A PARADIGM SHIFT !

CHANGING THE WAY WE INTERACT FOR CHANGING THE WAY WE EDUCATE - A PARADIGM SHIFT!

If individuals, families, societies, nations have to move forward and become a global village the paradigm must shift.

If we are to continue with educating the future citizens of tomorrow, the way we have been educated we would make them most unfit and ill-equipped for their tomorrow.

So what do we need to do?

Throw out the age old patterns, systems of education.

Change the way we look at things.

Bring about a transformation through a revolution if necessary.

Let us stop labelling. Let us get out and away from banding labels as a fashion.

Let us go back to our children, sit down with them, ask them meaningful and open questions like,

what they want to know, learn,

how would they like to learn,

what would they like to do by learning it in a particular way,

how does or how would it help them

and what do they want to do by learning a particular topic, subject- matter in a particular way.

Let us know from them what they have visualized as a result or what they seek from their preferred style, way, manner of learning.

Do we have the courage to do so?

For this we must get rid of the old and embrace the new.

First step should be to, Get Rid of the Negativity.

Can we as parents and all responsible stakeholders stop using negatives in our lives?

Can we stop saying, “Don’t run on the road”.

Can we try saying more often, “Walk on the pavement than running on the road”.

Can we stop saying, “Don’t forget to bring your lunch box home, Don’t forget to write what the teacher writes on the board.

Can we start trying to say, “My dear Remember to bring your lunch box back, Remember to write down what the teacher writes on the board”.

Can we begin using more positive strokes and positive reinforcing acts in speech and behaviour.

The result of this if practiced by all consciously would be far reaching and have deep impact on all human beings.

It is said that an average person receives about 4000 negative strokes or words or acts of behaviour, against an average of only 200 positive strokes or words or acts of behaviour on an average day.

Very simple, each one is invited to see and recall for oneself how many positive strokes have they received on any given day.

It is always the negative strokes are higher than the positive strokes.

This in turn gets reinforced in children who are forever receiving negative strokes and more than positive strokes.

These results in fear, mistrust or distrust uncertainty and even possibly tense moments for a child.

This continues and gets reinforced in school through disciplining and penal acts, regardless of how mild they are construed to be.

Imagine this manifesting itself in an adult and what do you have?

Do we have adult children who are positive, open and explorative by nature?

To the contrary and naturally we have adult children, who have behavioural issues, are tense, have speech concerns like stammering, and even on the verge of negative thinking.

So what should be done?

Shall we continue with the old tried and tested or opt out for a change as in a paradigm shift of being consciously interacting in and with positive ways and manners.

It is time we shed the old and embrace the new.

Let each one of us as responsible and caring stakeholders in the future of our children, start by addressing matters positively than negatively.

Let us encourage them to go out and seek on their own.

Yet let us always be there as their moment of support only for short spells, than firmly holding their hand and directing them where we want them to go.

What would be the outcome?

This will result in children who are free from, “Fear, Forthwith, Open, Trusting, Dynamic, Filled with Joy and Positive by themselves and in nature.

This would be the signal start to a better and new world.

This would mean education institutions and educators would be positive, open, dynamic, constantly thinking of doing better than continuing with the old and stale.

Let us awake!

Let us go forth!

You may like to watch,Ken Robinson says Schools Kill Creativity at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLi-vJSNP6U

Thank you,

Best Wishes,

A.S.Prasad.