7th Konar Tamil Guide

[Emerio Boykins]

Thislittle Mari we speak about is today Mari Selvaraj, the director who set the box office on fire with his heart-rending film Pariyerum Perumal BA, BL. The film told the story of a young Dalit man aspiring to become a lawyer and the torturous casteist circumstances he's put through in his time at the law college.

Two days ago, Selvaraj's wife, Divya Selvaraj, who is an English teacher in a government school in the city excitedly called him on the phone. Her mother, who was a Tamil language teacher had just told her that Pariyerum Perumal was one of the answers to a question in the Konar Tamil Urai guide book.

"When you make a film, you only get two-and-a-half hours to make your audience feel what you want them to feel. That's barely any time to get your point across but seeing this essay in Konar has made me feel like I managed to do that. I actually cannot believe it but it makes me so happy to know that I've managed to convey exactly what I wanted to and that students will actually get to read about it too," Selvaraj said.

Selvaraj's connection with the Konar Urai runs deep. "From the 6th to the 12th I only used Konar especially for students like me who are not so good at studies. We didn't just have to by-heart everything, it helped us understand and analyse," he explained.

Another interesting point that the award-winning director says is that the Konar books made students be themselves. How does a book manage to do that? "I didn't have to be someone else, someone who pretended to know everything and just mugged up everything. We could be ourselves because the books would appeal to our individual understanding. They would give us examples that we could identify with and that's why I was able to learn," Selvaraj explained.

For this article, we spoke to someone who also relied completely on the Konar books as a child. When we asked them about what they thought of the movie reference in the book, they said, "When I was growing up, for questions like these, the Konar author would use an old mythological tale to explain something like the Meypaadugal. You see we had to imagine these stories, we didn't really believe them so we would anyway have to just by heart the answer. If I was in school and had Pariyerum Perumal as an answer it would have made such a difference because I know it and I've seen it and its easier to identify. I would have aced the exam!"

Which is why for Selvaraj, finding the film as a reference in the Konar is probably equivalent to an award, "I didn't expect that Pariyerum Perumal would have such a massive impact on people. Now it actually makes me scared, scared that I might not be able to reproduce this in my second film. Let's see," he smiles.

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This volume provides an overview of key themes in Indigenous Environmental Knowledge (IEK) and anchors them with brief but well-grounded empirical case studies of relevance for each of these themes, drawn from bioculturally diverse areas around the world. It provides an incisive, cutting-edge overview of the conceptual and philosophical issues, while providing constructive examples of how IEK studies have been implemented to beneficial effect in ecological restoration, stewardship, and governance schemes.

The book is a guide for graduate and advanced undergraduate teaching, and a key reference for academics in development studies, environmental studies, geography, anthropology, and beyond, as well as anyone with an interest in Indigenous Environmental Knowledge.

Thornton serves as the director for the UAS Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center. In addition to previously serving as the Dean of Arts and Sciences, he was Associate Professor at the Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, UK. Bhagwat is Professor of Environment and Development, and Head of the School of Social Sciences and Global Studies at the Open University, UK. His research focuses on the links between environment and development in the context of global challenges.

The book is available on the Routledge website. Learn more about indigenous knowledge and Alaska Native Studies at the University of Alaska Southeast or call and speak with an advisor at (907) 796-6000.

The University of Alaska Southeast is a student-centered university that provides instruction in liberal arts, professional, and technical fields. On the homelands of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples, we serve the coastal environments, cultures, economies, and communities of Alaska, through interdisciplinary education, workforce development, and scholarship, research, and creative activity.

Experts say that children who are supported by families with observation, interest and care can reveal their potential at an earlier age; however, some children may hide their talents, and careful evaluations may be required in this case.

Stating that the capacity of understanding and ability begins to manifest itself from infancy, Child Development Specialist Elif Konar zkan expressed that "The child's family and family environment, friend groups and social experiences are important in the emergence, development and consolidation of the child's abilities."

Noting that talent is defined as 'a person's capacity to understand and do something', Elif Konar zkan stated that "The capacity to understand and do begins to manifest itself from infancy. If it is a family environment that will create opportunities to get to know the child and guide them to reveal their potential, the child begins to express themselves comfortably and freely. An attentive family thus acquires many clues as to what they can do and, of course, what they can do. The most important thing is to observe the child and living life with the child... Some children show themselves openly. This is obvious if their level of intelligence or talent is far superior to their peers or special. Some children, on the other hand, hide themselves for various reasons (genetics, epigenetics, psychological characteristics; parental attitudes, environmental influences); In such a situation, careful evaluations become important."

Stating that many gifted children can learn to read and write before going to school, and that they can start researching, questioning and actively using their problem-solving skills at an early age, zkan said that "Careful evaluations may be required for children whose differences from their peers are not evident in this way or who are slightly more talented than average. By using various scales, the child's performance in cognitive, social, emotional and motor development areas is profiled. When they are recognized at an early age and guided appropriately, their development can be regulated."

Stating that although talent is genetically formed in the child, it develops and its potential emerges through the environment, Elif Konar zkan said that "The child's family and family environment, friend groups and social experiences are important in the emergence, development and consolidation of the child's talents. Gifted children, who are born equipped with different and privileged features, show their potential if they have found a suitable environment for their development at every age, and unsuitable environments prevent their potential from being revealed and hinder them. It should not be forgotten that special talent is an individual characteristic. First of all, it should be remembered that they are children."

Konar stated that education can be applied separately from their peers in specially designed environments for gifted children and with specially trained teachers and specially developed programs. Explaining that education can also be provided together, where support services and programs are offered in the same educational environments without separating them from their peers, Elif Konar zkan stated that "In the separate education model, all of the children in the program are especially talented, and the students support each other at a high level and compete. Thus, the feeling of being alone decreases. Of course, this is not without its disadvantage... Gifted children are prevented from interacting with other children in a separate education model, and therefore it becomes difficult for them to integrate into society, the development of leadership characteristics is hindered and may cause them to be selfish."

Noting that in the co-education model, gifted children can receive diversified and enriched education among their peers and in normal classes, Elif Konar zkan said that "Therefore, it supports the social emotional development of children without separating them from their peers. While it is ensured that gifted children develop according to their own speed and competencies in the areas they are advanced, and it allows them to be together with their peers in other areas, to interact, to learn and to produce together. This method gives children the opportunity to grow up more adaptable and flexible."

Stating that guidance teachers, resource room system, and Science and Art Education Centers are among the additional practices planned to support gifted children in educational environments in our country, Child Development Specialist Elif Konar zkan expressed that "In addition to these, mentoring support should not be neglected in the fields they are interested in. Apart from these, guidance should be performed for expert support when needed psychosocially."

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