Beyblade matches kept the little fellows absorbed.

Art, poetry and lomography by Flavius and Sahya.

Ancient Egyptians visiting the Indus Valley Civilization project organized by Idania for Pune Homeschoolers of all ages.

Target for blow pipe and newspaper arrows by Uday.

Macrame swings, mirrors and key holders by Swati.

Ancient Egypt project by Little Flower Open School.

Delicious bhel by Mrs. Bharadwaj, chip-dip or bread-dip and jewelry by Divya.

Bookstall: Eco tales by Muriel, unschooling books by Sandra Dodd, Astronomy by Uday, Dreams by Dr. F A Menezes.

Greeting Cards by Niom

A wonderful time was had by all!

“The Pune Tree fest is an attempt to draw attention to the trees and greenery around us
in the city of Pune during one focused week. The idea is to celebrate our trees – through
poetry, art, walks, theatre, public meetings and knowledge-sharing about activities like
composting, organic farming, tree tagging, tree names, etc. through small events at various
locales in the city, rather than any big centralized events.

Several Pune groups have come together for this venture – Open Space, Pune Tree
Watch, oikos for ecological services, CREDAI, Garden Department of Pune, Ecological
Society, Green Hills Group, Jividha, One Life Club Panchavati, Kalpavriksh, Rotary club
of Poona West, amongst others, as well as interested individuals and schools – colleges
like Symbiosis Arts & Commerce students who are gifting their time and expertise to the
venture.”

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Photos Courtesy: Niranjan

Jogger’s Park, Viman Nagar, 25th Sep

Viman Nagar inauguration at Jogger’s Park.

Tying friendship bands on trees.

Tying friendship bands on trees all around Viman Nagar.

Bharat Natyam dance by a student resident of Viman Nagar

Lighting candles around a tree.

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Empress Gardens, Prince of Wales Drive, 26th Sep

Poetry Reading, Music and Drum Circle!

Many recited poems around the theme of nature and trees.

Randhir Khare reads out a poem.

Drum Circle and children’s band playing together.

The Either Or store exhibits their items for sale.

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Poetry Reading, Jogger’s Park, Viman Nagar, 27th Sep

Poets shared their own poems in Hindi, Marathi and English. An official dictat by Shivaji Maharaj on how to treat trees.

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Little Flower Open School and Kindergarten, Viman Nagar, 1st Oct

Niranjan and the children pool information about trees.

Children hugging the tree!

Children sang and spoke to trees and listened.  Some heard vibrations.

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Jogger’s Park, Viman Nagar, 3rd Oct

Exhibition and Live Painting for all!

…everyone joining in the painting fun!

Exhibition of paintings by  students of Asher’s Art Classes in Viman Nagar.

The artwork was set up all over the park.

• Times of India  ”When Staying At Home Does Not Mean Skipping Education”  http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIPU%2F2010%2F09%2F08&ViewMode=GIF&GZ=T&PageLabel=2&EntityId=Ar00200&AppName=1

• India Today  ”The De-School Brigade”  http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/97365/The+De-school+brigade.html?page=0

• Indian Express  ”The road not taken: parents school wards at home”  http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-road-not-taken-parents-school-wards-at-home/583832/0

• The Punekar ” ‘Unschooled’ kid completes diploma in television and video production”  http://punekar.in/site/2009/08/27/unschooled-kid-completes-diploma-in-television-and-video-production/

• The Indian Express ”Woman Power”  http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/19990615/ile15149p.html

• Unity from the Gnostic Center  ”A Personal Account”  http://www.gnosticcentre.com/link_files/journal_unity.pdf

• InToday ”No Kidding We Don’t Go to School”  http://www.intoday.in/content_mail.php?option=com_content&name=print&id=27454

• D.N.A (Daily News & Analysis) ”Following A Different School of Thought”  http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_8111/is_20091222/ai_n50994747/

• Wikipedia ”Homeschooling and Alternative Education in India”  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeschooling_and_Alternative_Education_in_India

I have added this to the blog with the tag ‘the price of being different’ to draw attention to the fact that India is a country with the most diversity on various levels.  We have been known to be naturally tolerant to a fault.  It is tragic, therefore, when we try to standardize, homogenize and try to become part of the global monoculture.  The plays and situation described under is a painful awakening to the fact of how we judge people and their ways of being by limited standards.

*Introduction of Buddhan Theatre*

Budhan Theatre is a theatre troupe of the Chhara community in Ahmedabad,
India. The Chharas were one of the 192 Denotified and Nomadic Tribes (DNTs)
branded as “Born Criminals” under British rule. Although that label was
removed five years after India’s independence (when they were “denotified”
in 1952), the stigma remains. The Chharas are still suspects in the eyes of
the law, and are treated as hardened criminals by the Police. DNT
communities throughout India are frequent victims of police harassment and
vigilante mobs, and the Chharas face similar problems. Chharanagar, the
community Budhan Theatre calls home, is shunned by mainstream society in
Ahmedabad and its residents are refused jobs, bank loans and equal
protection before the law.

