The Inspiration for Inspire

At the onset of a new year, a recount from the founders on how the journey of Inspire began...

Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.                          Thomas A. Edison                                    

This one-percent though small carries a lot of significance – quite simply, it differentiates someone who completed something successfully from someone who did not. 

It is this one-percent that makes an explorer sail in search of undiscovered lands; an inventor labour to craft that unknown miracle that could change the world; a writer pen hundreds of lines to find that perfect prose. 

It is this one-percent that brought together the founders of Inspire. 

Inspire started as a thought – to bring a change in the 'learning' experiences for a child. 

Radhika Suri and Sameera Sood had been educators for many years. They had seen how parents though keen and involved in their children's education were hampered by lack of understanding of what actually 'good' education is. They often based their choice of schools on factors such as infrastructure or catch phrases used in the brochures. On the other hand the school promoters and publishers used the advantage of the situation parents were in to create a successful business model based mostly on superficial elements.The entire industry built around the child paid little attention to what the child really wanted! 

The inspiration behind Inspire is the child. 

One of Sameera's fondest memories is of a day when she wore a pink sari on a school occasion. She recalls vividly one compliment among many that she received – this came from one of her students who said "Oh! You look so nice today! Just like a strawberry ice cream!" She had been teaching her class colours. The little child's simple and honest response showed her attempt to extend and apply her learning beyond the class. This has remained with Sameera after so many years. 

Radhika recalls how during a class she realized that teaching demanded more listening than speaking. One of her students when asked a question responded exasperated and confused. "Arre Ma'am! Aap chup rahogi toh sochunga na!" (I can only think if you keep quiet!) Radhika calls her it her 'Lesson on Teaching from a 4-year old.'

Unlike Radhika and Sameera, Tilottama comes from a corporate background. Her first interest in education came from the time her son started school. When she began hunting for a 'good' preschool for her son, all the schools she visited looked more or less the same and said the same words. In many of the schools she saw children moving around mechanically with expressionless faces. Ultimately she settled for a school which had strong recommendations from some parents she knew. What she found later in the school was something she had hated as a child – homework! Toddlers were expected to complete worksheets to be signed and graded by the teacher. 

Each such experience that the founders went through was like a seed for thoughts of doing something different - wherein a child would be loved, respected, asked, listened to, given opportunities to explore her likes – to channelize the boundless enthusiasm and energy that the child has. 

The learning experience would make the child look forward to learning. 
The learning tools would be appropriate to enforce this learning in the child. 

In its journey, Inspire looks to find many persons who share this thought of bringing in a change. A change that must happen among schools, teachers, parents and even children – in order to be effective. 

It is Inspire's aim for a collaborative and accelerated effort towards better education. 

That is the remaining ninety-nine percent...the journey for which has only begun.

Can there be another way?

9 am - Innocent faces, bright expectant eyes, proud owners of new school bags and bottles (with their favourite cartoon characters); walking with moms, looking forward to the first day at school.

9.30 am - Heart rending cries; some children on the floor, some banging the classroom door to get out - inconsolable, heartbroken, feeling intense pain of separation from the loving warm mum they feel one with.

Do the first steps have to be so painful?
Why can't the change be gradual, children engaged in outdoor play or indoor games - slowly getting used to the increase in separation time. How long will it take—2-3 weeks?
Why can't that time be taken out to secure a child's trust and settle him/ her in the new surroundings?
Why do we let them cry so till they get tired of it and realise it is futile — as mom will not come till their time at school is up.


Is it just because we know they are dependent, powerless in the world of adults and this is 'best' for them or that the school knows 'best'?

Feeling all this intensely and knowing in my heart that there should be another way - would I still let my child cry and cry and then get used to the school - interestingly playschool - or will I pull him out , hold him close to me and apologise and take him home?

