In the old days children managed with wooden cars, ragdolls and a cardboard box which they turned into a pirate ship. The household appliances were very simple, you had to wash your dishes and clothes by hand and chop wood for the fireplace to keep the cottage warm in the winter. Now kids’ toys are walking and talking and games have cyber spatial dimensions and complex story lines. Everything is designed to be easy-to-use and practical. This leaves a little room to think and act in a completely different way.

As a student, I have witnessed some tragicomical discussions during classes, and realized that the most hilarious situations are those where the brightest students can’t show their brightness in everything. Because my school just started (11th Aug), I remembered a conversation we had in advanced math’s class some months ago. So, for an example for you of the lack of practical creativity:

Teacher:
- How would you interprete this graphical function? Use your imagination!
(silence)
- Or has school already killed the creative side in you?
Pupil:
- Um, it could be velocity decreasing and increasing..
- Yes, quite right. But let’s take a more practical example, like.. Imagine that the curve represents the development of a child’s speech like “blahblahblah”, you know, when they first babble, then start using couple of words and finally sentences! (continues excitedly)
***
- It’d be convenient to use your imagination in these exercises… (quietly) Though during math’s class it may be a bit restricted…

A quick sketch by me.

Had a hard time in hiding my grins and keeping my bursts of laughter mute. The funniest part in the whole situation was that most didn’t get the point in the teacher’s blabbing or atleast didn’t dare to laugh. Or they just were amused by a totally different thing…

“Life is far too important to be taken seriously.” This aphorism is worth remembering throughout your life.