Jacque Derrida, while explaining the dynamics of deconstruction, said: ‘It is not something that the reader makes; but it simply takes place.’ It is true, the authentic things simply happen. I think that the subtle and new forms of teaching methods take place in course of lecturing. It would be enough that the teacher becomes sensitive to the intuitions that emerge spontaneously within him/her in course of lecture. At times, I feel that in teaching, the teacher does not converse with the audience; he speaks to oneself. Lecturing is a medium at our disposal to clarify for ourselves the underlying doubts on the topic, to become aware of the basic components involved in the issue and to articulate the implicit conventions at work regarding the concerned subject.

At other times, the lecture takes a different path in developing the theme in the light of the changing moods on the face of the auditors. The spontaneous reactions that take place on the face of the auditors help the educator to be conscious about aspects which otherwise s/he would not have thought about. The active lecturer can read from the faces the varied questions, responses and opinions that are elicited in the minds of the listeners. In case the lecturer is not in a position to detect the implicit undercurrents in the minds of the auditors, s/he can ask them to share their feelings and thoughts on the subject. In such instances the teacher must have the capacity to identify the resourceful points in the interventions of participants and build up the input from and along with the insights of the participants.

While the participants become the active agents of learning, the class will take an original course of its own. Such types of animation produce extravagant results. In this regard I want to refer to one of my recent experiences. I was supposed to preach a retreat to the first year degree students in one of the colleges in Kerala. The 500 students belonged to all religions and to the different Christian groups. I did not preach the retreat rather I solicited their participation in reflecting together with them on some points that touch their life. Subsequently the sessions were not conducted in the form of lectures. The sessions were interactive, often stimulating responses from the audience after showing some clips.

The second day I began the session with a video on the life of the physically and mentally challenging students. My intention was to bring them into a reflective mood. As expected they became silent as soon as the images appeared on the screen. But to my surprise, they were not able to come out of the hang-over that was created by the stunning images. To air the sentiments, I invited their comments. Soon, a Muslim girl came forward to witness how does she live with her handicapped cousin. Then another student took the relay sharing how her attitude to life changed thanks to the two-day experience in such a charitable centre. I had to limit the number of interventions because there were many in the queue.

At the interval I saw a physically challenged boy in the hall. I suggested him to share how does he manage his life. His intervention gave us the most sublime moments of the retreat. My point is when we, as pedagogues, create an environment in which the teachers and students seek together the answers of the problems, then the education grows to the level of transformation of the participants. It is possible because given that humans are created in the image and likeness of God. (Gen 1:26), the Holy Spirit is at work in every individual. The discernment regarding the work of the Spirit in the students is easy for those who approach the art of communication with an eye of faith.

Kundu1962@gmail.com