Space - nothing to do with my earlier postings

Today I visited a school next door which at the outset sounded very honest and sincere. This is a school which caters to children in the neighbourhood - most of them first generation learners. They have been trying to do a fine balancing act and the changes that have come about among the children, the staff and the learning environment in general is very impressive. In the midst of our chat, the chairman came up with a query for play ground space which made me sit up. So, today.. I only talk of 'space'.

It got me thinking.... How many branded, good schools in this city (Chennai) have space for playing? Almost every other school I know of have rented out premises which is a walking or a short travelling distance from the school. So, right now, we could discount chances of children running out of their classrooms energetically after hurried lunches for a short game. Space to play therefore defines when and what to play with set rules taking into account the time needed to go back and forth. 

This also brought back fond memories of an imposing government school I studied in a little township Neyveli. The ground was huge. The school was big and had close to 2000 students by a rough calculation. We had a nice long jump pit, a wonderfully maintained basket ball court and space, space and more space. One could just sit and get lost gaping into nothing, bumping into nobody for a little introspection, play with friends a very intense, passionate game of ko-ko and get back to class sweaty, full of energy or sit in groups gossipping. I was not a very 'game' person. I did not enjoy the structured P.T classes especially when we were close to our Sports day. One had to slog with dumbells (or whatever) and other group exercises in the hot sun. No child or parent complained. Occasionally, a girl who was down with chicken pox or fever resting in the shades would be the envy of the rest of the school. Yet it was fun. The frustration in the sun, the exercises, failure at the long jump pit for a record of 7 years, doing sit-ups in front of the school as a punishment and much more are memories of that 'space'. There was a way to space out and believe me, it was theraupatic. We never had a to find a quiet corner or a table and chair of a well kept high tech room. It was simply the school ground. 

Today, we are expanding our virtual universe, virtual space. We have become loners for most part and being driven by some agenda or the other. Schools are so custom made to suit this life style. No space... No spacing out. Where is the time to waste when there are many things to do?

A few years back, I had a few lower primary grade children in my school who would draw microscopic pictures on one corner of the sheet provided. Their letters were small. My mentor who is a child psychologist suggested that these children be taken out and given activities in the open ... like painting a wall, drawing on sand etc. She explained that these children had to experience space. By doing so, we get them understand the physical and mental space. Space exploration since then has always been high on my list.

So, thanks to cyber space, I can put down my feelings. See, we need space for this too.