What is it that stops me from doing this...Is it a feeling that he will settle down eventually or knowing that all the fees have been paid at the time of admission or some sort of deep fear of failure to be able to provide the kind of stimuli a school can - I do not know!

And as I go along ironing clothes for the next day at playschool- preparing my child to know that I am in his heart, I am always with him, I will be at the reception waiting for him - asking him to enjoy himself, wish his teachers, play, paint etc, etc....

And at the reception I sit, hear him cry for me - heartbroken, almost in tears myself, feeling as helpless - that maybe I haven't prepared him well enough..... 
Sentimental, crazy, over sensitive- you can call me. Maybe I am all of these.

But that is because I care, because I love children - not just my own. With each child moving on from loud protests and crying to silent voiceless sobs- I wonder what we (adults) have done to his/ her soul. 
Can there be another way......?

• Seema Wahi Mukherjee

Curriculum Planning

Average school-going children in India spend about 7 hours a day, 160 days in a year inside classrooms - through 13 years of their lives.
They also spend additional time at home, studying or doing homework.
This means that more than a third of the children's growing years are spent in formal education or in the company of school books.
Creating a good curriculum is therefore the first step towards helping children develop a comprehensive education. This includes knowledge of Science or Math concepts, World Affairs, History, Geography and Language.
This learning begins at preschool years.
So what comprises a good preschool curriculum?

• It should keep in mind the fact that preschool children are curious and anxious to know new things. At the same time, they are easily distracted.

The curriculum should therefore introduce topics in a variety of ways that become interesting for children. It should use examples that children identify with or can find in their real lives. This will help generate interest for a topic in children.

• It should include activities or hands-on exercises related to topics – which children can observe or participate in themselves (in a safe setup).

Children this age group find great interest in taking part in activities that make them feel 'grown-up' or 'independent'.

• Children look for means of creative expression – so the curriculum should include occasions for these.
  
  
• The curriculum should ensure that children are provided opportunities for development in multiple domains – which is a requirement at this stage in their lives, but often ignored by traditional methods of learning.
  
  
• Finally- the curriculum should be flexible enough for facilitators who are transacting it to adapt it in their own ways; perhaps add innovations, to suit the learning styles of the children they're guiding.

Classroom Settings

If you are asked to close your eyes and imagine a classroom – what do you see?

For most of us, it conjures a vision that consists of rows of desks and chairs seating students who are either bent over their books or listening to a teacher standing in front of the blackboard.

Think however if the learners as well as the way they learn are undergoing rapid and significant changes, can classrooms remain unchanged?

No.

A singular change needed in classrooms is the way they are set up.
The current setting of desks in rows is suited to the industrial model of education where teachers teach what they think is important and students are expected to learn.

Yet if we are looking at an increasingly democratic approach to education where students are informed about educational choices and are encouraged to voice their opinions, our class room settings should reflect this as well.

Having an imposing desk at the top of the class represents power and control. Most of us can recall the dread of being summoned up to the teacher’s desk to have our various sins of carelessness, indiscipline or general laziness highlighted.

Can there be an alternative way of organising classrooms where the teacher’s desk does not intimidate? Should the teacher’s desk have apermanent position as the Sun in the Solar System?

If we believe that education for the future is about helping children examine, evaluate and extend current knowledge, then we need to create classrooms where children can think creatively and divergently. This will involve providing opportunities for children to discuss, debate and critique - in other words learn not just from the teacher but from each other.

Co-operative learning encourages children to gain knowledge in a non-threatening environment which is essential for nurturing creativity. Try thinking out-of-the-box when you have been asked to stand up and have everyone’s eyes trained on you!

Classrooms need to be flexible to allow permutations and combinations of settings – which in turn support collaborative learning.

Learning Environments

Schools along with libraries and museums are considered to be the primary learning environments. Much of present day learning takes place in these physical locations.

In future, as the world becomes more and more inter-connected and technology-enabled, our definition of a learning environment will have to be extended to include the virtual and online world as well. As educators we need to realise that a learning environment need not necessarily be a physical setting.

