Education Matters

 And there I was, minding my own business (which translates to - in the middle of preparing a training manual) when my trusted girl Thursday suddenly gave voice to her thoughts.

"Wonder how people go to the moon and what the moon looks like." (no doubt the result of hearing about Chandrayan all the time on news channels.)

Screech!!!! My focus came to a 250-0 km/hr screeching halt, as the geography teacher in me woke up.

There is no time like the present to get things sorted (umm... procrastinate?) when it comes to astronomy and seeing the light of knowledge shine in this simple woman's eyes. Bereft of formal education, all her knowledge of the world, beliefs, science, you name it, comes from me.

Once again, the teacher in me gives first priority to educating my GT (Girl Thursday, get it?) at the cost of the looming deadline that hangs over my head like the mythical sword.

Uh, where was I? Ah, yes! Of course, at my laptop, and what could be easier than showing her videos and pics? Really, learning has become so much easier and so much more interesting, thanks to the internet.

"Come here and watch this video. That is a rocket and see this is how it takes off. It is set to go to outer space, much, much above us."

"Above the clouds?"

"Arre girl, even airplanes fly above the clouds! These go far beyond, where it's free of Earth's gravity."

Looking at her face I realized I have to journey down to the centre of the earth, before taking off to the moon.

"Jump."

"What?"

"Arre baba, just show me how high you can jump."

Still hesitating and with a 'you-are-acting-crazy look in her eyes, she jumped sedately but clarified, " I can of course jump higher than that."

"Have you ever wondered what's holding you down when you jump? Why you can't go as high as that tower, or even higher?"

Evidently, such a question had not crossed her head, for she looked lost.

Trying to make it as easy for her as possible, and without having to differentiate between mass and weight, I explained. "The earth is very heavy, right? Billions of people, landmass, water bodies, trees, and animals live on it. But the Earth's weight is much, much more than that of each one of us and that is why it exerts pull on us."

She responds with a dazed look.

"So OK, you see my fridge magnets? The earth pulls us like those magnets. On the moon, the pull is lesser so you would jump much higher."

Aaaahhhhh, realization dawns.

The conscientious teacher in me continues, "See this video of a spaceship? It is in the space. Can you see how dark it is? There is also no oxygen there you know. Astronauts spend time in space, carrying out many tests. They carry air supply to breathe. They eat dehydrated food, like the biscuits I once showed you."

"Where's the wind coming from then?"

The off-track question caught me off-guard. "Wind? What wind?"

"Look, they are all flying around."

"That's because there is no gravity. Nothing is pulling them in any one direction for they are free of the Earth's pull and not near any other big Graha (planet). And see these suits here? They wear them when they go out into space or when they land on the moon. And this is how the moon looks, and see? There is our Earth, blue and beautiful."

"Oh!"

"Yes. it's beautiful, isn't it? With water and clouds and green land. The moon has a rough and rocky surface in contrast."

She once again seems mesmerized by the spaceship video that was running.

"So many machines! And this lady is working on them. She must be knowing so much! Education is so important."

Mission successful. With the right knowledge comes true understanding. Education is vital- once women like her understand this, they will hopefully ensure all the girls and boys strive to complete their college education at least, so that, if not them, the next generation could strive even higher. Maybe even reach the moon?