Bengaluru: Aata Aadu, making learning fun for children

Bengaluru: Experience is the greatest teacher, but what if one could make believe an experience and weave it into the educational fabric, asks the book, Aata Aadu. A collective of ideas exploring the role of creative practices in education, focusing mostly on theatre, puppetry and play, it seeks to address the importance of "as if" in teaching. 

"In my experience, children learn better when they are put into a play, similar to a make-believe situation," said Ms Pallavi Chander at the launch at Childrem's Library in Cubbon Park on Saturday. The practicing creative arts therapist said, "Children learn to manoeuvre through these play situations, learn on their own about what they can and cannot do. They learn limits, rules and consequences." She was in conversation with Prakash Iyer, a faculty member at Azim Premji University.

Mr Iyer pointed out the vulnerability and power play involved in teaching through creative practices. "There is a chance that it may be biased, our judgement, what we teach in the process of play. It shouldn't be away to enforce a particular view. It should be a learning space for both the child and the teacher." The evening launch began with a storytelling session by city-based theatre artistes Harshika Amin and Aruna Manjunath. Quite like the book itself, the gathering had an earthy feel to it. As the audience sat on mats on the floor right outside the library listening to the conversation, there were numerous exhibitions taking place simultaneously. A team of six artistes worked with students of St. Aloysius College, Poorna Learning Centre, Nithya Saadhana, Industrial Training Institute, RBNAMS Government School and BEL Engineering College to create works of photography, shadow puppetry, theatre, mural painting and music that were showcased at the launch.