Friends
Hope this would be of interest.
Children needs to be the standard for designing everything and once
that is done the very idea of 'universal design' wouldn't be
necessary. In every sense children need to be our focus as child is
the future of humanity.
This requires sensitivity and a deeper appreciation of the
possibilities as well as the fragility of the child.
At this point inclusive design is an afterthought, like
sustainability, if at all this is attempted.
From our work with children during the past three years at Sadhana
village school (www.sadhanavillageschool.org) we have come to some
conclusions that could be of use to people who are truly concerned
about the overall development of the child in a natural manner.
We are seeing potential for fresh research to understand the integral
nature of the child, integral nature of the content and the way
cognitive structures/ process is formed.
One assumption is that children wants to understand the real world,
real contexts of where ever they are located and they are also
equipped to understand this within their socio cultural frame work.
The real world consists of people, natural and social processes,
materials, products etc. Which means the children wants to know what
the world looks like (FORM), feels like (MATERIALITY), what and how
they could be in the world (PROCESS/ PHENOMENON).
Learning is a process that is done by all living beings - like
reproduction and digestion- and sustenance of life seems to be its
purpose. These are governed by inherited biological rules and the
external conditions. Naturally the process and content of learning
would also be related to this. This is the primary aspect of learning.
The primary cognitive source is the real world as it is and not its
explanation, primary cognitive process are dictated by the biological
aspects.
Modern schooling is dealing with secondary cognitive source and hence
secondary cognitive tool- reason. Both are in fact good for
communication and is of no use in primary cognition.
Modernity misleads the child in every way by masking the real world
from the child. The real world/ natural phenomenon are removed from
the experience of the child and is replaced by engineered and
constructed reality(physical and conceptual) and then the child
learns that as the reality of the world.
The child now only see young people as almost everyone is looking
young by cosmetically changing them. Natural phenomenon of aging is
removed from the experience of the child. Old age homes, home for
other types of handicapped also is very harmful for the child as these
are opportunities for development of sensitivity, care etc. Even the
word- handicapped is removed and replaced with differently abled!
Modern solution is quite hilarious. they have invented storytelling to
inculcate values. Guess what the child learns from this. They also
learn to tell stories on values.
The cyclic, regenerative aspect of life is removed from the experience
of modern childhood. They only see the end product and never the
process. It is natural then to have more nouns among modern literate
people where as the language of non literate have more verbs.
Child hardly ever see processes natural or even manmade as they are
dealing only with the finished product in modernity. Starting with
toys, food - milk, rice, wheat, pulses, vegetables, fruits, meat etc.
Children are not aware that meat comes from killing animals or milk
etc. They do not see the connection between the water they use and
rain. This is a long list. This causes total alienation from nature
and processes of life.
Toy is the best example of misleading and schools does it most
efficiently by removing the primary cognitive source and replacing it
with language. So children master the word and not the world.
Why to be in the world, How to be in the world and What to do in the
world are three fundamental questions that can be used as basic
premise in the explorations. Why relates to value, how relates to
beauty and what relates to the reality. So all actions are necessarily
rooted in value, beauty and truth.
The way world functions or laws that govern the functioning of nature/
life is what is known as science, how one lives is the beauty aspect,
the action which is being carried out in harmony, in rythm. Language
is the description and the way language is structured is the way life
happens. In that sense the grammer is connected to the existence
itself. may be mathematics is also integral aspect of life- the
measurable, quantifyable....
The child also follows the same laws of nature and may be knowledge is
really about awakening the child to its nature itself. The nature and
life happening around reflects, the child absorbs, imitates to remind
itself of its potential........
School on the other hand deflects and mask the real world from the
child. Child nevertheless absorbs and imitates as that is the nature
of the child and hence learns the very structure of school itself, of
the text, of the teacher etc. Digital source structures the child's
beingness to its structure, to its nature.
Research possibilities based on our observation.
Please see the link for further details
https://www.academia.edu/7123656/RESEARCH_ON_CHILDREN_LEARNING_AND_CONTENT_-_NEW_POSSIBILITIES
We are inviting collaboratores/ supporters for this enquiry
--
Jinan,
'DIGITAL MEDIUM IS A TOOL.DIGITALLY MEDIATED KNOWLEDGE DESTROYS THE BEING'
http://sadhanavillageschool.org/
https://www.youtube.com/user/sadhanavillagepune
https://www.youtube.com/user/jinansvideos
www.re-cognition.org
www.kumbham.org
reimaginingschools.wordpress.com
http://designeducationasia.blogspot.com/
http://awakeningaestheticawareness.wordpress.com/
http://awakeningaestheticawareness.blogspot.in/
09447121544
0487 2386723
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