Learning is Fun
My first stint at doing community work or an internship-kind of work was when I was in my PG first semester. I got this exciting yet challenging offer from an amazing organisation Headstreams to teach 'underprivileged children' but only via play. I still remember sitting Friday evenings and learning nursery rhymes and their actions from the web (mind you I was staying in a 'rented flat of cool boys'). Those children from my internship (fancily named Tackle Caravan which is a Saturday fun camp) would definitely now be old enough to cast a vote, would they remember the songs and rhymes that I have taught them? Another famous contribution of mine was the famous banana song which was a cool number among my 'affluent collegemates' and the children at the caravan. This song kind of became the anthem that marked the start and the windup of the weekly caravan. Thus earning me one of my nicknames or in fact a prestigious title that the children there gave me with love - "Banana Uncle" (I find this one to this day way cooler and more authentic than the big academic and professional titles for namesake).
Now coming back to the matter of discussion, Is there a chance that those children still remember the songs that I taught them? The basic maths or linguistic concepts that I taught them through these songs? Maybe yes or maybe not. Would they be remembering me? If not the name but definitely the animatedly shy guy singing a banana song. This is where I am asking myself a question -which are the lessons I remember from my education and experiences? A lot of them, but I still can't remember the brain anatomy correctly despite revising and teaching it every semester. This calls for a little more of a detailed reflection (trust me I am not going to propose new theories of learning here, maybe I can think of it later once I get over my laziness). One theme that has been common in all lessons that I can remember and I have mastered is that all those concepts have been learned by me or taught to me in an engaging way. To be more precise there was always a component of fun involved in all of it. I must confess here that in grades 11 & 12 I would have bunked at least 30 - 40 days without the knowledge of my parents, while I was still staying with them. Comically during PG, I had 99.4% attendance in college while I was staying away from my parents. Now that I think of it the difference was engagement and FUN in learning that mattered.
A simple google scholar search gives me numerous published researches (like these a, b). This means (maybe) we can make an inference (a pseudo thesis) that learning can be fun or we can learn more when we engage in methods that have fun in it. (I got to test this hypothesis on my students). But wait, if learning can be fun! Can reformation be fun too? Can correctional systems like prisons be a fun place? Can deaddiction be a process filled with fun? Can rehabilitation be filled with laughter? Afterall all of these processes involve learning in it.
Shh.. Did I say something foolish?
To be continued...
Shamuvél - ശമൂവേൽ (Musings - 24 May 2022)
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