Developing
a sense of community, is a very important part of becoming a
good citizen. Members of a community, should be capable of addressing,
issues and problems of their community. This can only happen
if one connects with the community and feels a sense of belonging
to it. Responsible community members do not lead isolated happy
lives, but stretch beyond their own comfort zones to care for
issues of their community. As
a learning exercise, some social issues were identified and
offered to the students. The exercise was to collect information
on the issues from various media, libraries, internet and personal
interviews with the community. The issues selected were Voluntary
Simplicity, Neglect of Old Relatives, and Substance Abuse (especially
gutka). The first phase of information collection taught the
students researching abilities and connecting with the community.
The
information so gathered was sorted in a group discussion exercise,
to separate the chaff from the grain and to develop an understanding
of the issue at hand. This
understanding then was the basis of developing plays, songs,
talks, posters etc. that created awareness about the issues
as well as offered positive alternatives. The learning from
the Perfect Knowledge module was a frame of reference for the
students, which helped them decide the correct course of action
under the various circumstances.
