How a group of blind students reminded me of paradigm shift

The other day I took a train from Kottayam, my hometown, to Ernakulam in an unreserved compartment. As soon as the train pulled into the station there was a big rush. Two men and two women got in with about 20 bags, mostly small airbags, and a harmonium. For drinking water, instead of the usual plastic bottles often seen in our trains, they were carrying two large plastic jars. Soon after entering the train they began frantically placing their bags on all the empty seats.

I kept watching all this with an irritated eye and a wrinkled forehead. Why do they want to grab the seats this way? Might is right? All kinds of annoying thoughts and indignation formed in my mind. Fortunately, I got a seat and kept track of the drama that was unfolding before me.

One of the men came and placed two children (school students in uniform) on the seats right in front of me. Similarly, they brought about 20 students to sit on the different seats they had ‘reserved’.

They were all blind, from the Olassa School for the blind, Aymanam, Kottayam.

About half the students were girls. I looked at them with a sense of compassion. One of them kept his head down throughout the journey, another had an occasional vague smile lighting his face.

Goodness! I started blaming myself for the way I initially looked at the group. I realized that the two men and two women I mentioned initially were teachers. They had asked the children to wait as a group on the platform while they got in and ensured seats. 

As the train started to move, I saw one of the teachers going to each student and dropping some banana chips into their hands. The boy who held his head down now had a smile on his face.

I started a conversation with the lady who was distributing the banana chips. She told me they were taking the children to the State-level Youth Festival for Special Schools.

REFLECTION 

In TCI we often use the word paradigm, because TCI itself is a paradigm. Ruth Cohn’s four-factor model of I – We- It globe is a compass that helps us to see where we are and where we want to go. Paradigm literally means ‘the way we see things’. The way we see decides what we see. What we see decides what we think or our attitudes. Thoughts and attitudes decide action. Action repeated becomes habit and habit, in course of time, becomes character. And as the saying goes, character is destiny.

The way I initially saw the two men and two women was a paradigm of ignorance. I did not know what was happening. My irritation was ill-founded. When I came to understand the situation my paradigm shifted. Irritation gave way to comparison. I felt sad about the children who could not see this beautiful world. I admired the teachers who were taking these children to a youth festival with tender, loving care. I could imagine the trouble they had taken to give special training to those children, to make them competent to participate at the state-level contest.

A change happened in my outlook, and instantly there was a change in what I felt. Paradigms make all the difference. Three cheers to Thomas Kuhn and his concept of paradigm shift!

Living Learning: Here and Now

This morning at 7:00 I got into a bus which goes from my village to the nearby town, Kottayam. At the next bus stop there were about ten persons waiting to board the bus. About half of them were senior citizens, including Devakiyamma, who is about 80. There were also three school girls, whose uniforms made it clear which school they went to. 

As soon as the bus stopped, there was the usual competition to get in first. At that time, there was only one vacant seat and one of the school girls grabbed it. In fact, she ran like PT Usha to ensure it. In our bus, 50 percent of the seats are reserved for women, at least in the 7:00 AM trip. I looked at the plight of Devakiyamma. She requested another senior lady for some space to sit, who graciously gave up her seat for the older person.

During the rest of the journey, my thoughts were around the winner girl. Her school’s motto is ‘Towards Excellence’, which is written even on the buses they own. I felt sad that nobody in the school taught this girl the meaning of this often misunderstood word. To ‘excel’ does not mean ‘to do better than others’. The competition for excellence is directed towards oneself. I must do better than how I did earlier, I must score higher than my last exam’s score!

Our schools teach competition, not cooperation. There are students who do not share their notes with their classmates, or even know their classmates’ names. Knowing your classmates is not part of the syllabus, no examiner will ask them if they know their classmates, or what it is that they appreciate most in them. There is no syllabus to teach the children that they should be considerate to the sick and the elderly.

Long long ago, in a country far far away, the King decided to a marathon between its communities, in which all the members of the community were part of the team. The community that reaches the finishing point first with all their people, or the maximum number of people would be the winner. This was not an easy task as each community had its share of the old, sick, pregnant etc.

Three communities reported at the starting point. The first had a strategy, let all run. It was every person for himself. Inevitably, the young made it to the finishing point quickly but the rest were left behind. They lost.

The second community took lessons from the first and altered their strategy. They decided that all men should run and the women should take care of the elders and the children, while providing refreshments for the runners. As you might have already guessed, this was the decision of the men, and the women did not agree to it. There ensued a debate, which took up all their time. They too lost the race.

The third community had a different strategy: everyone should run and simultaneously take care of those who cannot run. Of course, this team moved very slowly, holding hands, carrying the sick and the elders in chairs or stretchers. But they enjoyed the race which was almost an ‘evening stroll’.

The King was pleased to give the laurels to the leaders of the third community.

They won with others, while the other two communities were trying to win over others.

All about a handshake

My problem with handshakes started about ten years ago. I had learned, I think during my college days in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, that when two people meet, it is the senior person (by age or position) who has to offer the hand first. A student, for example, should not extend a hand to his/her teacher as part of a greeting. While the practice is almost natural for me when meeting someone, three instances related to this have taught me something.

Episode 1: I was in University Putra Malaysia (UPM) to lead a TCI Workshop. On arriving the campus I was introduced to a young lady in the admin department. She was wearing a loose flowing dress which covered her head and shoulders down to her arms and appeared warm and hospitable.

Considering it a basic courtesy while meeting a new person, I offered my hand, forgetful of the fact that Malaysia is predominantly a Muslim country. She did offer her hand in return, but to my shock, it was sheathed in her flowing dress! 

I learned a painful lesson.