Through their plays, Budhan Theatre is working to erase the criminal stigma
attached to their community. “Chharas are ‘Born Actors’ not ‘Born Criminals’
they declare. Through their plays, Budhan Theatre fosters dialogue between a
stigmatized community and rest of the world. They aim to sensitize society
to the issues and legal injustice which plague their community. Budhan
Theatre also works to promote their community development. Together with
their parent organization, the Bhasha Research and Publication Centre,
Budhan Theatre is involved in sponsoring educational scholarships for girls
and runs a community library and informal school.

The name ”Budhan” was chosen in honor of the work done by the
writer-activist Mahasweta Devi on behalf of India’s DNTs, and it was Smt.
Mahasweta Devi and Dr. Ganesh Devi who founded the Chharanagar library. In
addition to acting and staging plays, Budhan Theatre members have been
making award winning films and documenting the history, culture, and social
issues of other DNT communities.

The activities of Budhan Theatre not only provide an alternative livelihood
for Chhara youth, but through their plays, films, and outreach activities
they seek to be a voice for all of India’s DNTs. When they were branded as
“Born Criminals” by the British, DNTs had their identity taken from them and
replaced with the stigma of criminality. So many years after Independence,
DNTs remain ostracized by mainstream society, and without any constitutional
protection for their wellbeing. Budhan Theatre fights for social justice and
human dignity on behalf of all DNT communities.

Synopsis of play Budhan

Budhan, 45 Minutes play by Budhan Theatre is about the real cases
of atrocities by police and people on Denotifid Tribes in various part of
India. The play begins with Budhan Sabar case who died due to police
atrocity in Purulia District. This case follows another atrocity case of
Deepak Pawar of Solapur, Maharashtra. The play speaks about that how legal
system look at Denotified Tribal people as Criminals, torture them and kill
them.

The play discusses about the present plight of Denotified Tribal in India
and end with question. A question from Nomadic and Denotified Tribes of
India for constitutional guarantee to live with Dignity.

Budhan Theatre performed Budhan play more then 300 times across the country.
First time we are going to perform Budhan on the land of Budhan Sabar.

SYNOPSIS OF CHARANDAS CHOR BY BUDHAN THEATRE’S CHILDREN.

The play charts the tumultuous life of a petty thief, Charandas (Lalu Ram).
Curiously he is a man of principles – an honest thief with a strong sense of
integrity and professional efficiency. He makes four vows to his Guru that
he would never eat in a gold plate, never lead a procession that is in his
honour, never become a king and never marry a princess, thinking all of them
are far out possibilities for him. Later, his guru adds a fifth one – never
to tell a lie and sets him of on his life’s journey which leads him to a
kingdom, where the turn of events make him famous, and eventually he is
offered the seat of political power which he has to refuse. Later, the local
princess gets enchanted by him, and proposes to marry him. This is when his
refusal costs him his life. As he is put to death, he illustrates the
inherent paradox in human existence, where truthful existence becomes
impossibility, for the truthful and the accidentally truthful, alike.
The play is performed by the teenager members of Budhan Theatre which is a
community theatre of Chhara tribe in Ahmedabad. Chhara community is
stigmatized as Criminal Tribe and youngsters and teenagers are trying to
remove historical stigma through Theatre art by creating awareness and
appeal to let them live with human dignity. The plays is written by Habib
Tanveer and Directed by Atish Chhara, a sr. member of Budhan Theatre.

Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Sr. Members of Budhan Theatre

Dario Fo’s *Accidental Death of an Anarchist* (1970) responds to events
unfolding in Italy in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The play is translated
into Hindi by Amitabh Shrivastav and Budhan Theater adopted it in a recent
Bomb Blast issue and aftermath arrests’ context in Ahmedabad city.

*Accidental Death of an Anarchist* is mainly about police corruption,
underscored by the play’s focus on impersonation, infiltration, and
double-talk. A fast-talking major character, the Maniac, infiltrates a
police headquarters. Posing as an investigating judge, he tricks the
policemen into contradicting themselves and admitting that they are
part of a cover-up involving the death of an anarchist. The Maniac’s
flip-flop of point of view and statement achieves much the same effect as
his impersonations do. His confusing speechifying leads to the police
contradicting themselves, so that the Maniac, in all of his deceptions and
distortions, is a precise reflection of what the play is designed to expose.

*Accidental Death of an Anarchist* is one of Fo’s most popular plays both
within and outside Italy. It has played around the world over the years to

millions of people, a popular choice of directors who want to point to corruption in their midst.

www.budhantheatre.org
www.bhasharesearch.org.in
http://vimukta.org/

Kiran Moghe
President AIDWA Maharashtra

The 27^th April meeting had no preset agenda and was more in the nature of trying to understand what people’s dreams and visions were for such a market place. The participants encouraged each other to share their thoughts unrestricted by the practical considerations for the time being. There were various shades and nuances to the visions  for the Farmer’s Market that the participants articulated, but the common vision that emerged was that such spaces were needed not only as places for buying and selling organic food but as places central to our very well being, the well being of the land, our farmers and society at large. It is not about farmers coming to sell, but about us participating in the process.  It is to be a place where people would have the choice to buy and sell organic food  and do much more; it would be a conscious and mindful attempt to create spaces where people could bond, connect and reclaim a sense of community, belonging and respect for the land, food, food growers  and ultimately our own lives. People at the meeting believed that food was central to our well being and that a society can be happy only when its food growers are happy.

