When I first walked into the Agastya centre I saw the
catchphrase “Inspiring Curiosity and Creativity” as a little too buzzy. It sounded good but didn’t really say much to
me. Eight months on, after meeting
children like Uraz, I think I get it.
I met ten year old Uraz in Dharwad last week. He goes to
school from 8 am till 2 pm and then walks several kilometers to reach the
Agastya science centre. When I met him
he was simultaneously building a boat and trying to construct his own version
of a model that demonstrated the shift from potential energy to kinetic energy
and vice versa. He is motivated simply
by his love of creating things and Agastya offers him the possibility to
explore this interest. This may not
sound like very much, but here’s where you have to use your imagination. Think back to when you were at school, what
did science lessons consist of? For me,
from the age of ten onwards science lessons always took place in a lab where I
would get to burn things and cut things up.
Science was always practical. In
government schools here in Karnataka, science is theoretical, it is understood
(or not) in equations in textbooks.
Offering children a time to access knowledge through
practical experience doesn’t only help them with their science classes, it also
opens up spaces where they can become more engaged in all elements of learning;
holding it in their own two hands.
The true value of this approach was emphasized when I met Dr
Balachandran, a geography professor who works with Agastya as a resource
person. He explained to me that one of the central problems in Indian schools
is that children are never given any time to think. Really understanding something requires the
time to chew over an idea in your head for hours and maybe even days, rolling
it around and squeezing it until you’re sure you understand its limits, its
possibilities and everything in between.
Only through this kind of learning can you begin to develop your own
ideas and explore the world.
This is what Agastya offers children: tinkering time. It offers a different learning environment
where children can explore the world for themselves through the medium of
science and art. They become the
model-makers and the teachers. They are
encouraged to lead rather than be led.
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