Orienting the parent.. The first steps..
A thoughtful montessori orientation program..
I watched a video posted by Team QuizShala. An eager parent asking in a forum.. As a parent.. What to teach and What not to teach? Tell us..
A parent is born the moment a child is born.. kind of unprepared and unaware.. Picks a few cues from here and there.. From own experiences of what felt good.. A few cues from inspirations around..
Some 15 years back, as our little one was ready to explore school, we had this orientation speech at the Montessori Program.
This poem was recited.. It sounded magic.. The parent and the teacher.. Each of them partnering and shaping the clay of the child..
I dreamed I stood in a studio and watched two sculptors there. The clay they used
was a young child’s mind and they fashioned it with care.
One was a teacher
and the tools she used were books and music and art. One was a parent
with a guiding hand
and a gentle, loving heart.
And when at last
their work was done,
they were proud of what they had wrought.
For the things they had worked into the child
could never be sold or bought.
And each agreed she would have failed if she had worked alone for behind the parent stood the school and behind the teacher stood the home.
The teacher further addressed the parents.
“Let us do the teaching, and you provide the stimulation and support at home. May be.. you could talk about your kitchen or the fan.. Do not rob the excitement of their learning by teaching things ahead of time. Let them learn and imagine things here. Let them develop their sensory perception.”
“And you want them to imagine Rapunzel’s long hair, and not passively watch the show in the TV. Allow them to discover the joy of reading.”
And her words stuck with me like a bolt, for I was a passive student myself in my younger years.. But then.. life permits learning with a fresh perspective and no tags attached.. by means of parenting, self-learning a variety of topics, and mentoring others, where one can go beyond the Self.. Ode to all the teachers..
I’m so grateful for those words.. Teachers.. Having stood on a pedestal of experience and having a balcony view of things.. Parents should have sessions like these to ignite passion.
And in times of AI, and the world training machines like mavericks, it is even more important to rethink teaching, teach students to be curious, and discover their hidden potentials.
