Engines of Our Ingenuity

The Engines of Our Ingenuity is a radio program that tells the story of how our culture is formed by human creativity since 1988.

Some killer stuff :)
Visit : http://www.uh.edu/engines/keywords.htm

Cryptomnesia

In Cryptomnesia, a forgotten memory returns to the subject but he identifies it wrongly as his own,a new and original thought. This happens, because the subject doesn't remember the source of the memory, and thus doesn't recognize it as something from the past.

The word was first used by the psychiatrist Théodore Flournoy, in reference to the case of medium Hélène Smith (alias Catherine-Élise Müller, who claimed to communicate with Martians, and to be a reincarnation of a Hindu princess and Marie Antoinette) to suggest the high incidence in psychism of "latent memories on the part of the medium that come out, sometimes greatly disfigured by a subliminal work of imagination or reasoning, as so often happens in our ordinary dreams."

Psychiatrist Carl C. Jung claims cryptomnesia is not only a normal mental process but a necessary on as well. If it were not for this process the human mind would always be cluttered or overloaded with random information. The mind would literally explode.In his book "Man and his symbols", he says "The ability to reach a rich vein of such material [of the unconscious] and to translate it effectively into philosophy, literature, music or scientific discovery is one of the hallmarks of what is commonly called genius."

The phenomenon isn't uncommon in literary and music circuits; where it is often confused with 'plagiarism' or vice versa. Some examples :

Friedrich Nietzsche's book Thus Spoke Zarathustra includes an almost word for word account of an incident also included in a book published about 1835, half a century before Nietzsche wrote. Later, Nietzsche's sister confirmed that he had indeed read the original account when he was 11 years old.

Readers of Lord Byron's closet drama Manfred noted a strong resemblance to Johann von Goethe's Faustus. Byron was apparently thankful for the compliment; however, he claimed that he had never read Faustus.

Helen Keller seriously compromised her and her teacher's credibility with an incident of cryptomnesia which was misapprehended as plagiarism. The Frost King, which Keller wrote out of buried memories of a fairytale read to her four years previously, left Keller a nervous wreck, and unable to write fiction for the rest of her life.

While researching benzene, the German chemist dreamed of a snake with its tail in its mouth. Kekulé interpreted the snake as a representation of the closed-carbon ring of benzene, but the symbol of the snake with its tail in its mouth is an ancient one known as the 'Ouroboros'. It can be found in Greek manuscripts from as long ago as the third century BC.

And I'm sure there are many more. Most of the reincarnation episodes can be explained through cryptomnesia. Reinforcing my belief that the roots of many unexplained behaviours can be traced back to our subconscious.

Interesting assignments.

This was again while I was in Ladakh. To break the initial ice, and then to understand the dreams and hopes of my students better(especially those who always chose to be quiet/alone); I started giving them assignments that made them think for themselves and imagine and come out of their shell.

1. Introduction: My first day, when I wanted to know their names(which by the way being Ladakhi were quite a tongue-twister initially); I asked them to introduce themselves like : "Name, the desired occupation". For eg: Pallavi, the mango-eater or Pallavi, the dancer or Pallavi, the teacher etc. I had to keep encouraging them to maintain originality and not copy because of laziness to think of something for yourself. Also, cross-questioning to find the details of the occupation is also useful to know how passionate the kid is about it.

2. Wish-list: I firmly believe that everyone should be in touch with their ambitions and dreams, no matter how stupid they are. So, I asked them to make a wish-list of all the things they wanted to do or learn or places they wanted to travel  or people they wanted to meet; i.e. basically every wish in their closet. It's a marvellous feeling to listen to a kid reading his innocent wish to jump from a parachute or learn kung-fu or be an archaeologist or paint the mountains etc. And in the process, the kid has somehow unlocked his box of dreams to a new teacher. :)

3. Spin a Story: I used to ask them for interesting words, that they would like in a story. After the whole class has given a few words; I'd choose randomly 10-12 words and ask them to spin a story using them as homework. I mean, after all what use is language, if not to satisfy their creative cravings.

4. Simile and Metaphor game: The day I told them about similes and metaphors; I asked them to pick a person each from their class, and describe that person using only similes and metaphors without giving out the name of the person. Amazing descriptions were born that day ;) Such fun!!

