Reproduction in Animals
Teaching kids is a very difficult task. Teaching biology to kids is a very dangerous task. Whatever you do, you will end up in trouble—deep trouble. If you say the truth, you are in trouble. If you lie, you are in trouble. If you don’t say the whole truth, you still are in trouble.
Last week I was teaching Ashwin, my nephew, who is in fourth standard. The subject was biology. The topic was ‘reproduction in animals.’
As I read the chapter, I could hear alarm bells ringing nonstop inside my head. I know my nephew and I know what he is capable of. I have been teaching him for the past three years. The chapter—Reproduction in Animals—is like a minefield with enough mines to trip you again and again until you are dead.
The chapter began with reproduction in mammals: “Animals such as humans, lions, tigers, cows, and bears give birth to babies. They look after the babies and protect them till they learn to look after themselves. They feed their babies with their own milk. Such animals are called mammals.”