Image courtesy: Varun Iyer 2014
"Mom," said my son pointing to the clouds as we watched the evening sun, "Do you notice how big and dark the clouds are getting every evening?"
"Hmm...," I said, not wanting to miss a teaching moment, "what do you think is happening?"
"Global warming. Clouds are getting bigger. Rain is pelting us daily. Yet, we have drought. Water is a big mystery."
"And why is it a mystery?"
"What happened to our snow in winter? And why does it hail now in summer?"
"Climate change," I agreed.
I chose teaching moment instead of an experience moment. That moment would have included the wonderful work of Kalidasa on the cloud messenger. You can read the English summary of the poem here, but it is certainly not the same. Not close.
And it would have been a good moment to talk about music- ragas associated with rain...Tansen's soaking success...the folk predictions associated with cloud watching...and many more...In a class it is easy to teach. You need to work only on the teaching moment. At home, I need to stretch time to encapsulate both. I am learning. I am trying.
All tips are welcome!
"Mom," said my son pointing to the clouds as we watched the evening sun, "Do you notice how big and dark the clouds are getting every evening?"
"Hmm...," I said, not wanting to miss a teaching moment, "what do you think is happening?"
"Global warming. Clouds are getting bigger. Rain is pelting us daily. Yet, we have drought. Water is a big mystery."
"And why is it a mystery?"
"What happened to our snow in winter? And why does it hail now in summer?"
"Climate change," I agreed.
I chose teaching moment instead of an experience moment. That moment would have included the wonderful work of Kalidasa on the cloud messenger. You can read the English summary of the poem here, but it is certainly not the same. Not close.
And it would have been a good moment to talk about music- ragas associated with rain...Tansen's soaking success...the folk predictions associated with cloud watching...and many more...In a class it is easy to teach. You need to work only on the teaching moment. At home, I need to stretch time to encapsulate both. I am learning. I am trying.
All tips are welcome!
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