5. What is this?: This game I tried with the nursery (Stage 3) kids. Small kids need to be handled with even more joy and creativity, lest their natural wonder towards everything dies a slow death like the way it happened for most of us. Instead of teaching them the theory of "What is this?" or "What is that?"; I took them out, out of the school, out in the open. And started on about, how everything has a name, and to know that, all you have to ask is "What is this/that?". Trees, bricks, walls, cats, birds, houses, sky, mountains, clouds, sand, stone etc. all had their names disclosed. Then came the second round of "Is this a ...? to check what they had already identified. Even till my last day, they remembered to ask me the magic question every time anything unfamiliar appeared :)

Refreshing morning stories : Hellen Keller

Helen Keller at the age of 19 months,(not quite 2 years old) was a happy, healthy child. She was already saying a few words.

Then she had a high fever which caused her to become deaf and blind. She felt lost. She would hang on to her mother's skirt to get around. She would feel of people's hands to try to find out what they were doing. She learned to do many things this way. She learned to milk a cow and knead the bread dough. She could recognize people by feeling of their faces or their clothes. She made up signs with her hands so she could "talk" to her family. She had 60 different signs. If she wanted bread, she pretended to be cutting a loaf. If she wanted ice cream, she would hug her shoulders and shiver.

Helen was a very bright child. She became very frustrated because she couldn't talk. She became very angry and began to throw temper tantrums. At age 7, they found her a teacher named Anne Sullivan. Miss Sullivan herself had been blind, but had an operation and regained her sight. She understood what Helen was feeling.

She taught Helen the signs for the letters of the alphabet. Then she would "spell" the words in Helen's hand to communicate with her. Initially her tantrums, made it mighty difficult for Sullivan, see for yourself, the famous breakfast scene from 'The Miracle Worker' (1962):


One day Anne led Helen to the water pump and pumped water on her hand. She spelled the letters W-A-T-E-R as the water ran over Helen's hand. She did this over and over again. At last it dawned on Helen that the word "water" meant the water which she felt pouring over her hand. This opened up a whole new world for her. She ran everywhere asking Anne the name of different things and Anne would spell the words in her hand. This was the key which unlocked the world for her.

When she went to college, her teacher Anne went with her and tapped out the words of the instructors into her student's hand. Helen had an amazing memory, and she also had skills very few people have ever been able to develop. She could put her fingers to a person's lips and understand the words which were being spoken. She went on to become a famous author and activist who inspired and still inspire millions.

[Must read 'The Story of My Life' by Helen herself and must watch 'The Miracle Worker' for even more exciting instances of an extraordinary teacher-student relationship]

World Wide School

An interesting amalgamation of an online library and recipes around the world :)

http://www.worldwideschool.org/

Refreshing morning stories : Abraham Lincoln

Morning assemblies are the time you can use so well to tell students something inspiring like about people who were disadvantaged as kids but made it big; interesting invention stories; some useful anecdotes from your own life; interesting customs around the world etc. When I was in Ladakh, I tried doing that, and the response was great. Kids love learning something unusual, out of their books. It's like fodder to their curiosity. Just make sure, it doesn't get boring, skip the unnecessary details and don't make it long :)

Abraham Lincoln :

Training for President

"I meant to take good care of your book, Mr. Crawford,'' said the boy, "but I've damaged it a good deal without intending to, and now I want to make it right with you. What shall I do to make it good?''

"Why, what happened to it, Abe?'' asked the rich farmer, as he took the copy of Weems's "Life of Washington'' which he had lent young Lincoln, and looked at the stained leaves and warped binding. "It looks as if it had been out through all last night's storm. How came you to forget, and leave it out to soak?''

"It was this way, Mr. Crawford,'' replied Abe. "I sat up late to read it, and when I went to bed, I put it away carefully in my bookcase, as I call it, a little opening between two logs in the wall of our cabin. I dreamed about General Washington all night. When I woke up I took it out to read a page or two before I did the chores, and you can't imagine how I felt when I found it in this shape. I'm sorry, Mr. Crawford, and want to fix it up with you, if you can tell me how, for I have not got money to pay for it.''

