The joys of teaching and learning together
Jayapadma R. V.
“What subjects do you teach?” I am often asked. I pause, and give a long-winded answer. It will not do to simply say, “I teach economics.”
At its core, economics is the study of how scarce resources are utilized to meet multiple (and often competing) needs and wants. It deals with how goods and services are produced, distributed and consumed, whether they are directed at private or public needs and welfare, and a host of other complex issues which concern society as a whole.
The study of economics therefore draws extensively on geography (what resources are available, where, and how much), sociology and psychology (how and why do people behave the way they do), history finds its place in good measure (for where we are in the present cannot be explained without knowing how we got here in the first place), political science (the state and systems of how government shapes economies), among others. Since economics is considered a social ‘science’, it draws on mathematics, often loaded with statistics. Laws, policies, business, trade, all get inexorably linked with the study of economics. It wouldn’t be a far stretch to link most subjects with the study of economics.
Teaching economics therefore had me relying in good measure on my colleagues who were assigned to teach history, geography, psychology, sociology, business, and sometimes even the ‘science’ teachers.
I have, in my teaching experience, benefited extensively from teaching in collaboration with my colleagues. The student, who was trying to learn had to appreciate the interconnections across ‘subjects’ in the curriculum and not “learn subjects” in silos. It enriched the learning process, lifting the bar from what was anticipated and expected as a learning objective, not to mention the sheer energy that classes were infused with, when they had an element of looking at the same topic from a different and deeper perspective.
The intersections of geography and economics
My colleague Aditi was teaching geography while I taught economics to the same set of high school students. She was to teach about resources, and I was to teach economic development. Together we came up with a plan on how we could get students to study these topics – one in geography and the other in economics in an inter-related manner.
For this we divided the class into groups to study a few topics. We also posed a few questions which they would explore across all the topics:
• What are the key resources in each context? What are the existing use of resources? What are the anticipated uses? What are the trade-offs? Who gains and who loses?
• How does ‘development’ and use (exploitation) of ‘resources’ affect people’s livelihood practices? How does such ‘development’ affect the economy and ecology?
Groups of students studied the following topics, using resources in the library and what they found through internet search, which culminated in presentations.
Mining in the Niyamgiri hills and SEZs in Kutch
• Can economic development take place in a manner that leaves the resources in the same or better condition than they were before the intervention?
Tourism-led development in Uttarakhand
• Is there a relation between a natural disaster and long-term approaches on planning for development in a region?
Common resource management and development in Mendha Lekha
• Community ownership and management of resources – how does it benefit? What are the challenges?
The student research on each of these topics had them delving into the facts of each situation. They also looked at similar contexts in other parts of the world and related to those experiences. In the end they were able develop their own understanding and to draw inferences.
What was presented as chapters on ‘resources’ in geography and ‘development’ in economics became subjects of live discussion, about which the students were able to articulate with confidence. For both Aditi and me, these sessions became sessions where we were learners as much as the students themselves. We presented ourselves as guides and facilitators, available to the children for pointing them in the direction where they could seek information, for discussion on questions they brought, encouraging them to think further.
Classroom schedules driven by time-tables, textbooks and standardized examinations are often deterrents in the process of teaching and learning collaboratively, as they often stay within narrow confines and do not encourage inter-connected learning. It needs creativity, and a certain level of trust among teachers, as the discussion often veers into unchartered territories which would not present themselves in the normal course. Questions such as ‘what is development?’ finding many interpretations, all of which may be true to a lesser or greater extent. Working in isolation in silos, we would not have been able to achieve as much in terms of igniting the children’s interest and thinking capabilities, as we were able to when we chose to work collaboratively.
“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.” – Mahatma Gandhi |
The search for alternatives
A celebration of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday turned into an exploration of sustainability. Seized by Gandhi’s exhortation to “be the change you want to see in the world”, children challenged themselves to locate practices in everyday life which could be changed, small efforts and ways, which would make a difference.
A few teachers stepped out of their zone of comfort to participate in this activity as well, as it affected all of us as a community in the residential school. We started with a brainstorming session in which children brought out the following questions:
“What are some of the items of use in everyday life, which have a negative effect on the environment?”
“Which of these can be easily replaced by more sustainable alternatives?”
“What stops us from using these alternatives?”
“What are some practices we can adopt to reduce buying new things individually and often?”
With these thoughts a Green Gathering was conceptualized and executed by the children of classes 11 and 12. The preparations took close to three months. Through music, dance and demonstration, a range of ‘solutions’ was presented to each of the above questions, portrayed in the images.
Cultural events thus become not just occasions for celebration, but also great learning opportunities. They bring the entire school community together in a collective experience of joyful living and learning. For us teachers, through these occasions, education and learning moves out of the curriculum and classroom, and leaves threads for us to continue weaving into learning processes throughout the year.
The author has worked for over 25 years with rural communities across the country. She has a keen interest in sustainable development practice. She worked as a teacher-educator in Rajghat Besant School, Varanasi, a residential school of the Krishnamurti Foundation of India. She can be reached at jayapadma.rv@gmail.com.