Its also important to point out that this visioning and sharing of concerns is an ongoing process and is by no means complete, and it is hoped that those interested in this concept, will add to this and work towards making it a reality in their own areas and localities, some taking the lead and others in a supporting role.

Some of the points that came up were:

These will be spaces where/which

1. Organic farmers from the locality and nearby areas can sell their produce at reasonable rates.

2. People who value organically grown food can buy the same at reasonable rates.

3. People from an area can meet up and form a sense of community and belonging with each other and with the growers of their food.

4. There will be discussions/ performances/activities that lead to more awareness about the various  aspects of organic food. This will include concerns about land, water, fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, organic resources, farmers and their lives, the effects of our consumption patterns on our lives and society at large.

5. Organic food growers, their knowledge, culture and lifestyles could be understood, appreciated and honoured.

6. Rural and urban barriers can be broken and mutual respect and understanding developed.

7. Free sharing of various material and services will be encouraged.

8. People will be encouraged to manifest other dreams and visions in the development of self and society.

9. The public could reclaim public spaces to benefit all.

One of the things that were also stated was that this was not going to be another small group working hard and taking responsibility for such markets in different parts of the city.  Every market would come into existence in accordance with the amount of interested people from the locality pooling energy and resources towards making the market happen. In other words, there is no ‘we’ who are setting up a market for ‘them’ or ‘you’.  It is we getting together to create an Organic Farmer’s Market for ourselves.

_________________________________

Sadhana Forest

The Matrimandir

The Dune Hotel, just outside Auroville

Their site www.auroville.org

Students drawing after their class.

JANUARY – FEBRUARY:

MARCH:

Corinna Lenneis, who is originally from Vienna, Austria, completed her Bachelors of  Arts Degree at the renowned Guildford School of Acting, in short GSA, in England, Europe in 2005. Since, before and during her education she has worked as an actress, director, acting teacher and writer in England, Germany and Austria. Performances include “Showcase” at Criterion Theater, Piccadilly Circus, London, the performance of her own play “Survivors” at the Bellairs playhouse, Guildford and “Vernisage” which got performed both in Germany and Austria.

In 2007 and 2009 she led a variety of acting workshops for both amateurs and professionals at the WUK in Vienna with great success.

In 2008 and large parts of 2009/10 she’s taken time out to travel around the world, work on her first novel and to teach acting internationally.

Three papers presented by Urmila Samson:

1. Towards a New Education (2004)

2. Towards a New Education The Journey Continues (2007)

3. Love is Past, Present and Future (2009)

Towards a New Education

This paper  was presented at the Indian Psychology Yoga and Consciousness conference Pondicherry, in 2004.

Much of my thinking has changed since then, but this describes the beginning of my journey.

Introduction

During my school days I realized that there was more to education than what could be possible within the confines of one institution, and interaction with the same children and teachers throughout one’s childhood.  It is our childhood experiences outside of academics that contribute to what I would call intangible learning; the part of education that cannot be measured and evaluated.  It makes up a greater part of our learning, and today’s system is leaving less and less time and space for it.  In this paper I have put forward some ideas as to how we can at least begin to develop intangible learning. Soon after my standard ten board examinations I came across many books on education and while still in my teens I decided to have many children, (a football team, actually), and never send them to school!  During the following years I found more and more books that spoke of changing times, the increasing gap between the content of syllabi and of what education should now consist.  By my mid-twenties I was determined to effect a change in the system.  I worked in seven schools over a period of eleven years.  It is then that I realized that reforms from within the school structure were constrained by the outdated nature of the structure itself, the framework and systems; especially the fact of syllabi that are made by outsiders far removed from the individuals, and the board exam as the final aim.  I am not trying to say that we have to do away with schools altogether, although I have called my concept No School.

Homeschool, Unschool, No School.

When I was asked to present a paper on my homeschooling experiences, I was not happy, as I do not advocate homeschooling.  Besides, our home education cannot be termed as homeschooling.  Homeschooling means that parents use the prescribed syllabus, but go about it more creatively.  Homeschooling in various countries has been formalized.  Parents have to get accreditation, worksheets and tests are mailed and sent back for evaluation.  Some schools allow homeschoolers to join in their extra curricular activities and have use of laboratory and library facilities.

A few years ago I found a term on the net ‘unschooling’ which is closer to what we are doing.  The unschooling families seem also to have been influenced by John Holt.  Unschoolers do not necessarily follow a timetable, a syllabus or have parents who are teachers.  Parents go about their business and children learn from their own play as well as learn about the adult world by going about with their parents.  Parents are alert to their children’s needs, and make resources available, including the children in the process.  Process is ever important, and the goal is never a test or a board exam.  In some countries there are huge support networks and unschooling families meet, picnic, exchange ideas and put up helpful websites.  Rather than write tomes on education, they exchange problems, solutions and ideas from their experiences.  Towards the end of his days John Holt lost faith in the fact of his “Learning in Freedom” ever coming to be, as the vested interests and convenience of formal schooling seemed to override his concept.  However, today there are millions of homeschoolers the world over, thousands of unschooling families as well, and their numbers are on the increase.

