Reading biographies

You think your pain and heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. 

James Baldwin

Reading connects us to experiences similar to those of ours. But more importantly, it shows us worlds so removed from ours, experiences completely alien to ours. When we read, we cultivate a sense of curiosity for the world around us. And with this curiosity, one can hope that we become more empathetic. 

In a bid to expose their class to writers, thinkers, artists and change makers, the class teachers of grade 9, Anu and Abhishek, assigned each child a biography to read over the September holidays. 

Ambedkar’s biography by Gail Omvedt, Karukku by Tamil Dalit writer Bama, The Ivory Throne, a book on the Tranvancore royal family by Manu S Pillai, Maya Angelou’s biography were some of the books that the children read as a part of this project. 

The children made presentations on their respective biographies too, and answered questions with respect to whether it engaged them or not, what they learnt from the life of the person they were assigned and how different or similar it was to their own experiences. 

How does reading biographies enrich our experience of being human? For one, it helps us understand that no experience is unique. For the class teachers, it was an exercise in catering to the intellectual, emotional and social needs of the children in their classes, for what is an education if it cannot cater to the individual as a whole?