This is a guest post by Pooja Srivastava
Neha is a 12 year old studying in the sixth standard at a Public School in Pune. On a visit to her home we began chatting with her about her school and what subjects she studies. A Geography lesson came up and she mentioned that she had read about soil types in the class.
We asked her about the difference between fertile and arid
soil, she was able to repeat the definitions exactly as she had read in her
textbook. When she was asked about which regions in India have arid soil
though, she had no response.
We tried to lead her
to the right answer by mentioning rainfall patterns and climate conditions but
she was unable to give any response.
Finally she broke down crying. You see, she was the best
student in the class and she realized she was unable to make the most basic
connection to the real world. She also said, this question was not taught in
the class or explained by her teacher. I consoled her and helped her calm down
by asking her to find out the correct response by asking her teacher in the
next class.
Pooja Srivastava is a Special Education
& School Teaching Expert based in India.
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