I do not advocate home education as a universal solution, and neither do many of the families who are into it.  It assumes various conditions that are not universally available, so I suggest instead, that we start by changing thinking and attitudes towards education.  Then only can my suggestions become practical.  Within the present framework they will seem impossible.  I am very grateful to Neeltje and Matthijs for giving me this opportunity to share my ideas Towards a New Education backed by my home education experiences.

Some assumptions:

1. Individual effort is valuable.

2. Subjective experience is valid.  Different views and ways can co-exist.

3. Even impractical ideas should be expressed, for the dream creates the reality.

Not rigid; subjective; purpose is of opening up more ways:

It takes 18 years for a human child to reach maturity, much longer than any other living creature.  We must be mindful of the different educational requirements of each stage.  I have broken these up into age appropriate categories that are by no means rigid. These are borne of my own experiences.  I am not trying to validate my way as the only way. I also may be mistaken as to cause and effect.  I am sharing this in the hope of opening up more ways of looking at education. The No School concept I propose is myriad.

I did not have as many children as I had planned, (for practical reasons)!  Though three, in India, is considered two too many!  But true to plan, I have not sent them to school at all.  My eldest daughter Sahya is 12 years old, and I have two sons aged 7, Rayn, and 4, Niom.  Their names do not belong to any religion.  They come from the musical notes of a scale – Sa, Re and Ni.

Need to re-iterate universal wisdom regarding childcare:

Though everyone seems to know what children need, there is much missing in our country specific to this age group.  I am only highlighting what I feel requires constant re-iteration, and ideas on how it can be brought about.  In itself nothing is new, so I will not go into detail.  What is new, however, is that I am suggesting that paediatricians, gynaecologists, NGOs, teachers, parents and government agencies take up the issues, that follow below, to formally remind each other and everyone else about its importance.

Nurturing:

This is the most urgent need of children and all living things.  Love is a much bandied about term, so I am using a word that does not cause confusion.  If parents have not received love, from where will they give it?  In order to begin somewhere, I suggest that just as the syllabus is prescribed, and adhered to and monitored, so some basic form of nurturing should be discussed with parents, teachers and caregivers. Psychologists can design excercises and advertisement people can push the concept with the vigour that they push products.  It should be the main prescribed item in the syllabus for 0-6 year olds.  Nurturing 0-6s should become a norm, a well-established fact of contemporary life.

Many parents/teachers/caregivers nurture children intuitively, many feel they are perfectly right in hitting, intimidating or verbally putting down children and many parents mistake pampering for nurturing.  In ancient India, the child from 0-7 was   treated as a King!  The next stage he is a student, then a householder and finally a Sanyasi.  It is difficult for all parents/teachers/caregivers to nurture.  I feel that the concept of the importance of nurturing cannot be emphasized enough. Then if for whatever reasons some are unable to do so themselves, they can see that the child is in a place where nurturing is valued.

Support:

Due to the joint family system, support groups for young parents do not exist in our country.  (Or rather are so few, that they are not worth the mention in this discussion.) The support that is needed is not the kind where ‘experts’ teach parents, but where parents come together and share their experiences and learn from each other.  The more number of support groups that exist, the more choices parents will have in case the one they first join does not fit in with what they feel is right.

Very importantly, parents have to be supported in using their intuition, rather than their rational minds or pressure from those around them. In my experience, parents long to love their children, but are afraid to spoil them.  They need confidence in the knowledge that nurturing breeds inner toughness, which is inviolable.

Extended families, friends, neighbours need to be sensitive to the unique challenges faced by families of under 6s.  These tend to exert unconscious pressures that parents then unconsciously transfer to the children.  Without us being conscious of it, the little and big seemingly inconsequential irritations of daily routine: work, school, commuting, social and religious obligations, expectations of dress and behaviour, all pile up causing tremendous stress on a daily, hourly basis.  We need to therefore, constantly remind ourselves of the need to de-stress, to return to a state of awareness, and to educate the people around us of the chain reaction consequences of their demands/expectations.  Adults and children in urban situations are busier than earlier times, and therefore unable to take time out to review their situation, actions and responses.   There are so many more choices, things to do, distractions and insidious influences.  The media bombarding us and our children with what we should look like, do and even who we should be.

Health and hygiene:

We tend to separate physical health and treat it as a completely isolated aspect of life.  When my first child fell ill, I used to get terrified every time she had the slightest cold or tummy upset.  When my second baby was born, the fact of handling a child and a baby made me even more worrisome and tense about hygiene and illnesses.  There were months on end when we were ill all together or in never ending rounds.  We went from homeopaths, to allopathic doctors, to specialists, all the time working on myself, trying to calm myself down and reach a state of awareness and clarity as to what I was doing that was coming in the way of the healing process.  I realized that I had relapsed in to the super mom syndrome, wanting to do a perfect job of motherhood, not being humble enough to ask for help and support, and wanting to prove more than ever that I know everything about rearing perfect children!  During the long and painful process of relaxing and letting go, I came to understand that stress over health and hygiene causes sickness.  Once I relaxed and accepted support from those around, healing took place on a deeper more permanent level.  Once we were healed, we had found the secret of maintaining health and rarely visited a doctor again.

