While in Panckula I had the pleasure of being invited to a school run by a senior officer's wife to talk to her about lateral or creative thinking. While talking, she expressed an opinion that children now a days are not very creative but spent more time on video games. I disagreed with her and asked her to give me some students for half an hour to show her something. About 20 students of age group 11 to 14 were given to me for half an hour. After talking to them I brought out the topic of my childhood memories of plucking mangoes from trees by using stone, stick, etc, Climbing did yield some result but also gave me bruises and cuts. The children agreed that some of them had done similar things and always wanted to pluck mangoes. I then asked them to suggest some instrument, technique by which the mangoes could be plucked without any injuries or damages and without using stones or sticks. Even the principal was surprised when the students produced ideas and rough sketches of about 11 such techniques/ ideas.This was as a result of just some freedom to think differently about solutions for a problem. I explained that the students had without knowing used a technique called ANOLOGIES in lateral thinking as proposed by Edward De Bono to devise or come out with these ideas. Imagine what will happen if they are formally introduced to these techniques. The suggestion could not be implemented due some reluctance by Management and the principal and myself leaving Panchkula. I have always advocated that children need to be give freedom to come out with new solutions to issues other than what is taught to allow them to develop the skill of creative thinking.
" The most effective way of changing ideas is not from outside by conflict, but from within by the insight arrangement of available information. Insight is the only effective way of changing ideas in a myth situation where information can not be evaluated objectively."
Edward De Bono
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