On 22nd September, 2018 a Workshop on “Social Scientific Temper” was organized for the students of S.Y.B.Com. Division A and B. The organizers were the resource persons from CMCA CAMPUS YUVA Citizenship and Life Skills Education Ms. Effy Acharya and Ms. Brinda Ganesh. The workshop was organized in room number 401 from 6.45 p.m. to 8.15 p.m.
The Social Scientific Temper Workshop is part of a series of workshops announced for college students. The class was divided into groups. One group was sent out of the class. Four students volunteered to read the case on hand. There was a narrator and three students played the role of citizens from different groups of society.
The narrator began with stating the real story where four young men form another state living in Maharashtra, working in Maharashtra visited the police station to give the officers some personal details about themselves as this was a requirement for their job. The police officers received the young men well, spoke to them respectfully and the formalities were completed. The four young men had to leave Maharashtra and go back to their home town in another state to attend a family wedding. They were away for a month. This was the true story.
A news reporter looking for a juicy story reports it like this – Four young men from another state, working in Maharashtra were held up by the police for questioning. The boys have absconded since then. The police are looking for them as they are involved in a criminal case.
A Municipal Corporater visited a housing society to address them before the local elections. In his talk he narrated the story stating that many young boys from outside states are roaming around the city. They work in the city and live on rent in housing societies. These boys are anti-social elements and criminals. The Corporater warned the society members not to allow boys from different states to enter the society. He asked them to be careful and vigilant about such instances. He wanted to protect members from such criminals.
A member from the housing society hearing this speech immediately sends a WhatsApp message to his friends in different housing societies announcing the arrival of criminal young boys from outside states living on rent in housing societies, posing to work in offices in Mumbai. Do not let them enter your society! These boys are criminals. BEWARE BOYS FROM OUTSIDE STATES THEY ARE CRIMINALS.
The students in the class were told the real story by the narrator. The group standing outside did not hear the true story. They were called in when the other members performed their part as the news reporter, Municipal Corporater and Member from the housing society. On listening to them the group that entered the class were asked to form their opinion on what had actually happened. They were influenced by the three stories they heard and believed that there were young boys from an outside state who were criminals.
The entire class listened in pin drop silence and appreciated the gap between reality and what was reported FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES in every instance. The students were called up one by one and asked to comment on what they understood. They explained that each of the characters in the case had twisted the facts to serve their own purpose. The news reports wanted a juicy story, the Municipal Corporater wanted votes and the member of the housing society wanted to connect with his friends with an interesting message. NONE of the stories were true.
The workshop concluded. The objective of the workshop to understand the importance of SCIENTIFIC TEMPER was achieved. Students realised that Reasoning and questioning the source of information is very important. Do not believe blindly what you hear and see. Find out the source of the information and question its authenticity before you believe anything you hear.
This was the message given to the students in the workshop.
The feedback of the students participating in the workshop are attached along with the pictures taken in the workshop.
The CMCA Workshop Series for College Students:
The F.Y.B.Com. students will participate in this series of workshop in the next term post examinations in October 2018.
The objective of the workshop series: Young people are concerned about their future, career and life. CMCA workshops empower students with values and skills which are important in everyday life and for any workplace.
CMCA programmes instil critical life skills like empathy, critical thinking, team work, communication, confidence and more. CMCA students learn to work in a team, focus on solutions, live with differences, are gender sensitive, and value different opinions.
CMCA Programmes are on innovation – transforming in education for democracy into a more empowering and democratic learning process for young people in India.