the best of buddies, collaborating to make something or playing contentedly in silence. By the time, I decide to intervene in a tense situation between them, the situation is normalized as if the crisis had never happened!

My reflection: As adults, we are living a large part of our life in the past, sometimes the past is years old (often decades). Enmities and grudges of yore are nursed to this day – children just look ahead. Even the immediate past is but a memory for them – and yet, as we grow big, we forget ‘how to forget’ and learn to ‘keep scores’ for eternity.

In the Hindu scriptures, one of the tenets is that God is like a child and that children are reflections of God. Of course, this has several interpretations – children are innocent and guileless like God, children are pure like God etc. One of the most profound concepts, going beyond some of these obvious interpretations is that Divinity is all about ‘living in the present’ – not sulking about the past nor agonizing about the future. And this is exactly what kids do! How I wish I am able to let go – and more importantly, how I hope that my kids learn to keep doing what they are doing now – LIVING THE PRESENT MOMENT!