Traning The Trainers

A report on the iDiscoveri Programme, January 2004

It is normal human tendency to grumble when you are shifted out of your comfort zone. We teachers, being sapiens, did exactly that. Shortening an already trimmed holiday to attend a workshop was not exactly a welcome thought. Trepidation laced the response to a cheerful ‘Good Morning,’ that greeted us on the first day. Old Boy Gaurav Saklani (Ex 472 KB ’87 and ‘Suck’ to his Dosco friends), Brigadier Trigonesh and Ronny of iDiscoveri transported us bang into the eye of an intellectual storm that raged on for the next ten days with ‘killer’ Ashish Rajpal (Ex Harvard) upping the ante every now and then.

The course was as much about putting pen to paper as it was about applying thought to action – the action sometimes being executed blindfolded or with your right hand behind your back (left, in the case of MSS, ASH and SMD!) and sometimes with both handicaps together. If there is even a trace of sympathy for us while reading this – dispel the notion! All of us enjoyed every activity thoroughly. We marvelled at the planning that went into each activity, and were intrigued by the discussions that took place later. They amazingly opened up myriad windows – often overlooking the realm of taboo arenas that were hitherto dense with the cobwebs of complacence. Try building a tower with two inch wooden cubes, with two of your friends. Blindfold yourself, place your preferred hand behind your back and work only on verbal instructions from them! Many such exercises had team work, nay, team spirit working overtime. The fervour on display could easily have been mistaken for a Hyderabad v/s Kashmir match, especially when JHH pooled the resources of his team to outwit MCJ’s team in ‘PipeDreams’ without resorting to pettifogging. The darned marble, instead of passing along the bamboo hollow, would either roll backwards (foul!) or roll off (foul!) rather than smoothly pass along the relay, before it got dropped into a mug placed at the end of the old Tennis courts.

The physical that really put us to the test was when we built a rope bridge across the khud, were suspended upside down on the rope a good six feet above the ground, and had to make it across! Enthusiasm, fear, nervous laughter and wisecracks abounded. KAR was the guinea pig. He was cheered on – until he got stuck halfway. The hush that descended over the group dissolved into peals of laughter as we realized that until then, he was being pulled by PKJ and NTC at the other end... now he would have to start hauling himself. Drama personified he was... before, during and after the crossing! No one was allowed to have a bout of shamititis and the feeling of ‘Mission Accomplished’ gave everyone a high. Just when we were beginning to think it was all fun and games – enter Ashish!

Groan! On the first day we thought that he was such a bore with his deadpan expression, drizzle of theories and tossing Piaget, Dewey and Vygotsky’s research findings on progressive education at us. Games of ‘Noughts and Crosses’, wide yawns and raised eyebrows soon gave way to stimulating discussions and debate. Nai Taleem had begun and all of us were kept engrossed. Multiple intelligences do exist. Proclivity for subjects is acceptable. Documentation of thought is important. Cognitive revolution occurred in tandem with the computer revolution leading to rapid progress in Science and Technology. Self-esteem is built on islands of competence. Precision questioning, the success story of Microsoft, is an art that can be taught. Now when we look back, it was perhaps the intermittent doses of ‘Ashishomycin’ that kept the mental faculties in fine fettle.

Which ego state do you normally operate from? Parent, Adult or Child? While the good Brigadier walked us through Transactional Analysis, Gaurav made us fill out questionnaires. These confirmed what we had suspected all along. AAQ with his keen aesthetic sense and questioning ability found out that he was a ‘Diverger’, while HCH with his ability to be at the right place at the right time and make things happen was a ‘Converger’. Every now and then, GSS’s sotto voces with the straightest of faces had us all in splits!

The facilitators involved everyone and they even had the gall to make us do a project on the FRI! Two visits to the FRI and group discussions were the preamble to the presentations that we had to make. While AKC’s group made a flashy power point presentation, SMD mesmerized his audience with the power of the rhetoric when the floppy for his group failed to function. SJB, STB and RSF’s group presented some amazing photographs while PBR and KRS’s interesting and amusing observations brought on many a chuckle. ASH and MSS bedazzled everyone with their synchronized recitation – hey, Hindi too can be a fun subject! But it was GSS, AAQ, KAR, JNX and HMD’s group that brought the house down with their poetic interjection!

Another activity that exposed shrouded talents was the three minute play acting that we did. MHF’s group got a hilarious response when he extended SJB’s left arm to depict ‘I,’ right arm for ‘YOU’ and trunk and legs to depict ‘IT,’ to show that they had ‘understood’ rather than ‘learned’ about the impact of the environment! GSS as the futuristic information machine made staccato deliveries to PBR’s and KPB’s questions and even got stuck mid-sentence and had to be banged like an old TV set to function well. MLB and PKN’s imitation of the guides at FRI and KLA’s take on Gaurav Saklani evoked spontaneous applause and might be an ‘item’ for a Teachers’ ‘enti’!

And in the end, they gave each of us two beads. One bead had to be presented to a colleague along with the reason for giving it, while the other bead had to be kept for oneself and a reason given for that too. No prizes for guessing that DVS, KPB and PBR got the maximum number of beads, but some quaint ones deserve a mention. PDT got one because a colleague admired her genuineness; DCB got a bead for his simplicity, PMV for his genuine concern for humankind, KRS for being a good neighbour and Mrs. Katre for helping a colleague during difficult times. While many beads were kept for reasons like ‘being fair-minded’, ‘a decent friend’, ‘a good parent’, or a ‘good teacher’, PCH gave herself a bead for ‘crossing the rope bridge’! We ended the session by giving each other Jadu ki Jhappis.

The feel good factor at the culmination of the workshop was very high. We hope it translated into Doon Shining, to borrow a phrase from the very politicians whose pettiness we try so hard to avoid.

When KPB thanked them on our behalf, we showed our appreciation in a befitting manner – the staff of The Doon School accorded the iDiscoveri team a standing ovation!