“The Learnscape”

Our educational institutions are obsessed with two rituals – one, preparing for the exams and the other, writing the exams. The purpose, the objective, the planning, the process and the result, are all juxtaposed with these gilded rituals, and years just pass by. We are on the pile of generous curriculum revisions and liberal fiscal aids, but as you go deep down you will find the conventional garbage around. The ultimate vision gets lost somewhere. Thus, the classroom which is meant to open a wide window to the world becomes parochial in every sense. So how do we break this code?

One of my favorite hobbies is watching the immense evening sky and its changing patterns. Every new pattern is a charming masterpiece, and the skyscape offers limitless frames. I think our classrooms too, are wonderful learnscapes, where every individual learner is a possibility. Each learner is unique, that makes the class multiverse and hence there is much to explore. But how far is multiversity acceptable?

Whenever the teachers gathered for discussion, we used to talk about the problems of our classrooms. One of the problems, anxiously underlined was the heterogeneity of the class. I too joined the discussions eagerly as I thought that this was a serious problem which has to be managed, dealt with or sorted out. But the conclusions (some of them were mine too) were often disastrous. They very often referred to monotony in the guise of uniformity. So, of late, I have revised my thought. I think, a multiverse class offers better scope for personal and intellectual growth - both for the teacher and for the learner. Of course, there is a need for uniformity on certain aspects, but this should not be at the cost of curbing the diversity.

Our learners deserve the best. So the highest challenge for a teacher becomes providing them their own space in the classroom with a real window that would let them see the world outside, where they have to live hereafter.