"Well,'' said Mr. Crawford, "come and shuck corn three days, and the book 's yours.''

"I don't intend to shuck corn, split rails, and the like always,'' he told Mrs. Crawford, after he had read the volume. "I'm going to fit myself for a profession.''

"Why, what do you want to be, now?'' asked Mrs. Crawford in surprise.

"Oh, I'll be President!'' said Abe with a smile.

"You'd make a pretty President with all your tricks and jokes, now, wouldn't you?'' said the farmer's wife.

"Oh, I'll study and get ready,'' replied the boy, "and then maybe the chance will come.''

Why Lincoln was called 'Honest Abe' ?

While managing the country store,on one occasion when he counted over his cash late night, he found that he had taken a few cents from a customer more than was due, he closed the store, and walked a long distance to make good the deficiency.

At another time, discovering on the scales in the morning a weight with which he had weighed out a package of tea for a woman the night before, he saw that he had given her too little for her money. He weighed out what was due, and carried it to her, much to the surprise of the woman, who had not known that she was short in the amount of her purchase.

 Even when he became a lawyer, he was always honest. Never fought for the guilty, in fact, if he used to find out that his client is guilty even mid-way of the case; he used to side with the truth & make his client loose.

Indian Sign Language.

Just found this amazing site for Indian Sign Language :
http://www.deafsigns.org/

Lev Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development

Vygotsky was a contemporary of Jean Piaget, who offered an alternative to Piaget's stages of cognitive development. Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory of Development became a major influence in the field of psychology and education, which identified social and cultural dynamics as important drivers in cognitive development of the child.
While Piaget would assume the student does not yet have the mental structures to solve such a problem, Vygotsky would offer encouragement or strategies, in the form of scaffolding( providing the learner with hints or clues for problem solving), in order for the student to attempt the problem.



"Zone of proximal development" (ZPD) is Vygotsky’s term for the range of tasks that are too difficult for the child to master alone but that can be learned with guidance and assistance of adults or more-skilled children. The lower limit of ZPD is the level of skill reached by the child working independently. The upper limit is the level of additional responsibility the child can accept with the assistance of an able instructor. The ZPD captures the child’s cognitive skills that are in the process of maturing and can be accomplished only with the assistance of a more-skilled person.

Jean Piaget

A Swiss developmental psychologist known for his epistemological studies with children. He noticed that young children's answers were qualitatively different than older children which suggested to him that the younger ones were not dumber but, instead, answered the questions differently than their older peers because they thought differently.

He gave the following Stages of cognitive development :

1. Sensorimotor stage (Infancy). In this period (which has 6 stages), intelligence is demonstrated through motor activity without the use of symbols. Knowledge of the world is limited (but developing) because its based on physical interactions / experiences. Children acquire object permanence at about 7 months of age (memory). Physical development (mobility) allows the child to begin developing new intellectual abilities. Some symbollic (language) abilities are developed at the end of this stage.


2. Pre-operational stage (Toddler and Early Childhood). In this period (which has two substages), intelligence is demonstrated through the use of symbols, language use matures, and memory and imagination are developed, but thinking is done in a nonlogical, nonreversable manner. Egocentric thinking predominates.


3. Concrete operational stage (Elementary and early adolescence). In this stage (characterized by 7 types of conservation: number, length, liquid, mass, weight, area, volume), intelligence is demonstarted through logical and systematic manipulation of symbols related to concrete objects. Operational thinking develops (mental actions that are reversible). Egocentric thought diminishes.


4. Formal operational stage (Adolescence and adulthood). In this stage, intelligence is demonstrated through the logical use of symbols related to abstract concepts. Early in the period there is a return to egocentric thought. Only 35% of high school graduates in industrialized countries obtain formal operations; many people do not think formally during adulthood.

Laws that make you think.

There are some laws here, that always keep coming back to me! They make interesting references in classroom as well!

1. Murphy's law : "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." Related law (Finagle's law) adds "at the worst possible moment" at the end.

