From Imitation to Inspiration: A Lesson for Educators and Parents!

Dear Friends,

In the last two years, there have been 28 notable youth agitations or major protests across the world, such as those in Bangladesh over public-sector job quotas, in Nepal over social media restrictions and corruption, and in France over school conditions and access to education. Today’s topic is not about the number of agitations but about how individuals behave in an agitated group, even though they may exhibit good behaviour in isolation.

I am not a psychology expert, but there is a concept called conformity. It means we adjust our behaviour to match the group. A student joins a protest because most classmates participate. There is another concept called peer pressure. We act to gain approval or avoid rejection. A youth attends a rally to avoid being excluded. There is also a concept called group polarisation. It means that discussions among like-minded people can strengthen their initial opinions. A moderately dissatisfied group may adopt stronger demands.

As teachers, we also commonly encounter incidents where a student behaves well when we deal with them individually but changes their attitude when they join a certain agitated group. Sometimes, I feel embarrassed to hear certain foul language being used in a group. Even in our childhood, we used to hear similar foul language in our friends’ circles, but somehow, I was not attracted to it. Nowadays, when I pass by people on the road, in our apartment society, in college, or in other public places, most of the time children's discussions center on the opposite sex, entertainment, politics, and electronic gadgets. While we are racing against AI, I think the need for “Inspire to Innovate Storytelling” is also growing. Beyond traditional classrooms, districts should arrange TED-type events. We often see a mad rush for musical concerts but not for life talks.

How did I land on today’s topic? Yesterday, I was reading an article about how five parrots were separated at an English zoo after they started using foul language at visitors and laughing at their reactions! In 2020, five African grey parrots at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park in England became famous for swearing at visitors! Having spent time together in quarantine, they picked up foul language from one another, often joining in and laughing together. Their behaviour became so contagious that the zoo separated them to prevent nearly 200 other parrots from learning the same words. A hilarious example of social learning, imitation, and group influence in animals!

In our education system, we need to place greater focus on two critical parameters: inspiration and motivation. What is the difference between these words? Inspiration means an inner spark that makes you want to do something. Motivation means the drive that pushes you to actually do something.

In more detail:

Inspiration: "I want to become an inventor because I saw someone solving a real problem."

Motivation: "I will spend 30 minutes every day building and improving my invention."

Institutions should create dedicated slots in their timetables for storytelling, role-model sessions, experiential learning, peer-learning sessions, challenges, and reflection. Parents should also provide opportunities for these activities.

If we miss these interventions for the next 10 years, the nation will be weakened.

Let's build the nation through storytelling!

Ravi Saripalle
Inspire to Innovate Storytelling Movement since 2011