In the mean time I recently came across a couple of lists that pressed a thought out around the appreciation of the small stuff in life. That kind of deep satisfying appreciation that shouldn't be ignored. It made me think that in amongst schools needing to be much more child-centred - rather than system-centred, that one of the ways in which they can achieve this is to understand and encourage the small stuff.
The first list discovered via twitter -
School of Everything was
A List of 100 Things I want to Learn linked to Pippa's thoughts on a DIY Masters, featuring things such as; Learn a musical instrument, How to make Bagels, Bookbinding, Japanese Ropework, Maintain my bicycle and so on.
Different in content but probably similar in make-up to many of our lists if we sat down and thought about it. A balance between bigger stuff, little curious things, stuff you'd feel quite chuffed if you could do. Some will be more ephemeral, some will lead on to other things, some will be experience, some will be life-long passions. To make a list you just need to take note of those passing thoughts - 'I wonder how' and 'it'd be great to try' kind of thoughts.
He introduces the list by saying that it is an entirely personal list rather than a list of India's achievements, instead it's made up of the little gems that enrich his life in India:
1. Chana masala and tandoori roti at a scruffy dhaba - chickpea curry is the perfect cafe food when combined with amazing hot bread pulled straight out of the clay tandoor oven.
2. A winter's afternoon in Old Delhi, wandering without plan through the alleyways and eating the street food.
3. The concept of satyagraha or non-violent resistance, as developed by Gandhi. I love that everywhere in India, people feel the right to protest. The police often behave appallingly to protesters, but the right to hold sit-ins and demonstrations is ingrained in the culture.
4. The appropriately-named Sublime restaurant in the Goan coastal town of Anjuna Beach.
5. Tehelka magazine - a remarkable, investigative magazine that takes on the big guns of the Indian establishment and is the best subscription you can sign up for.
6. The Delhi Metro - clean, efficient, built on schedule and affordable for everybody. A genuine triumph.
7. The early evening in an Indian town or village, referred to as "Cow Dust Time" by the journalist James Cameron, because of the cows making their journey back from pasture. To me it also means the surge of people heading for home. I love the sense of calm before the frenzy of activity.
8. The smell of incense in old Hindu temples.
9. Bindeshwar Pathak and his NGO Sulabh International which has pioneered affordable public toilets in a country desperately in need of such facilities and has campaigned against the appalling caste-based practice of "manual scavenging" in which the poor are born into lives as toilet cleaners.
10. The amazing mangoes, papaya and guava at the local fruit stand.
And it clearly strikes a chord with readers who appreciate the personal and non-guide book view.
There's a parallel with schools here - subjects and lessons are often about lists of achievements in one form or another, and the big stuff- geography, french etc. and much less about the stuff that personally enriches each child's life, mangoes at the fruit stand, looking after your bike, learning how to make bagels. One of the noteable features about the list is the sense of balance they cover off bigger subjects - politics, bigger challenges - learn an instrument, but they are also just as much about enjoying food, dusty sunsets and craft. The pressure of homework not only supports an increasingly narrow subject driven approach, but also helps to contribute to our culture of overwork and lack of balance too.
One of the justifications often given for supporting the case for homework (and yet not supported by research) is that it helps to develop self-discipline. Self-discipline has seem to come to mean getting the mundane out the way, so you can move on to something more interesting. This is fine for housework, tidying etc. but not for life motivation. Children don't need discipline to help them choose a path in life, they need inspiration. You need discipline to stick at your passion when it goes through an inevitable dip in the road.
Perhaps one approach to homework is to do away with the traditional approach- 6 hours a day at school is enough, no need for double shifts here - and for children to spend say an hour a week- what ever feels right to them - on exploring their 100 Would like to's List, to eventually be able to make a 10 Things I Love list.
Of course the elephant in the room here is that school, not just homework, should be about helping children realise, who they are, how they learn and relate to the world and what they love - the lifelong learning that is often on the lips of educators but somehow not woven into the fabric of education.
Homework would be a pragmatic place to start and perhaps the catalyst for change further down the chain. A change in homework policy would work wonders all round, not least for family relationships free of homework tension. After all, as
Alfie Kohn says in the Homework Myth, who gets to choose how we use family time?
Little gems at Juhu Beach - Pic by Sarah Lancaster
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