2. Parkinson's law : "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.". Related law (also called Parkinson's second law), "Expenditures rise to meet income"

3. Segal's Law : "A man with a watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure."

4. Amara's Law :"We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run."

5. Hanlon's Razor :"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."

6. Littlewood's Law :" Individuals can expect a 'miracle' to happen to them at the rate of about one per month.

7.  Hebb's Law : "Neurons that fire together wire together."

Peter Principle

Einstein said, “You cannot solve problems using the same thinking that created them.” In corporate culture, we call it the 'Peter Principle'.

Originally the principle states : "In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence." Generalizing it, anything that works will be used in progressively more challenging applications until it fails. You have to keep rising, unless you reach a level that's higher than your competence. 

Applying it to education; "If we want students to excel in today’s world and engage them in a way that helps to develop 21st century skills, we can’t keep doing things the same way in our classrooms." 

[Source : http://themobilelearner.wordpress.com/2008/03/16/the-peter-principle-interesting-concept/]

Movies about education.

People still haven't taken seriously the impact that movies have when it comes to social issues. They are a powerful medium, 2-3 hours can leave a mark on the stereotypes and prejudices, like nothing else can. I remember being inspired through many, and things might change if the some percentage of idealism from them, permeates the psyche of certain parents/teachers/people who still are unwilling to change. In no particular order:

1. Freedom Writers : A new, excited schoolteacher who leaves the safety of her hometown to teach at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, a formerly high achieving school which has recently had an integration program put in place. Her enthusiasm is quickly challenged when she realizes that her class are all "at-risk" students, also known as "unteachables", and not the eager students she was expecting. The students segregate themselves into racial groups in the classroom, fights break out, and eventually most of the students stop turning up to class. But she fights it all with her unorthodox teaching methods, gaining their respect, and transforming their lives forever.

2. Good Will Hunting : One of my all time favorites. A Must-Watch. Will Hunting, a janitor at MIT, has a gift for mathematics but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life. Movie is full of dialogues and scenes that stay in your head. One of them : "See, the sad thing about a guy like you is in fifty years you're gunna start doing some thinkin' on your own, and you're gunna' come up with the fact that there are two certainties in life: one, don't do that, and, two, you dropped a hundred and fifty grand on a fuckin' education you coulda' got for a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library."

3. Taare Zameen Par: A movie that made people rethink about learning disorders. It infected the country like a virus, and suddenly people were tolerant, sensitive and understanding. The world of Ishaan Avasthi is colourful, vibrant, extraordinarily creative but slightly different from yours, because of his dyslexia. Parents and teachers don't get it and almost try to kill it with their constant bickering. Then, walks in Ram Shankar Nikumbh, a teacher who refills Ishaan's imagination with his optimism, and life is bright again!

4. Idiots : A movie about which a lot has been said. A movie that challenges the current education system but with a touch of wit and humour. It tackles serious issues like suicide, wrong gauges to mark someone's intelligence, creativity lost at the cost of parental pressure etc. Loosely (and not without credit controversy) based on Chetan Bhagat's bestseller Five Point Someone. Almost everyone in India has seen this one, and been impressed; what more could I say? And yes, it's the favorite movie of most of my students in Ladakh :)

 5. Dead Poets Society : 'Carpe diem' or 'Seize the day' is a philosophy unknown to the students of Welton Academy. A new English teacher, Ronan Keating however, changes all that. He inspires, stirs, stimulate their souls through poetry and weird teaching tactics. The Dead Poets Society, a club the students form has opening lines by Henry David Thoreau,
“I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately, I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, To put to rout all that was not life and not when I had come to die Discover that I had not lived.”

6. Entre Les Murs (The Class) : The literal translation would be "Between the walls". A sane French teacher's struggle to stay put in his senses while dealing with a racially mixed, tough set of students.
Very close to my heart for one other reason, I was literally shown the door from an international school after they came to know that I accidently used an 'F' word (the sentence was "Shut the F**k up!", before you let your imagination loose) with a student in an argument about India. I have forever wondered about how could the news travel with the speed of light, and how important could one careless word be when you're a teacher. Well, a good watch for those struggling with difficult students or difficult school rules.

