City Pulse

Recently, I was a part of a conversation between two 9-year olds. WhatsApp, Facebook and Tik Tok were standard terms in their dialogue. They showed me their favourite YouTube channel and frowned at my lack of knowledge on the subject. I asked them to join me in the garden, help me mix soil, plant seeds in pots and watch the earthworms crawl around with the onset of monsoon. Their reply was a resounding - no. While it seems to be common and acceptable to be ignorant or lack curiosity about life on earth, ignorance of pervasive technology gets frowned upon.  

We can’t blame anyone for this kind of ignorance. This is a lapse in the education system which misrepresents us about our relationship with the world. The success of university life is measured by starting remunerations. Institutions tell us that we are in the race to get ahead of each other. Today, more than ever, economic success is encouraged more than saving the natural world. The education model today is planned in a manner where the natural world is too small to see.

Many people’s opinion on life and learning has started to change after the pandemic. They consider wellbeing and health as matters of priority and hope educators and governments pay heed to these matters as we emerge from the pandemic. This change in perspective is a bright ray of light in these uncertain gloomy times.

Anjali Iyer, a 37-year-old mother, started small projects with her daughter, Manya during the lockdown. “It’s not easy to be indoors and home school children on matters that exist outside. But it’s possible. A few mothers like me in the community who have a deep interest in ecology have decided to seek help from teachers and try and make this work.”

“Manya was reading a book called The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The caterpillar made her curious about other insects. We used a small corner in the house to build a garden with lots of soil. We drew out various plants, insects and stuck pictures of animals relevant to the soil. Little by little, we grew a mini forest,” said Anjali “What surprises you is their natural ability towards the living world and the fascinating stories that emerge from their curiousness. Through these projects, we explore the environment and develop skills such as writing, drawing, storytelling etc.” Anjali’s next project will showcase Antarctica - the world of penguins and other animals in the region, glaciers, water, ice and climate change.

Experimenting with different learning methods on topics related to the environment will create compassion and understanding of what is central to life. Such narratives will explore relationships and processes on our planet giving the survival of life on earth must its due importance.

Anjali and her friends are not telling us anything new, but they are directing us towards what is essential. Ecology and the multiple systems of earth that are central to the heart of life must also be central to learning. Now is the time to reset the basis of education and make environmental education one of the central themes among others. It’s a matter of urgency to re-look at our relationship with the planet and with life on earth.