I’m afraid I’ve never been much of a sports enthusiast, despite the fact that I am surrounded by tennis aficionados, football fans and cricket experts who ensure that the background noise that pervades the home is mostly ball-by-ball commentary of one game or another, accompanied by intermittent cheering and clapping. But over the years, I’ve learned to watch the occasional game or match with a degree of interest if not understanding. When the details of the game get too complicated for me, I turn my attention to the aesthetics of play, the colours of the athletes’ uniforms, the language of the commentary, or the reaction of the crows. There’s usually something I can hook on to, to feed my curiosity.
Courses in college are something like that. Not every single one is going to be exactly up your alley. You will be more interested in some, and less in others. You will see direct relevance in some, and cannot fathom the relevance of others, and wonder why some are even included. You may have been drawn to the programme because of a specific interest, and your patience may be tested when you find you have to do all these other courses that seem to have nothing to do with that interest. But usually there’s a point to every course.
Each has been included keeping in mind the overall structure of the degree or diploma programme, and each one aims to give you a certain specific skill or to introduce or consolidate certain conceptual areas in your discipline.
It is important to cultivate the ability to attend to things that may seem boring or irrelevant, things that don’t captivate or engage us.
Keep exploring
It’s important to make an effort to be interested, maybe by understanding how and why the subject engages others. See if talking to those who do have a keen interest in the subject can help you see it differently. Try to build a connection with the course, or the subject, by linking it to something that you do find relevance in. If you don’t find a hook that draws you in naturally, then it’s up to you to create that hook. For instance, if you are forced to take a class on writing, even though all you want to do is learn about photography, maybe you can plan your assignments around this interest. Or if you are passionate about music but find yourself in a history course, you could try to understand a region’s history through its arts. Almost every field offers the possibility of making such linkages, and it is through such connections that creative and innovative work emerges.
Sustaining interest in a course that doesn’t naturally hold you can be a challenge, even when you find such a connection—particularly in this era when distraction is almost a constant feature of our lives. Over the years, I have found that most things can be interesting…if you give them a chance. So despite my natural resistance, I sometimes catch myself getting quite involved in that sports event, my eyes moving from that peripheral space of interest to the central action… and surprising myself by actually enjoying the experience.
The author teaches at the University of Hyderabad and edits Teacher Plus. usha.bpgll@gmail.com
