A group of teenagers huddle to make posters at IIT-Madras. The 18-year-olds from different parts of the country have just left home and are getting accustomed to hostel life on campus. They have been asked to make posters on their dreams. “My dream is to live in Berlin,” reads one with an oddly-shaped Germany drawn on it. “All the world’s a stage, I was born a drama queen,” quips another. There are collages of every nature, some narcissistic, some hedonistic, some not really achievable, nevertheless put up with confidence.
“Talk to each other about your dreams,” says Shiva Subramaniam, the coordinator of the programme. “When these posters are put up on the walls of their dormitories, it will remind them every day that they have a purpose in life,” he says.
Centred around the concept that learning does not just take place in the classroom, this Life Skills programme at IIT-M deals with three components, namely getting along, planning and systems thinking, and aims to help freshers imbue a holistic way of looking at the world.
Getting along
Getting along may be difficult for teenagers for a number of reasons. “They may have bloated egos, or they may not possess characteristics associated with being right brained, (such as being intuitive, thoughtful, creative, and able to read emotions and expressing them) After having worked hard to get into college, they become too logical. You have to nurture their right-brain activity,” says Prof MS Sivakumar, Dean of Students, IIT-M.
One has to teach them to respect each other and understand each other’s culture. Also, it is important not be overwhelmed. The initial bias and hesitation that they have towards the opposite gender should be nipped in the bud. “Cross cultural mingling should be encouraged for this purpose,” says Subramaniam.
Planning
Planning is just as important as having a dream and setting goals. “Planning is very tough for a teenager, as it interferes with their freedom,” Prof Sivakumar says. Everyone dreams; some work towards it, some don’t. After setting goals, it is important to strategise. And before strategising, students should collate necessary information.
Systems Thinking
Today’s solutions can be tomorrow’s problems. “The cellphone, which was once the best thing that happened to communication world-wide, is impeding interpersonal communication today because everyone is engrossed in their phones,” says Subramaniam. One must understand that actions have consequences.
“The law of diminishing marginal utility in Economics applies to life as well. The more and more one gets of what one desires, the satisfaction derived from it will become less,” he says, explaining that it is important to have that understanding. Finally, one should have SMART dreams – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Reachable and Time bound.
The life skills programme was conducted with the understanding that helping students cope with pressure and guiding them in making decisions for themselves was important. Even more so is exposing them to the methods and practices that help develop character, the right attitude, trustworthiness, dependability and ethical values. The progamme aimed to plant the seeds of learning in young minds and then encourage them to nurture the seed.
Suraksha@newindianexpress.com