[PeDAGoG] A shout out to Melanie Bush

Fri Jun 10 09:26:09 CEST 2022

Thank you very much for sharing Melanie and Pallavi - this is so inspiring!

Best wishes

Michel

> On 28 May 2022, at 08:55, Devika Misra <devika.misra at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> That sounds like the Melanie I know ! Thank you for sharing Pallavi, this is beautiful and very inspiring!
> 
> On Sat, 28 May 2022, 13:18 Pallavi Varma Patil, <pallavi.vp at apu.edu.in <mailto:pallavi.vp at apu.edu.in>> wrote:
> Dear PeDAGoG Members,
> 
> I wanted to share a recent interesting and meaningful experience that came about directly as a result of this network.
> 
> You are aware (mostly thanks to my own emails) that Sujit and I offered the first session in the new webinar series called 'Learnings for Alternative Futures' (designed in collaboration with several valuable networks)  by presenting our initiative, 'Living Utopias' on April 1, 2022.  It was a session with a small group and we had a very useful conversation amongst the participants. One of them , Melanie Bush (more on her in our google sheet <https://bit.ly/3MWczsB> ) reached out to us in the following week and we had a lovely conversation about pedagogies and experiential learning- making abstract values more tangible.
> 
> And so I learnt from Melanie (with her generous sharing of ideas ) how to set up an assignment around a Time Bank in a classroom space . I was skeptical but my students in an Indian University (36 of them) rose to the occasion and exceeded the brief and more. They paired up on their own and shared their skills and gifts. So from bike rides to coffee evenings to cooking, a lake walk, a photoshoot, braiding hair,  to watching a film together, playing childhood games - they completed their time sharing tasks in  myriad ways.
> 
> And just like that my University class transformed like magic . We had a whole unit on Solidarity Economics with the usual reading list but now each one of them came back to class with a different mind set towards learning. They were so much more engaged as participants in ideas around Living Utopias.  Without ANY exception I had 36 reflections that spoke about the huge impact a small assignment made on the possibilities that friendships and connections bring, 
> 
> It was difficult to read their sensitive reflections without tearing up. These students are in the age group of 22-27 years. Coming out of COVID closures, and increased polarisation in the world around them,  several are struggling to make and maintain real physical comradeship and friendships. Many are also very despondent about the future. 
> In this context, thanks to such a  simple assignment, I got to connect with my students in a very different and humane way.
> 
> I wanted to publicly thank Melanie in this forum for this impromptu collaboration.  Following our webinar was Dan Baron's fantastic session and a 3rd webinar in the series is on its way. I hope what is now set rolling continues and we do not stop soon. 
> 
> Because look how New York affected  Bangalore!. 
> 
> Best,
> Pallavi
> 
> 
> 
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