Ms Chiho Nakagawa from Sr and Jr High School of Kogakuin University, Tokyo (Japan) had a Zoom session with the students of The Punjab Public School, Nabha on August 12, 2020. Thirty (30) students from Grade VI to VIII participated in it. The guest lecturer took up a Japanese book “It might be an apple” by Shinsuke Yoshitake for discussion. The exercise was aimed at seeing things from a child’s perspective. She shared many pages of the book in slideshare depicting an apple in myriad avatars open to all kinds of interpretations. The underlying idea was to do away with the dichotomy that exists between reality and illusion. The possibility exists that some learners may be near to reality too soon while others may take a while to arrive at the same conclusion. It is a matter of perception ably guided by a teacher. You may think of an apple in infinite number of ways unless you have seen one. Many conjectures, projections and impositions precede the precise moment of actualisation. A child may make anything out of an apple ranging from a dinosaur to a human being. The process of visualization is graded in direct proportion to mental evolution. The children were told to draw an apple with their specific inputs. It fired their imagination. They came up with brilliant ideas and put up their drawings for all to see.
Ms Chiho had also a brief session on the idea of Peace. She did an activity with children involving practical brainstorming. Hailing from Japan and having a history of atomisation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, peace is a practical proposition with her people, she said. She put a question: What is peace? She touched upon upheavals in the form of civil unrest in countries like Iraq and Belarus, to name a few. The participants came up with their idea of peace. The described it variously. The lesson driven home was that peace is the sine qua non for any meaningful existence. We need peace in family, locality, workplace and, above all, in our mind. It adds to the quality of life. The children were told to write five points on their idea of peace and choose the best which they thought fitted into an ideal model.
The session was coordinated by Mrs Tanuja Singh, RS Rep of PPS. The session was attended by the English faculty. Dr Rakesh Alfred, Headmaster (Officiating) thanked Ms Chiho for an enlightening session.