It is then that I realized that diet and hygiene are lesser factors in determining health. (We see human beings live through the filthiest conditions and very poor diets in our country itself.)  Stress levels and a supportive, nurturing atmosphere are more important factors determining health.

Death:

Our attitude towards death affects the way we live our lives.  Therefore it is important that children have as natural an experience as possible.  Sahya and I visited my mother’s parents once in a while, as they lived in Mumbai.  My grandfather passed away at the age of 91, when Sahya was three years old.  Sahya had seen her great grandfather’s body getting older.  When he died, I explained that when the body gets old, slowly the organs and limbs and all the parts get weaker and the person inside gets tired of trying to do things and move around with such a body.  Also the person feels that he has lived in this body on this earth for a long long time and done everything that he wanted to do, and now he has finished.  So when the time is right, the person leaves the tired, old, useless body on the earth.  We cry and feel sad because we miss talking to him and hugging him.  The part of the person that we could talk to and hug was the body.  The part that does not die is the soul.

God and Nature:

One week both my sons asked two different questions and the answer was so connected.  These truths are usually expressed in beautiful language that is hard for children to grasp.  I have written a simple explanation so that children may understand the greatness that is Nature and God.  Usually children grow up admiring science and other man made wonders throughout childhood, while having only hazy snatches of what True Greatness is.

Rayn: “What is nature?”

Mama: “Everything that is not manmade.  Buildings, dams, roads, electric lights are manmade.

Rayn:  And leaves, trees, mountains, planets and sunlight are part of nature.

Mama:  Yes.  And man can never make Nature.

Some days later:

Niom: “What is god?”

Mama: “The creator or maker of all things like flowers and trees and us and animals and insects and the moon and Venus…. All the things that people can’t make.

“Why can’t we see god?”   And I have answered all three when this question has come up:  “Do you feel angry or sad or happy?  Can we see it?  Only if you show it on your face, or by doing something.  So we see god in the things that god created and made.  Do you have thoughts?  If you do something with your thought, then I can see what you have done.  If the thought remains inside you then no one knows about that thought, but that does not mean that it isn’t there all the same!”

Religion:

“What is religion?”

“Ever since human beings have been on earth, they have had a very strong feeling that there is something greater and stronger and more powerful than them.  That some creative force has made all the beautiful things we find in nature.  They made stories and explanations about it and ways of praying for what they want, and then when they got what they wanted very badly, they made special prayers of thanks.  Different people made different stories and passed them down to their children and so on.  The stories, prayers and ways of praying over many years became fixed in the form of a religion with a name for each religion, names for the gods and goddesses, and names for the prayers and customs and places of worship.

Later, there were spiritually advanced people who realized that times have changed, and people sticking to a religion that was made hundreds of years ago were losing the proper meaning. So they taught people different ideas of god and different ways of understanding life and god.  Over the years, people who liked their way became followers, and made their teachings into a religion with a new name. And again over hundreds of years people have lost the meaning of life and god, and the religion has got fixed and people have forgotten its meaning!

Educational infrastructure for under sixes:

A holistic experience:

Parents need a break from their children, but parents also need to be more involved with their children.  This is not a contradiction.  I found that when parents get a break, they come back with renewed enthusiasm and creativity and enjoy being with their children more.  Also, I have noticed that one person playing with a child tires more quickly than if two adults are playing with them.  Similarly, groups of adults and children together have a great time if the adults consciously tune in to the children.  It is enriching, therapeutic and educational for both the adults and the children.   Actually, it is more than that. It is quite a holistic (mind, body, spirit) experience.

Neighbourhood Safe Place:

Families can and do organize group activities on their own, but here I will describe a way that families can come together and share their educational capabilities without energy loss and pollution due to commuting.

The more, the merrier.  Every urban and rural neighbourhood should have a Neighbourhood Safe Place that they can be proud of and that everyone feels comfortable to visit.  It should be more open and less built up.

The open spaces can be used for playing in mud, planting and harvesting anything, (order in chaos!), simple swinging and sliding systems.  Children will swing from anything – tires hung from trees, they will slide down muddy or grassy slopes…expensive equipment is always a maintenance headache.

The inside rooms can have simple percussion instruments that the 4-6s can make themselves, art, dance, dressing up etc.

Resources: Almost all resources can come from the neighbourhood.

Rescource people: They can be the young, old and physically challenged people from the neighbourhood.  Psychology students, teacher trainees, social workers, parents with some free time and energy, grandparents…Their main work is to be alert and really be all there.  Tune in to what is happening, be on hand to sort problems, read storybooks, help children at the computers, comfort the hurt, pull out and put away any special resource materials if and when required.  The most important thing is LET THE CHILDREN BE IN CHARGE of their own activities.  Do not think we know better.  From 0-6, THEY actually DO know better!  Before they are brainwashed, which is bound to happen after this stage.

Parents: must be encouraged to come in and join in the fun.  They may also share their particular skill – story telling, pot making, a tribal dance, singing, finger shadows.  Modern education belittles ancient wisdom and culture.  It is no good going into tribal areas to teach literacy and urban syllabi, without learning herbal medicine or how to read the weather, seasons and time without gadgets and science.

