Crows want to eat vada

Thought has no age. The quality of thoughts don’t depend upon the age of the thinker but rather on how freely he/she expresses it without being concerned about being judged. The clarity that surrounds an idea, and the way the idea is put forth also adds to its quality. When it comes to creative thinking, the way it is expressed depends on how thinker filters creative thoughts from a pool of accumulated thoughts.

I believe children are born thinkers. An infant’s initial thoughts may not be understood by older people who are around him/her. However, these thoughts come about as a reflection of the child’s external environment. Children’s thoughts are their own; they might not conform to those already existing in society. Thus the task of a teacher or a parent is to recognise and nurture the true thought pattern of children.

As a child starts to learn language from his surroundings, he/she starts to express his impressions and understandings in spontaneous way in the language he has learned. If we create an environment where the child has creative freedom to express his thoughts, he/she will be able to develop his unique thought identity.

At Nirvana High School, I started with ‘Creative Thought Exploration’ sessions with 9^th graders. I would draw something on the board – an object or a person - and ask children to define it. Children would start weaving a story as the picture on the board progressed from an object to a scene.

During these sessions all I cared for was to stimulate interest in the children. I would choose pictures from the children’s cultural context (not too suggestive, but enough to stimulate healthy imagination), be patient with what they wanted to express and consciously and sensitively reject thoughts that children had borrowed from their text books or television. I can vouch from my experience that children are natural thinkers and can come up with ideas that are well beyond adult expectations and imagination.

One day as we were just about to start flying into the realm of “imagination”, - a crow started to caw in the corridor outside. I asked my students, “What is it saying?” And the answers to this question resulted in the story ‘Aya Vada and the Dinosaur’.

The moment children narrated the story about a Dinosaur wanting to eat Vada, my imaginative spirit soared. Vada (a traditional South Indian snack) is centuries old and Dinosaurs are a very recent discovery. Dinosaur and Vada to me is the symbol of old combining with the new in the generation of a new thought; to me it is a sign of glocalisation (global+local), that is the globalisation of local thought – the centralisation of a larger world identity.

For me it was like my students having attempted much more than a mere story – they have attempted to paint an inclusive world where diversity and old thoughts generate opportunities for a new, unique collective world identity.

As caretakers the skill of observing a child, understanding and appreciating their unique way of expressing their world-view and not imposing personal preferences or biases will enable a child to find fulfilment and developing their unique thought identity and hence be a more intent and self-confident member of the community.

‘Aya Vada and the Dinosaur’ was published by Nirvana High School. To order the book contact school administration on 00 91 413 223 6108 / 00 91 413 223 6670 or mail at nirvanaschool@sify.com