It has been four years since I took up a job as a school teacher for the first time. Then I went back on a small sprint of research work. I set up my research lab, got national fellowships and even got selected for women scientist research grant. But all through these years, the quality of students kept bothering me. Whether the students in the high school or interns and research students who worked in my lab, most of them had lost the motivation to learn, to independently think and apply what they had learnt. As a teacher, I felt, it was our mistake. Somewhere during the growing years, we made them stop thinking, stopped them from asking questions and now, when they had to think, analyse and apply, they were lost. They waited for our guidance, waited to be told what to do. They would then follow it religiously and obediently. This whole experience worried me, to that extent that I lost sleep thinking of a solution. That is when I decided that I should stop cribbing and start working towards setting things right.

Vismaya was born during those days as an attempt to make learning more enjoyable and conceptual. The children should feel free to question, discuss and find answers. It has been so much fun doing this!! Now we are all set to reach out to more students through our Agile Shaala initiative. (www.agileshaala.com).

The best answer I can give to those who ask me what I am trying to do, is the following short story. I want my students to draw colourful flowers not the red one with a green stem!! Wondering what I mean by this?  Read the story below, you will get my point!!

THE LITTLE BOY
By Helen E. Buckley 

Once a little boy went to school. 

One morning, when the little boy had been in school a while, his teacher said: 

“Today we are going to make a picture.” 

“Good!” thought the little boy. He liked to make pictures. He could make all kinds. Lions and tigers, Chickens and cows, trains and boats, and he took out his box of crayons and began to draw. 

But the teacher said: “Wait! It is not time to begin!” And she waited until everyone looked ready. 

“Now,” said the teacher, “We are going to make flowers.” 

“Good!” thought the little boy, he liked to make flowers, and he began to make beautiful ones with his pink and orange and blue crayons. 

But the teacher said “Wait! And I will show you how.” And it was red with a green stem. “There,” said the teacher, “Now you may begin.” 

The little boy looked at the teacher’s. Then he looked at this own flower. 

He liked his flower better than the teacher’s. But he did not say this. He just turned his paper over. And made a flower like the teacher’s. It was red with a green stem. 

On another day, , the teacher said: “Today we are going to make something with clay.” 

“Good!” thought the little boy. Snakes and snowmen, elephants and mice, cars, and trucks, and he began to pull and pinch his ball of clay. 

But the teacher said: “Wait!” It is not time to begin!” And she waited until everyone looked ready. 

“Now,” said the teacher, “We are going to make a dish.” 

He liked to make dishes. And he began to make some that were all shapes and sizes. 

But the teacher said, “Wait! And I will show you how.” And she showed everyone how to make a deep dish. “There,” said the teacher. “Now you may begin.” 

The little boy looked at the teacher’s dish, then he looked at his own. He liked his dish better than the teacher’s. But he did not say this. He just rolled his clay into a big ball again. And made a dish like the teacher’s. It was a deep dish. 

And pretty soon the little boy learned to wait, and to watch and to make things just like the teacher. And pretty soon he didn’t make things of his own anymore. 

Then it happened that the little boy and his family moved to another house, in another city, and the little boy had to go to another school. 

And the very first day he was there the teacher said: “Today we are going to make a picture.” “Good!” Thought the little boy and he waited for the teacher to tell him what to do.
But the teacher didn’t say anything. She just walked around the room.
When she came to the little boy she said, “Don’t you want to make a picture?” 

“Yes,” said the little boy. “What are we going to make?” 

“I don’t know until you make it,” said the teacher. “How shall I make it?” asked the little boy. 

“Why, any way you like,” said the teacher. 

“Any color?” asked the little boy. 

“Any color,” said the teacher. 

“If everyone made the same picture, and the used the same colors, how would I know who made what?” 

“I don’t know,” said the little boy. 

And he began to make a red flower with a green stem.