Radio: wave of memories…

There are tons and tons of memories that only 90’s kids will understand. Are you, like me, an adult who still find herself diving into vast ocean of memories of her childhood? If yes, then let me hold your hands as I am going to take a dive to explore one such pearl of memories which only you and me can cherish.

Radio… Do you remember that small noisy box, that when get its ear twisted slight right or slight left started speaking a totally new language… Those were the days when radio was not just the source of sole entertainment but also major source of news and communication… But for me it was a sensation of nostalgia… How in those days, especially in remote outskirts of India, full day electicity was still a luxury people crave for… When sunset and mosquitoes emerged in full moon night and then powercut for whole night… Sitting under the glory of full moon, in the midst of fog of mosquito repellent’s smoke, dad would pull out a medium giant box with antenna like an antler of a wild moose… Deciding which station to land on, twisting it’s ear in middle of a slight left and a slight right, neither too left nor too right … As if a sailer holding a stiring of a giant ship, a slip of hand and ship will land on a strangest of land…

A slight ups and downs of frequency modulation, FM is what they call it, would have changed the country and language of broadcast… It could be a Korean singer singing a Korean song, or a Japanese newsreader reading news in Japanese language… It could be a radio drama in Hindi language or an English movie… A maxican chef cooking tacos and salsa in maxican language or a BBC repeating same news how a whale was stuck offshore, for a week…
So many of such memories… Do you think those were just a gadget? Naah!!! Those were life, a modern-day kid will never understand… How fast technology has eaten up one another… Walkman then tape recorder, then VCR then VCD then very recent one, pendrive… All vanished… They say, the more the better, I say naah!…

What counts for me are memories we can cherish years and years after the time has passed…

Information overload…

Today let talk about what is a difference between learning and information overload… I strictly believe that learning should be age restricted or relevant to age of the leaner… You just can’t bombard information or random data to a child especially small ones…

For me learning especially for young children constitutes of two things… First, ability to read and write a language or two, especially his mother tongue… And second, ability to retain what has been learned in mind for as long as possible… Say, to memorise…

But on Contrary, in today’s world of information overload little minds are bombarded with information on TV or on internet which are irrelevant for their age… Why a small kid needs to know about every details of a piece of history or theories of science… Anyone who can read and write can dig out these information later in life, especially when they try to prepare themselves for a profession…

I being a parent and a teacher practice providing very small piece of information to my young learners which is strictly restricted to their age… And for this very purpose you should always check on sources your younger learners get information from like print media or internet/ television…

Young learners have tremendous ability to learn new things and store them in their brain for very long… There are things that needs more space in our mind, things that make our habits… Especially postive things like taking care of loved ones, being responsible for ones action, doing things independently, being nice etc…

On the other hand, being exposed to too much negative at young age especially to any form of violence, through Hollywood/Bollywood movies, internet videos, social media, video games and even daily newspapers can make young mind immune to violence…

This topic needs more elaboration but few points in the nutshell:

1. Young learners should utilise most of their times in learning a language, especially their mother tongue.

2. Too much information is strictly a big NO.

3. Practice small age relevant information as many times as possible, untill it burns into memory.

4. Learn good manners and being responsible for their actions.

5. Big no for screen times, it distracts young minds even more. Running around and play is best source of learning and development…