Bindu Rana
Every human who utilizes the right to be educated spends most of his/her formative years in school. Schools, or ‘temples of knowledge’ as we fondly call them in India, lay the foundation of what we will become one day. Schools respond to the changing times and the prevailing philosophy and socio-economic needs of an era. I grew up at a time when education was suffering from what we students called the ‘exam-vomit syndrome’. Hence, the schools of our time were governed by a short-term utilitarian philosophy whose motto was ‘be exam smart for future board’. They were influenced by the socio-economic demands of our country to produce certain professionals for a progressive India; hence, the heavy rush to get seats in the professional colleges which guaranteed such jobs in return. Our school’s focus was also on preparing citizens who gave exams—once at the school level and then again at the pre-college level.
The entire pedagogy in the classroom was governed by the philosophy to prepare for the exams—which meant nothing more than hours of cramming and rote learning. If the students cleared both the school boards and the entrance exams to professional colleges with the highest grades, the schools felt exonerated and absolved of all sins of taking away the joy of learning from them. All students who did not make the mandatory required grades had to seek a new life, but for this lot education did not equip them for any other work. Therefore, they lived the rest of their life believing that they were failures. Of course, the schools felt no guilt in making them feel they were failures. Why should they? They had spent hours, labouriously and diligently preparing the students for it, and if the students had not learnt the way it was taught then they deserved to be failures.
In my sixteen years of schooling it was interesting to note that most teachers spent 60 % of their time writing on the blackboard, 20 % on reading from the texts and the rest of the time on correcting our work or giving us exams!! For sixteen long years my friends and I saw different shapes and sizes enter the class but they all did the same thing! It was amazing to see that the school believed this to be the best way to teach and, since we were never exposed to anything beyond this, we believed this to be the only way of learning! We endured it but certainly did not like it. Yet, all of us enjoyed school. Now, why did we love and enjoy school? Not because of the content that was taught to us or the exam fever that seemed to pervade the entire school from time to time, but due to the other things that happened by chance in school. These things, which were clubbed together as ‘extra-curricular’ activities, were given minimum weightage and importance in school!
These ‘extra-curricular’ activities and the unconscious acts and experiences we picked up every day in school inadvertently sharpened many life skills such as collaborative learning (when being with friends in a game), problem solving (by figuring out how not to give the weekly test), analyzing (how and when was the appropriate time to create chaos in class so that the teacher would not be able to teach), team work (when we had to showcase our school in inter-school competitions), confidence in communicating (through our ideas while being part of the debating team), etc. All these were unconsciously picked up by us and they shaped our personality and added to our life skills more than the syllabus taught by our teachers.
It’s only when most of us moved out of the four walls of the schools and were exposed to other educational systems around the world did we know that alternatives existed. But to our horror we realized that our schools still continued to do just what they did decades ago! They still prepared students to be exam smart instead of life smart! They were still stuck to their blackboards while the world had taken leaps and bounds in technology! They literally believed that education is not to be taken lightly and made it a serious business by taking away the joy of learning for the student. While the world was talking about bringing about a change in all spheres of life, why was the most important tool—education—that could bring about social transformation or change for betterment still not changing?
Many such questions and my own experience in the classroom made me want to change and touch the life of every learner. I have spent the last two decades of my life pursuing possibilities of changing the classroom—making it enjoyable, meaningful and worthwhile, both for the learner and the facilitator. It’s been a long yet exciting journey. My journey began from teaching children with special needs to teaching in regular schools to teaching adults in colleges—the experience has been enriching and fulfilling and has left me with a thirst for learning. With every new experience I realized that I had more questions and, hence, the need to find answers led me to pursue higher education and keep specializing in the field of education. From Masters in Special Education to Masters in Education to a PhD in Education, I have tried to hone my skills both technically and within the classroom. Despite this I feel the more I learn the less I know!
While working with children with special needs I learnt that every child has the innate capacity to learn, and, if given a chance, can compete with him/her self and can be a winner in his/her way. During my work in regular schools I learnt that every child has a thirst for learning and the way to help them sustain this thirst is by focusing on developing their inner potential and interest. While working with young adults in college I learnt that every individual has a need to succeed and if exposed to harnessing their knowledge and life skills they will succeed. Not only have I learnt from my experiences with children, but also from my colleagues—the teachers who were passionate and noble in touching the lives of their learners. They taught me to love my students unconditionally, to be patient and to understand the psychology of the learners at different stages from preschoolers to adolescents and then young adults.
These learnings are the mantras of my life. Every day my mission to improve the classroom teaching–learning experience and to ensure that I am able to touch the lives of both the children and the facilitators drives me to create programs and products to this end. I strive every day in making the classroom a place of joy which can empower the learner to become a leader who transforms the ways of the world and turns his/her ear for wisdom and applies his/her heart for understanding.
I am fortunate that I have had the chance to translate my mantras and to turn my dreams into reality. This happened when I moved out of the classroom to setting up an R&D division for Educomp Solutions Ltd. Educomp’s R&D’s mission is ‘to provide accessible quality education for all by designing innovative products that shape the lives of people we educate’. Based on this mission we have created various innovative products for our different audiences and for various age groups. For further details about them log onto http://educompsrndblog.wordpress.com
For me, the journey has just begun. I am still pursuing the possibilities of transforming the teaching– learning process…………