Episode 2: This happened in Maldives. At the end of a TCI workshop there was a ceremony to give away certificates. The chief guest was Principal of one of the leading schools in Malé, the country’s capital. He gave certificates to each of the participants with a word of appreciation and a handshake.

When it came to one of the lady participants who looked as young as a school student, she responded: “I don’t shake my hand sir.”  

I was only a witness then. My Malaysian pain subsided a little because it was my friend, a senior Muslim Principal, who got the shock this time!

Episode 3: The scene this time is in Calicut, Kerala, where I have done at least twenty workshops so far without any ‘shock’. 

But it did come, last week. A good friend of mine, an Assistant Professor at a college, came to pick me up from the hotel where I was accommodated. As soon as I entered his car, sitting on the front seat adjacent I greeted him, spontaneously offering my hand.

To my astonishment, he showed me his right wrist to receive my hand, holding his palm closed.

The old Malaysian pain returned. But my TCI awareness of chairpersonship got activated. “Should I ask him why he offered his wrist instead of hand?” The last time we met, he was generous enough to take my hand, and even receive a hug of appreciation. What happened this time? Is he under the Malaysian influence too?

Anyway, I looked inside (I had to ask), I looked outside (at the cultural context), then decided (fully aware that I am totally responsible for my actions) to ask. “Dear friend, what happened? Why didn’t you take my hand?”

Having gone through the previous experiences, I must have been expecting another disappointing answer, but what he said was an unexpected paradigm changer for me.

“Sorry sir. I am having an eye-disease called acute conjunctivitis. Doctor told me that the infection spreads through touch and I did not want to infect you.”

Goodness, gracious! What a relief, what a joy to hear this!

INSIGHT

I remembered Ruth Cohn’s auxiliary rule: “If you ask a question, say why you ask it and what that question means to you”. Similarly, if you do something like my good friend did, say why you did it, to avoid shock and pain that could hurt relationships.

Should headmasters 'supervise' teachers' performance?

The other day, I was part of a consultation programme on school leadership at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. Its objective was to develop a design for leadership training for high school headmasters, to be implemented by the government. Distinguished consultants from India and UK took part in the event. 

A particular aspect that came up for discussion was monitoring of teacher-effectiveness by the headmasters. Is it desirable for a headmaster to walk into a classroom and to take a seat there while the class is going on? Many, including the foreign experts, thought it was ok to do it.

I begged to differ. I said that I will not welcome a headmaster to sit in my class to observe my teaching with a view to give feedback. And if I were a headmaster, I would never do such a thing to a teacher. For me, it is a matter of reverence to the teacher as an individual. 

“Reverence is due to every living thing and to its growth.” - Ruth Cohn

Aren’t there other ways in which the headmaster can assess and ensure the teachers effectiveness?

In Maldives, where I have conducted teacher-effectiveness workshops in more than 10 schools, they have supervisors to monitor teachers’ performance. Similar system is seen in UAE too. 

I told the management of the Maldivian schools about the impropriety of the designation ‘supervisor’. It literally means to look from above (to find fault) and is irreverent. Hence they changed the designation to ‘Leading Teachers’. A school in UAE is also considering the same.

Interestingly, in both these countries, the so-called supervisors do not teach, and therefore have no opportunity to experience the classroom challenges that constantly change along with changes in the society. These supervisors are considered ‘above teaching’ and ‘above teachers’. 

This is a hierarchy paradigm, which we need to replace with net-working paradigm.

“Don’t go in front of me, I don’t want to be led. Don’t come behind me, I don’t want to lead. Come walk by my side and be my friend.”

Both the issues mentioned in this post are related to teacher empowerment. I would like to know how headmasters and teachers respond to these issues, especially the appropriateness of headmaster walking into a class to critically observe the teaching process, and also the practice of appointing ‘supervisors’ to monitor teaching-learning processes. Do let me know your thoughts.

Workshop for Senior Citizens: 'Ageing Gracefully, Living Meaningfully'

This post is an introduction to an upcoming two-day workshop for senior citizens and those interested in the welfare of senior citizens organized by the Mahatma Gandhi University’s School of Gandhian Thought and Development Studies (Kottayam, Kerala).

The theme of the programme is ‘Ageing gracefully, living meaningfully’. Dates are 17 and 18 October 2014. If you are interested do join in. 

What is special about this workshop?

1.       This is a personal transformation-oriented programme. That means the emphasis will not be on transmission of information on ageing and its implications. Instead, it will be on attitudinal change for ageing gracefully and meaningfully. 

2.       The methodology will be applied humanistic psychology known as Theme-Centred Interaction. That means there will not be any lecture or power-point presentations. Emphasis will be on introspection and interaction leading to transformation.

3.       It is going to be intensive learning experience, free from formalities and ceremonies. To learn is to change. Therefore, through this programme, participants can expect an attitudinal and behavioural transformation.

I have offered to lead this workshop because I see around me a number of seniors who are frustrated or have turned negative with age. It is important that all of us become sensitive to the type of energy we radiate around us. Is it positive energy, negative energy or neutral energy? How can we turn negatives into positives, turn obstacles into stepping stones? This is going to be an important focus. 

Today there are lots of senior citizens' clubs all over Kerala. It is time for us to give attention to the question whether they are able to impact the quality of life of the persons involved in this field. How can senior citizens’ clubs become organisers of programmes for social development, instead of merely concentrating on welfare and time-pass?

The fee for the above mentioned workshop is Rs.1000 per person, inclusive of lunch, refreshments, learning journal and study materials. If you want to be a part of this innovative learning event, please contact: 

Dr. Harilakshmeendra Kumar, Asst. Professor at MG University. Ph: 9447569925

Mr. Mathew Kanamala, Research Scholar. Ph: 9447306586