Adult-child ratio: Just as the single parent to child ratio is impractical, so is the one teacher to 60, 20, and even 5 students is absurd.  Child adult ratios have to be rotated on an almost daily basis.  With children in charge and parents and others coming in and out of the NSP, children can choose whom they need to contact for what.  They have larger, wider options for interaction and various combinations available to them.

Temper tantrums, emotional outbursts, embarrassment in public:

Making a mess that someone else has to pick up, breaking things, throwing things, hitting and pulling hair, refusing to share, fighting with other children and a host of other ‘negative’ behaviours are just the other side of the coin of ‘positive’ behaviours, and should be recognized as such.  Parents tend to feel that it is a reflection of their upbringing.  If the child behaves ‘good’, they take the credit, and if the child behaves ‘bad’ they feel so embarrassed they often hurt or humiliate the child. The child is often mystified because he just expressed himself in a truly authentic manner.  Both in the NSP and the home, negative behaviour should be allowed as much as is possible or bearable.  In our home, I allowed everything even when I was hurt or embarrassed in public.  In the beginning I was just going on intuition.  But after 12 years of mothering, I can say with confidence that all children go through this phase, and this is only a phase in their development that they need to explore before they grow out of it.

Though everyone knows how primary education should be, and in many countries it is in practice for many years now, we have to really pressurize the authorities in our country to free our little ones.

The practical problems are ‘where’:  In every nook and cranny of the country there exists a school with at least a small play ground.

‘Who will initiate this move’:  In every nook and cranny of this country, more than one NGO are already in operation, and they have a better picture of that territory than probably the government agencies in charge of that territory.

‘Who will send their children to these NSPs’:  That will depend on the manner in which each NSP is launched.  And that will be a beginning.

Case for computers for basic literacy:

My younger two children have used CD Roms that took care of basic literacy completely.  I recommend that computer literacy go hand in hand with academic learning, and that websites be created in every language for every age group so that anyone can go to an NSP or a net café, and for a small fee per hour can learn reading, writing and numeracy.  John Holt has proved that learners of any age can learn reading in 30 hours.

Children and computers.

1. When there is a warm understanding parent/ teacher/ care-giver, open air space to play, and minimum restrictions, it is my experience that children will not need computer and TV as addictive escapes.

2. Children prefer warm loving interaction and outdoor play and will choose it every time over computer games and TV.  It is in the absence of both the above and the addition of pressure to do this or that unwanted activity that children are left no choice but to watch TV and play mindless addictive repetitive games on the computer.

3. In most schools in India there is very little educational material and equipment.  Those who can afford it have to guard it like anything and still bits and pieces get lost.  Only a few children actually get hands-on educational tools and books to freely explore.

The computer has endless exploration possibilities that are properly researched and graded.  They are interesting and not addictive.  They also change levels automatically for each individual explorer.  Human teachers cannot have the ingenuity and energy for individual students like this.  Even as a mother I cannot give my children that level of individual input (in this particular area of basic literacy).

4. Human beings can give the warmth and the friendly interaction more easily if they don’t have to bother with academic progress for which humans need patience and computers handle with ease.

I am only referring to basic literacy and thinking skills here.

My children explore both the real world and the computer world easily.  I have more time to be mother, as well as teacher of things that the computer can never teach.  I am humble enough to realize that certain very good CD Roms do a better job than me in certain areas of academic learning!

5.  CD Roms are expensive, so I am suggesting that web-sites are created using   their very innovative and interesting methods.

6. The CDs that my children use are Dorling Kindersley, Sesame Street, Jump Start and many by Humungous Entertainment.  Each CD has a variety of characters, games and ways of learning different things.  Teams of teachers, child psychologists, ad. people, and artists have put these together.  No class room teacher can have that kind of combined expertise.  On the other hand many non-expert classroom teachers have a different quality of contribution that a computer CD cannot!

My children and some of my friend’s children who use these have also a tremendous love of books of all kinds: Stories, science experiments, research, maps…and they learnt how to better use their books and follow instructions and find things via their edutainment CDs.  And more importantly, they spend most of their time in creative play and structured games including board games.  I would say that computers are a new and innovative tool that can enhance learning multi-fold.

7.    When books started being used, people must have complained about losing the ability to memorize.  But soon information increased in quantity and diversity, that it was impossible not to use books.  Now books are considered invaluable tools.  When water started flowing through pipes, instead of being drawn fresh and clean from streams and wells…You see where this argument is leading….

Computers save time:  Children learn basic literacy and numeracy plus a host of thinking and problem solving skills effortlessly, painlessly and have great fun doing it.    Given an open air NSP full of children and friendly adults, they will automatically balance their computer time.

It does not require skilled rescource persons: as once the children know how to click about and follow the simple spoken instructions, no help is required at all. It does not require purchase, storage, maintenance of expensive materials and equipment: Most schools cannot afford books and equipment. Montessori or other educational rescource equipment is expensive, and materials have to be guarded, rationed and maintained.  Computers on the other hand are almost as good as hands on equipment and one manipulates the ‘equipment’ with the click of a mouse!                                                 In addition, computers do not lose patience when a child gives a ‘wrong’ answer. Children can even give repeated wrong answers for fun.  Wrong answers do not become an issue at all, thus removing the fear of failure.  And of course, the computer never runs out of rewards for every little achievement! They praise the child generously and cheerfully.

