When 1 + 1 = 11

Want to gauge the power of a book? Gift it to someone for whom it is a luxury and marvel at the wondrous excitement that bubbles forth. Especially a child. We recently conducted a book drive at Billabong High International School, Santacruz on the lines of the theme of our concert - ‘Power of One’. Our students thought it would be a wonderful idea to donate books - across genres - to children who don’t have access to such a basic necessity. Inspired and celebrating the spirit of the child hero Brandon Keefe, who in 1991 had initiated a book donation drive and made it into a nationwide movement in the U.S.

The book drive in our school with the interact club brought a million smiles on the faces of 600 students and 40 teachers of Chinchale Ashramshala (3,000 books donated) a municipal village school in Dahanu, Vile Parle West Municipal School (200 books donated)and Eklavya Balwadi run by Sona Sarovar Trust.  Through our PTA members, and active student campaigning, we were able to collect  3,200 books in English/Hindi fiction, textbooks, dictionaries, color books for 5-14 years and stationery which was given to Eklavya Balwadi. Perhaps, one of the most striking moments is when the principal of the Vile Parle school, Roasrio Sir  thanked our students efforts and mentioned that the school will now have a library. It was so moving that tears welled up the eyes of our children too.  The Ashramalaya library was inaugurated last week and we are told that the children can’t seem to stop beaming about it. (any other feedback shared by principal).

As most know, municipal schools in our country are riddled with day-to-day challenges in terms of lack of teachers,  teacher absenteeism, lack of special educators, poor infrastructure etc. Can one imagine though how it would be to go to a school without books? Sadly, this is one of the starkest realities in municipal and public schools in India. In February, a media report highlighted how until the end of the last academic session, students in a Delhi Municipal school had not got any books. It was only after a petition was moved by a student of an East Delhi Municipal Corporation school in the high court that the civic authorities woke up to the grim reality.

If such apathy continues where students need to sprawl around school corridors to be accommodated and not even be provided with stationery and books, how then do we plan to improve child literacy across the country? Can the importance of books in imparting knowledge be emphasized any more in a country that they say is on threshold of becoming an economic superpower? How can anyone really buy that growth story when there are children who crave to lay their hands on a book, and worse still, not even know how to read one.

What if each private school adopted a municipal or public school nearby and donated certain essentials/resources to it? Why blame the government alone? I am proud to share that the idea of conducting a book-donation drive was recommended by our students! Surely we as educators can come together and commit to do our best to promote and establish 100%child literacy in the country. The Power of One is a marvelous thing. A single germane idea or inspired thought can influence hundreds and thousands. Towards the end of an academic year, we were humbled by the thoughtfulness of our students and the little sparks of brilliance waiting to be tapped and set free upon discovery. There is great power in One and in its Collaboration!

‘Board’ to the Point of Tears..

Ask any parent to recount the most nerve-wrecking experience of their lives.  Apart from undergoing the agony of  securing an admission for their child into a good school, arriving at a decision to choose the school board, should top the charts. Not until long ago, choices were fairly straight forward; most of the parents would just enroll their children in a nearby school, which would most often be a state-board and a fraction of people opting for CBSE (mostly in north India) and fewer still would opt for CISCE. 

Slowly, as disposable incomes rose, private schooling started gaining popularity, and with it rose the popularity of CISCE, CBSE and also international school boards - IGCSE, IB. As schools began segregating methodologies as early on as Grade 1, the pressure to opt for the ‘best’ board for the child became perhaps the most important decision a parent had to take. Mind you - trying to gauge the potential of a five-year old or predicting his/her aptitude for what he would be ten years hence should definitely come with superhuman powers. 

While the paranoia is understandable given the competitiveness that exists now and the plethora of options has ironically only compounded to the confusion, it is imperative parents realize that ultimately, choice of a board doesn’t matter much, not at Grade 1 at least, when a child is still to be encouraged to actively explore and discover his surroundings at his pace. Much has been written about the various pros and cons of every board, so I will not delve into it in this post. However, here are my thoughts that I share with parents who seek my opinion on the matter - 

1. Focus on holistic development of child. It would be best to not harbor hopes of making your preschooler a doctor or a surgeon or an engineer. The world is opening up in far more ways we can imagine. Do not try to cloud your child’s potential with your limited perspective and understanding of a field. Needless to say that learning should be holistic to be complete. Apart from academics, sports, performing arts should be given good if not equal weightage and hence there should be a variety of options until grade 4 where a child starts getting inclined to specific interests. That doesn’t mean however that one enrolls their children in hundred different classes to tap their potential. But a child must be empowered to make a choice after a certain age.   

2. Boards aren’t set in stone! Guess what? You could always change from one board to another comfortably up to say Grade 7. Post that, with a little bit of extra coaching and guidance a child should do well to adapt to the curriculum. What needs to be encouraged is the process of learning that s/he is used to. For e.g., if a child has mostly relied on rote learning, then yes, shifting to an international curriculum could definitely bring a fair share of hiccups, since it delves more on discovery, questioning and assessment. However, if the process of learning has focused on the learner then it shouldn’t be a problem. Also, one must focus on choices that are going to be sustainable and consistent and that have a proven track record in being so - and by that it doesn't mean which board produces maximum number of toppers. It means opting for a fair, balanced and consistent framework. Far too many changes at a policy level only stresses the child and leads to the confusion. It is unfortunate that our education system is still grappling with rigid frameworks and sloppy processes leading to ad-hoc changes and complete mismanagement. 

3. In the long run, the board doesn’t matter as much as tapping the child’s aptitude and also the way the curriculum is disseminated in the school for deriving success. Every board comes with its pros and cons and in a way is crafted as per various learning styles. It may get impossible to predict which board will suit your child’s aptitude. But it is a no-brainer that in this 21st century world, one must opt for a board that emphasizes on critical thinking, continuous learning, innovative assignments and self learning and discovery. This is important since in the future, the present skills and knowledge are going to be extremely redundant. The world over, holistic development and teaching of life skills is gaining predominance. Having said that, a board alone can’t manufacture geniuses or achievers. 

Choosing a board doesn’t guarantee your child will turn into a rocket scientist or an artist. History is replete of plenty of achievers attending modest public schools in obscure villages of the country, some even not having had access to good formal education and some even dropping out of prestigious institutions going on to be acknowledged as top achievers. So, relax. Breathe. And opt for what you think is the best option you can give you child. You could always change the board later on, as and when the child starts developing clear interests and aptitude. If there is a magic keyword, it is this - Love - Love for learning; if a child has developed a lifelong love for learning, that is more than half the battle won.