'Don't teach children everything': Actor Madhavan shares IIT-Delhi scholar's research on academic achievement and learning

What if children learn more when adults stop rushing to give them answers? R Madhavan recently shared a video highlighting a remarkable 1999 experiment by Sugata Mitra, a PhD holder from IIT-Delhi, that challenged conventional ideas about teaching and learning. The experiment involved children using computers to explore subjects they had never studied. What happened next offered a striking lesson about curiosity, independence and the power of encouragement, suggesting parents may sometimes need to step back and let children discover.

R Madhavan shares Sugata Mitra's 1999 experiment

R Madhavan took to Instagram’s Story section and re-shared a video that began with the claim, “This is how successful kids are actually raised, and most parents are doing the opposite.” The video was shared by Natasha Fernandes Shah, who holds a child psychology diploma, and featured her explaining the unusual experiment which came to be known as the "hole in the wall", conducted by Sugata Mitra in 1999.

Mitra, who has a PhD from IIT-Delhi, reportedly placed a computer in a hole cut into a brick wall in a Delhi slum. The computer was connected to high-speed internet and then left there for children to explore. The children did not know English, yet over the following weeks they learned to use the computer, including downloading files and playing games.

Children taught themselves genetics

Mitra then wanted to see whether the experiment could work with something far more complicated. According to the video shared by Natasha Fernandes Shah, he repeated the experiment in a remote Indian village. This time, the computers were preloaded with material about biotechnology and DNA replication, all written in English.

Despite having no formal instruction in the subject, the children managed to teach themselves enough genetics to score 30% in tests. The result surprised Mitra, but he believed the children could perform even better with the right kind of support.

One encouraging adult changed the results

Mitra then brought in a local woman who did not know genetics. Her role was not to teach the children the subject or provide them with answers. Instead, she simply stood behind them and encouraged them, much like a supportive grandmother. The impact was striking. Within two months, the children scored 50% on their tests, according to the video, matching the performance of classrooms taught by a teacher.

The experiment therefore raised an intriguing question about what children actually need when they encounter something unfamiliar.

‘Children don’t need to be taught everything’

The video shared by R Madhavan emphasised that children do not necessarily need adults to teach them every piece of information. Instead, they need access to tools, friends to think out loud with and an adult who encourages them. That idea also changes the role parents play when their children struggle with a problem.

Rather than immediately stepping in with the solution, parents could give children the space to experiment, make mistakes and search for answers themselves. The message was particularly clear: when a child gets stuck, resist the urge to simply hand them the answer.

R Madhavan's parenting lesson: step back and encourage

The experiment shared by Madhavan on his Instagram ultimately points towards a different approach to parenting and education. Children can be naturally curious, and giving them the right resources and enough freedom may allow them to discover more than adults expect. The video's advice to parents was simple: “Sit back, encourage them and let them surprise you.”