On the other hand, if we wish to provide education that enables and supports social, cognitive, spiritual and creative development in young individuals, we need to ensure that our schools and classrooms also support positive human relationships.

The requisite for educators, designers, and architects therefore is to design physical spaces in schools such that they optimise children’s learning in all the domains of development.

Schools of future will have to try to merge technology with physical space and at the same time provide rich and diverse opportunities where children can interact with peers and adults and develop a sense of community.

An implication of this dynamic interactive approach to learning is that spaces in schools should have built-in flexibility. It should be possible to create multiple layouts using the same furniture, equipment and storage options in a variety of configurations.

Finally - given the ecological damage that the Earth is experiencing, it is important that our children grow up into environmentally responsibleindividuals.

Educators, architects and designers need to collaborate to create spaces where children can experience, explore and work with the natural environment to develop sensitivity and responsibility towards it.

Changing Mindsets

Teachers often complain that some children in class are just not interested in learning. They are not willing to put in the effort needed to learn. 

Yet any of us who have taken care of a three year old know how physically and mentally tiring it can be to answer their incessant stream of questions and follow them as they go exploring the 
environment. 

Every waking moment in a toddler's life is spent on learning. 

So are we as teachers saying that some children don't want to learn while actually implying that they do not want to learn in school?

Why should they - schools are contrived environments while the world outside is so much more rich, diverse, nuanced, dynamic and challenging. 

Our schools and education system still equate education with acquiring information. 
Knowledge is absolute, so a good student is someone who can download the knowledge, save it in memory and reproduce it as is, whenever needed. Learning is therefore all about obeying orders and following instructions. Moreover schools continue to function under the illusion that knowledge is available only in the class. 

The world however is changing rapidly. While it took the radio over three decades to reach 50 million people, Facebook reached this number in just a couple of years. 

Our children's world is one of instant information, communication, entertainment and collaboration. YouTube has over one billion page views per day and there are over 31 billion searches on Google every month. 

We as teachers need to accept that knowledge can no longer be considered as absolute and unchanging. Neither can we continue to believe in ourselves as the fount of knowledge. 

Instead, we need to view ourselves as facilitators - creating collaborative, inquiry-based learning experiences that will help students to gather, examine, validate, modify and extend knowledge. We need to support and guide them as they use the current knowledge to create new products and solutions as well as discover what is still unknown. 

While this will have implications in the school design, classroom setting, practices and curriculum, the change will have to begin from the change in teachers' attitudes towards teaching and learning.

Series - Education for Future & Schools of Tomorrow

The pace of change and technological advancement in the world has been exponential in the last century or so.

The light bulb was invented in 1879. Since then, we have seen the invention of cars, the telephone, air travel, radio and television.

For today's common man it is hard to imagine how life would have been just a hundred years ago. Unimaginable inventions like submarines, spacecraft and even the atomic bomb have taken place.

Computers, micro-processors and most famously the Internet have come to occupy a place in our everyday lives.

Cloning, 3D Television, holographic images - the world around us is changing at a relentless pace.

That brings us to the question of what changes should we bring in education to keep up to the huge changes happening in our world today?

Think about this - children who are starting Kindergarten today will retire by 2065 or even later. We can only imagine what their world will be like during that time. If we are unable to predict, let alone visualise the future, how can we provide education to our children that prepares them for the future?

As parents and educators we often marvel and envy at the ease with which children learn to use and adapt to technology. They seem to pick up and learn to use the latest phones and gaming devices almost instinctively, while we adults struggle to figure out the mechanics of how they work.

This is a simple example of how we need to test our paradigm of education, reinvent our understanding of teaching and learning and make it relevant for today and also for the future that is nebulous and uncertain.

Beginning with this, we will publish some thoughts we have on this - what changes we can bring and how to the system of education that is rapidly getting out-of-date.