"I may not be too smart but I too am smart!"

Teach me the way I can learn, not the way you can teach....

“What a person can achieve as an adult is directly proportional to how s/he learnt as a child.” Language is a tool for communication. But it is also a tool for thinking and learning across subjects.   In today’s context, being well versed with the language facilitates not only the generation of ideas but also clear expression of thoughts. Language is a basic skill that is acquired from birth onwards. Yet why do so many people struggle with the simplest tasks involving verbal linguistic skills. Think of how many people struggle at drafting an email to the boss or applying for a new job, speaking in public or appearing for an interview, language is the key. One needs to develop the basic skills to be able to speak appropriately and convince people by conveying exactly what they mean.

At the same time verbal linguistic skills opens vistas to the wondrous world of words that has not only fascinated mankind but also influenced people and minds since time immemorial. Reading is an activity cherished by millions and experiencing the romance of words rouses deep emotions in its readers. And, listening to great poems, songs, jokes, word play is a treat to everyone’s ears and feast for the mindful. I always wondered if the ability to learn language is merely an innate talent and not everybody can develop it or there is something more to it until the day I learnt about Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory. It gives immense hope for the ones who are not naturally inclined towards language.

There is a need to accept the fact that while some children show an aptitude for working with stories, puzzles, advertisement jingles, poems, there is a greater number that struggles with the same. Hence, it is even more essential for parents and teachers of young children to become aware of our children’s strengths and limitations so that they are well equipped to help them learn through methods and activities that enables them to overcome their limitations and use their strengths to further enhance their skills.

There is a lot happening in schools and a lot more that will happen in time to come but what parents can do to cater to the needs of their individual child is more impactful in speeding up the process of learning in a child. It is recommended that spend quality hours interacting with their children providing them what is critical for the holistic development of children.

The following example is a depiction of a story that can be used in numerous ways to develop verbal linguistic skills in a child and a few are suggested here.

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Point of View

A new series

Look around office and workplaces of today.

Have they changed in the last fifty years?
Of course they have. Instead of the individual cabins most work places have opted for open offices.

What about your kitchen?
Is it still the smoke filled place with soot encrusted walls?

Now, think of the schools of today.
Have they changed just as dramatically in the last fifty years?

The class room may have white boards instead of blackboards but schools are still designed as rows of rooms lined along a corridor aligned with some open spaces.

We talk about schools of tomorrow that help our children develop 21 st century skills.  Well, pause and ponder- can 21 st century skills be taught within the confines of spaces that are outdated and inefficient?

Schools can offer fantastic opportunities for young children to learn and grow not just because of the materials and teaching learning opportunities they house but through creative and innovative use of spaces that encourages children to explore, experiment, create, collaborate and express.

And who better to help us visualize the school for the future than the ones who are going to use it the most. Here we have children share their vision of the school they would like to study in and share the rationale for their design.

Indeed a rich food for thought for architects, school owners, teachers and parents.