The numerous software and other companies can donate computers when they are upgrading.  I’m sure they will easily cover our 0-6 population. We need to invest in websites for basic literacy in the style of Sesame Street and DK in every possible language.  Instead of wasting time on arguing the ills of children and computers; children and TV; and children and advertisements, we should spend that time, in pooling our ad brains, child pshychologist brains and educationist brains to spread an interesting interactive education via these media.

Before I go on to the next developmental stage I would like to read an excerpt from some thoughts I had written on Intuition:

‘I am always grateful for the chance to share my thoughts and ideas.  I may be completely wrong here, mistaken there, slightly off-track somewhere else….  Only through dialogue can I myself learn.

Intuition has got buried by reason and intellect.   I don’t want to define intellect in this discussion.  Let us say that children are by and large intelligent.  Their intelligence is of different types.  An enlightened education can help them build on what they have.  A decadent education can pretty much wipe out all traces of many types of intelligences.  Intuition on the other hand is very little known about, as it is both intangible and unquantifiable.  Our present day education and educated society have forgotten its importance, and rely on science to fulfill human needs and solve world problems.   There are therefore many scientifically correct answers today, but no real solutions.  This stems from what Fritjof Capra termed as a ‘Newtonian mechanistic worldview’.

Quantum Physics has replaced this worldview, and has come close to Ancient Mysticism, in that the problem cannot be addressed from the outside. The result of an experiment will differ according to the experimenter.   A particle is simultaneously a wave.  “The Tao of Physics” by Capra explains this.  And his book “The Turning Point” relates it to all humankind’s institutions like medicine, industry and education. Quantum Physics shows that there can be no absolutes, no perfect solutions, and that even our perceptions can only be relative. Mystics have been saying this for centuries.  But how did they know?  Where does music come from?  Who created the universe?

Not science, not even knowledge, and definitely not money.

Adults of the ‘Newtonian mechanistic worldview’ think that children don’t know, so we have to take control of their lives, minds and bodies and fill them with what we think is best.  Actually children intuitively turn to what is best for them, if let alone.  Not completely, not without any direction or protection.  If you throw a baby in the water, it swims.  But you do it with caution.  If you throw a child in, they sink.  Later, we have to actually teach children to swim, step by step.  Great swimmers may learn in a trice or a year or two years. No doubt, this all assumes that they had access to water.  And that is where the new education comes in. The No School.

Though it is difficult to define intuition, I will put down some words that I have found in the thesaurus: instinct, sixth sense, divination, feeling in one’s bones, inborn, untaught, unlearned, spontaneous, automatic.

There is so much out there.  How are people to know what to choose.  Directories and guides are all external sources.  We need our own individual, personal inner guide.  To sift and sort without too much mind boggling reasoning.  Never before has there been so much information and so many choices.  No one can access everything there is. Each person can only rely on intuition, gut feelings, the inner voice to be their guide.  Children must be allowed to believe in themselves, to trust their own instincts.  It is important that we do not confuse wild fancies and momentary wishes with authentic indications.  Each of us will have to have infinite faith in that which is beyond and greater than ourselves.

Ages 7-11 &12-16 their needs and infrastructural requirements:

Special aspects of ages 7-11

I find that the most charming aspect of this age is the endless creative play.  It actually starts much earlier than age 7 and carries on till age 9, and may continue into teenage.  I enjoy watching children, others as well as my own, turning all kinds of scrap material and real and imagined toys into houses, boats, vehicles, roads, cities….  In the garden, they run and jump and climb and hide.  They can play in water and sand beyond imagination.  They collect stones and shells, are fascinated by insects, leaves and plants.  They find birds nests in places that adults would never look, and are the first to know when the kittens are born, or when one of the garden pets go missing or are sick.  They watch the stars, the clouds and immediately recognize if something is strange or different.  They are keenly aware of sounds and smells and tastes that many of us have become desensitized to.

Learner in Charge – Set the Children Free:

I allow my children tremendous freedom at this stage. They have charge of their time, their activities and are even boss of their meals, bath, sleep, TV, computer and clothes.   Each goes through a phase when they watch too much TV, eat more junk food than healthy food, and don’t bathe for days.  My seven-year-old son only wears stretchy material T-shirts and pants (the kind one wears to sleep in), and he only wore rubber slippers for more than a year.  I had to limit our socializing, only meeting with people who would understand or would at least be tolerant of their lack of socially required dress and manners. Not that they were overtly ill mannered.  They were more like shy animals who would respond naturally to natural interaction, and retreat or even whine or yell at us to take them home if the interaction was of no interest to them. My son wore pyjamas and rubber slippers to a grand wedding that we once had to attend!

There is the question of abuse of freedom, and making wrong choices when the learner is in charge: The learner cannot be in charge if he is not free.  And a discussion of freedom is clearly beyond the scope of this paper.  It cannot be accomplished at the individual level or on a superficial level.  One has to fully understand its essence and its implications before an atmosphere of freedom can be brought about.  Within that atmosphere, the learner can be free, and in charge of his education.