7. Die Welle (The Wave) : An excellent movie I picked while in my psychology-obsession phase. Based on a true story.

An autocracy class becomes a ground for a social experiment, when Rainer Wegner, the teacher becomes fascinated by the thought that students considered autocracy a thing of past. Using his unorthodox methods, he creates group dynamics similar to a totalitarian regime. With the individual sense eroding and mob mentality ruling, the experiment goes terribly out of hand.

Quoting wikipedia entry about "The third wave" (which was the real experiment by history teacher Ron Jones at California) -  'Even democratic societies are not immune to the appeal of fascism'

8. Miracle Worker (1962,2000) / Black (2005) : Based on the 49 year long and extra-ordinary teacher-student relationship between Ann Sullivan and deaf-blind-mute Helen Keller. Have already said a lot about this in a previous entry http://interpretingeducation.blogspot.in/search/label/Helen%20Keller

Black is an Indian adaption with the superb acting by Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee, and also the version I saw first. 

One of the very few movies I secretly watch over and over again, hoping that one day I become half as good as Ann.

Special education.

Basically, special education takes care of the special needs that may arise due to various physical, mental, emotional disabilities. The wikipedia entry would guide you more about the details of the disabilities and provisions made for the same in various parts of the world. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_education)

At Umang, we had children of disabilities like carebral palsy, mental retardation, autism, ADHD, multiple disabilities etc. First month, I only tried to absorb. There were about 180 kids, divided into various classes like: Nursery, Jr. Transition, Sr. Transition etc. till 10th in the academic section in addition to Pre-vocational and Vocational sections. Kids with different disabilities worked together in one class, and to my amazement helped the teachers when it came to difficult students.

First thing I noticed was the amount of personal attention provided. Even with two helpers, a teacher has to always keep an eye over all students, always keep their sitting posture in check, always make sure they have something to do (specially autistic and ADHD kids, as they grow restless when idle). The curriculum is very flexible, adjusted for every student's special needs, to allow him to seek the maximum he can. The teaching methods use a lot of visual aids, a lot of repetition of same lesson in different ways (Reinforcement is the key!) and most importantly, a lot of one-on-one sessions. The physiotherapy and speech therapy sessions (wherever required) are regular part of the time-table. And extra-curricular activities never seem to cease with some or the other theatre/movie/dance/music/painting /trips etc. always going on. And by seeing, how much confidence and joy they get from each of these exposures, you'll only wish for more.

It was here that I understood, children learn better with hands than with words. If a lesson isn't interesting, you'll get a gaze that will say something like "What is wrong with you!!". Plus you need to build a relationship with the kid, that you would never until you start knowing 'their language'. Most kids have speech problems over there, ranging from mild to severe. It's very tough to make them believe you can possibly teach them, when you're struggling to decipher what they're trying to say. I remember feeling miserable, when I just couldn't 'get it', and then the class-teacher would walk in and solve the mystery in seconds. Not that, it was condescending, it was more like rescue operation in time, but it left me feeling mostly highly inadequate.

Well, I worked on that. You had to give kids time to accept you. Once they do, they help you in accepting that there are certain things you're not good at, which you thought you were :) Like, even though you read the theory, you don't know shit about disability; though you're good with kids, there might be many kids who would find you repulsive at first; though you tried 10 different ways, it still didn't register in their brains. While growing as a person at Umang, my idea of education and respect for children as beings who end up educating you in return, also grew.

More I understand kids, more I see that they live in a world of their own. And you don't always have to destroy it, to feed them facts about your world. There's a way to gain entry into their world, and juxtapose yours and let them decide whether to fuse them together or not!

I'm not finished yet, will keep writing pages from those Jaipur days, in coming posts.

Science through experiments.

Science is supposed to be about an inquisitive mind, asking questions, experimenting. Simple models can provide a visual impression that kids would not only understand better, they'll try to replicate it and of course remember it for life.
Some very interesting science toys you can fix up in minutes:
http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/toys.html

Ken Robinson says, 'Schools kill creativity'.

I had to begin somewhere. Well! Ken Robinson with his views regarding revolution required in Education, is so close to what I always believed, I decided to start with him.

Here's one more:

Hi!

This is going be to be a way for me to keep track of my experiments and experiences with education. Figured my memory isn't to be trusted :)