When i walk slowly, I see more.
When i eat slowly, I relish more.
When I swing slowly, I sing more.
When I read slowly, I imagine more.
When I do slowly, I think more.
When I achieve it slowly, I enjoy it more.
When I learn slowly, I learn more.
Poorvais learning slowly. She takes time to climb the rock. She tries different routes, styles. She is okay with giving up. She is fine with doing less. She has no image to live up to. She has nobody to compete with – except herself. She has no rock to conquer – except herself. For her, learning is not an objective, it is a way of enjoying life.
Dhrupadis learning slowly. He is absorbed in the pictures in his book. There is no deadline to finish the book – he can revisit it as many times as he wants. Every time he visits, his mind wanders into new fantasies. He persists with them. There are some words he does not know. There is no hurry to know them. He lets the context drive the meaning, as of now. He creates his own meanings. For him a book is like life, it never gets over till it gets over.
Vedha is learning slowly. She is constantly attracted to what others are doing, so much that her own doing is resting. She loves these attractions, most of her friends love them too. She chatters animatedly with almost everybody, asking, telling, commenting, praising, giggling. She’s like the bubble blower – spreading effervescence into the environment. There is in no hurry to finish her own tasks, when there is so much to hobnob about. For her learning is not an end, friends are.
Vedantis learning slowly. His artwork is not moving ahead. He is not keen on making it move in the direction called ‘ahead’. He makes random changes, tries random combinations (or so it appears). He is working as if finishing the artwork will finish the joy. For him, his is not ‘a work of art’ but ‘art of working’, of learning.
Girija is facilitating slowly. She thinks it is up to the children to decide what, how, and how much to learn. Speed in itself is inconsequential. There is so much to learn that the amount of learningper seis as illusory as catching up with the horizon. Hence, she sees no need to encourage them, motivate them, prod them. She does not want children to learn fast, or more, or better. In fact, she does not even want children to learn. For her education is not about knowing or learning. It is about life – living life – slowly.
Authors’ Note:
The idea of GO SLOW (or learning slowly) is not about speed. Go slow is more the opposite of the common “strong” ambition many parents have for their children – to achieve, to succeed, to become. It is a retort to some parents’ low patience due to high expectations. It is not about being ‘slow’ per se – but it is about looking at education, learning, and growth differently. It is about questioning, “Are performance and progress the only windows? Is the future the only destination? What about living, enjoying, happiness?”
In a way Go Slow is an alternative to the rat race.
In a way Go Slow is a journey of life together.
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