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Our e-learning team had an unexpected visitor yesterday, 7 April (please see post-note below).
 The poor thing was quite disoriented but we did what we could to help, and a colleague even took the newbie home with her. Our friend will be with us for a while until it learns to feed itself and fly… well,it’s a baby mynah. Our The little thing was squeaking away in a plant pot at the office porch when it was discovered. How it got from tree to porch is anyone’s guess, but for now, my colleague Nancy is the protective guardian of a portable mynah sanctuary (a blue lunchbox carrier actually). Our Science editor speculated that Mynie might be ready to fly two to three weeks.
So as we buzzed around the little pipsqueak (yes that’s the sound it makes), some questions naturally presented themselves…
Where did it come from? (Mostly likely a nest from one of the nearby trees.)
Where shall we put it? (Somebody produced a plastic box and a towel.)
What will it eat? (A good soul dug up some worms and a few hard whacks later, little Mynie was happily gobbling up fresh worm mash while the squeamish scuttled back to our desks. We’re happy to report that its Day 2 now, and Mynie seems happy with vegetarian fare – banana-flavoured baby food.)
What are we going to do with it? (Well for now, Mynie’s got a starring role in our upcoming Science video.)
As we watch Mynie in the days to come, no doubt we’ll learn new things about her (actually we’re not quite sure whether it’s a ‘him’ or ‘her’ yet) in the process of caring for our little visitor. If you’ve had the experience of caring for a lost kitten or other pet, you’ll know what I mean.
As a matter of fact, children – being naturally curious – are often the ones most intrigued by pets and other unexpected additions to the household. If you’ve been in this situation, you may have been peppered by tons of questions and requests ranging from the expected (‘Can I hold him?’) to the worrying (‘She seems to be feeling cold… shall we put her in the microwave oven for a while?’). Though there are some risks involved, there is much to gain by letting our kids learn first-hand about caring for pets or even a plant by letting them get involved in the process and in doing so, learn what works and what doesn’t. Schools call this experiential learning but as the phrase infers, experiential learning is learning by experience, learning by doing and learning by taking risks. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
The wonderful thing about experiential learning is that it has the ability to engage learners at a personal level. When children are kept interested or are having fun in the process, it helps them to remember what they have learnt for a longer period of time. However, just going through an experience (“Do It”) does not quite add up to experiential learning. Ask questions about the experience (“What happened?”), get your child to reflect on it (“What’s Important?”) and encourage your child to think about how the lessons learnt could be applied to other situations (“So What? Now What?”).
And while you do this...you may just find yourself learning something new about your children as well.
Post-note on 12 April: Despite the TLC and concern, our little charge took a turn for the worse over the weekend and left us this morning. Bye, little Mynie... for 'chirping' (though ever so briefly) into our lives.
What are your thoughts on this article? We would love to hear from you.
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