Where learning springs from

Aditi Mathur and Ratnesh Mathur

The purpose of life is to have purpose in life.

Learning always lies in individuals, not in institutions. Just because you belong to an institution, it doesn’t necessarily transfer the learning to you. You have to constantly make your own efforts for that learning to happen.

Some of us believe that learning can happen “from” others. But this, as far as I am concerned is a misplaced notion. Learning rarely happens from others. It may happen “because” of others or “through” others, but not from others.

For centuries we have sprawled at a “guru’s feet” thinking learning (or sometimes even enlightenment) will happen. Some of us even keep books under our pillows in the hope that knowledge will flow into our minds. We believe that somebody will “give” us learning. But that’s not true.

Others can only stimulate you – you still need to do.
Others can only show you – you still need to see.
Other can only explain to you – you still need to think.
Others can only bring you to the well – you still need to drink.

Many of us join classes, courses, institutions, and even organizations believing that we will learn.

But unfortunately that doesn’t happen. People go about wearing this degree or the name of the institution on their forehead touting their assumed intellect. A friend once told me, “I am what I am because of the institution I went to.” I told him, “Wrong – you are you because of yourself. A particular piece of earth might be more conducive for a rose to grow but a rose determined to grow will grow even in rocks.”

The key to learning then is work – effort, diligence, and industry.

And work requires energy. Our ancestors recognized the importance of work and energy as the core to learning. That is why all our ancient institutions expounded the system of learning where work was key.

But carrying much more potential, much more impact is an energy which many of us miss – that is the creative energy. The sheer energy release when we embark on a creative endeavour is truly unmatched. Time blurs, the world around us blurs, the past and future blurs when this creative energy drives our complete being into a productive and industrious state of operation.

This is the energy of being in the present. As the neurons of our brain go into a tizzy – during such an unleash of energy – we are absorbing, doing, creating, and most importantly learning. Creative energy is the energy of freedom, where thoughts, emotions and effort freely mingle and explode in many directions. The result is oneness with ourselves as well as the world around us.

Each one of us would have experienced this in some form or other – be it cooking, gardening, writing a letter, participating in a sport, and so on. Creative energy is the energy of doing – not from a mechanical state of mind – but from an unleashed, uninhibited and unassumed mind which is bent on experimenting, exploring, and experiencing itself as well as the world around it.

So the question is, what releases this creative energy?

According to us it is an environment that believes that we have this energy in us and allows us to dream, fail, and enjoy learning.

For most of us, the many things we do serve secondary or unreal purposes like learning for exams. Can we get real in classrooms? Look and value – in children – purposes, passions, joy of doing, and learning?, Can we tell each child – you are AM’ABLE – go for your dreams.

Let’s conclude this with a quote from Gandhiji: “I claim to be no more than an average man with less than average abilities. I have not the shadow of a doubt that any man or woman can achieve what I have, if he or she would make the same effort and cultivate the same hope and faith.”

The purpose of life is to have purpose in life.

BOX: Nine ways to make the classroom a creative den

1. Shift your focus away from rewards, praise, exams, prizes. If possible remove them totally.
2. Remove anything that points towards one (right) answer (even in maths) – let the children explore.
3. Remove activities, lesson plans, projects, structured time. Replace these with nothing.
4. Put funny constraints – write test paper with left hand, solve maths problem on your right arm, paint with toes, etc.
5. Put forth funny expectations – do only ¾ of the homework, you have to get at least 3 answers wrong, etc.
6. Play while learning – e.g.: give children names of the parts of a flower and then ask them to verbally fight with each other.
7. Stop guiding/teaching/advising them. Help their creativity by not helping them.
8. Best is the enemy of good. Stop pushing them to do their best, allow them to do their worst.
9. Value creativity – for each homework, project, exam answer keep aside separate grading for creativity, for humour, for enjoyment.

The authors run an open unschool called Aarohi and invite all readers to visit and see how open learning can be an amazing way to work with children. They also conduct training retreats and online training for teachers and parents. Visit www.aarohilife.org.