There is also the question about balancing social obligations so as not to cause stress to children:  We try to minimize stress in our lives so that there is a minimum of yelling.  While our children are very young, we socialize only with people who understand our ways.  I am proposing here, that more people realize that social graces cause stress for little ones and parents of little ones.  Teenagers on the other hand may enjoy social graces!  They have the choice of dropping the unnecessary ones in adulthood.  Adults require various levels of decorum for different occasions.  For some occasions we have to choose our wardrobe and manners with care.  In others we may dress and behave much more free and naturally.  In the latter case, we would be able to recover who we are deep down and live harmoniously and connectedly.  Once we realize this, we would not demand social graces from children and we would allow them to grow naturally and retain their inner selves, enhancing their inner and outer worlds by harmonious and natural interaction as they grow.

Drip method instead of nagging: Children need to, and in fact want to know what is allowed and what isn’t.  It shows them overtly that you care.  But the habitual nagging and shouting pattern that we parents tend to fall into just doesn’t work in the long run.  I try to use what I call ‘drip method’ to inform them what I think is not good for them.  That entails repeating unemotionally, not too often, and sometimes humorously, what is good for them and what isn’t.  Of course, every so often I do resort to bullying, bribing, manipulating and coercing.  For example, if I lose my patience, I just insist that this or that has to be done, and done NOW!  However, my husband and I have tried to design a life style that minimizes stress, so that I do not have to lose patience often.  It is not always easy, but it is worth the effort.  When relationships between children and adults are close and harmonious, children tend not to abuse their freedom.  And if adults indicate by drip method what should or shouldn’t be done, sooner or (quite often), later, the child figures out for himself that what he/she is required to do is not just to please someone else, but for their own good.  As a mother, I give a lot of time for them to realize this.  Many would not agree with the amount of time I allow.  For some things I allow months, and for some, even years.  When they finally choose, it is a well-considered choice, and stems from inner conviction that has a power of its own.

(Over time, with my husband’s help and a lot of hard work, I completely stopped bullying, bribing, manipulating and coercing.  For this one needs much community support!)

Creative alternatives – an example:

When my son was glued to the TV in July, I was frantic.  I tried everything but nothing worked.  Then, as usual, when one gets pushed to the edge, a solution presents itself.  I kept all sorts of stuff he loves doing on a table nearby; like puzzles, minute put together toys that require concentration and effort to complete, favourite books etc.  Though he would be in front of the TV, gradually his attention shifted to his activity.  Over the months, he gradually came back to life, and was himself again, although he would still rush back for his show or his match.  An interesting feature in all this is, that he does not watch passively.  He watches interesting shows, remembers details, and notes down match timings and the names of the teams.  He is thus practicing reading quickly off the screen, writing, and memorizing.  He learns science, from science shows; geography is covered through football, as player’s names, names of countries, flags, accents, and every so often clips of the country where the match is being played are shown. All three children love pouring over maps, and until they started on this activity, I had no idea how much can be gleaned from each map. Even while watching, he prances about practicing fancy footwork with his football, and then moves off during breaks to continue some project or other.  Sometimes he keeps up an analytical discussion with one of us about what is going on on the screen.  Later he can recall and recount throws, passes, incidents and relate them or demonstrate to anyone who shows interest.  Through this example I wish to show how the Learner in Charge and Set the Children Free concept converted something that can be harmful into something quite educationally interactive and productive.

Breadth, depth begin to manifest:

This is a relatively ‘easy’ stage, and it is very tempting to try to ‘mould’ children.

It is my personal opinion that if children were allowed sufficient freedom in the 0-6 period, they are more likely to know their own minds and be guided by their intuition in successive stages.  I try to control the urge to push them into this that or the other activity or behaviour.  I find that letting them have charge of their time, space and activities, their own intuition guides them.  Their interests and emerging talents become evident, and guide me as to what I can do to make resources and resource persons available, and keep my antenna tuned towards people and places they could get in touch with in future.

Breadth, length and depth begin to manifest within the child.  I have taken words from the thesaurus to indicate what I mean:

Breadth as in extensiveness, range, vastness, magnitude, immensity of knowledge and capabilities; breadth of spirit as in liberality, broad-mindedness, open-mindedness, freedom, and magnanimity; Length as in extent, thoroughly, exhaustively, go to any limits, observe no limits; Depth as in profundity, wisdom, understanding, discernment, insight, awareness, penetration, astuteness, acumen, shrewdness, acuity, complexity, intricacy, intensity, richness, vividness, strength and brilliance.

Energy Flow:

Call it intuition, ancient memory or a wild surmise: I feel that emotional responses to children as a habit have been accepted, and we adults use various excuses as ‘good reason’ to react that way.  The obvious effect is that children in turn react emotionally.  In many cases they block something within.  The more emotional blocks caused by major and minor emotional traumas, the less easily energy can flow. Learning, and I use this word in its total magnificence, not as it is bandied about today, flows in through our experience via our senses.  The more blocks, the bigger the blocks, less learning/experience/energy/chi can flow. Physical and psychological health suffers.

Rather than react emotionally, I try to respond appropriately.  It is not always easy, because the former is a well-formed habit and the latter requires a degree of inner silence.

No commitment, short-term commitment, working towards serious commitments:

I found that in some cases my daughter would flit from one incomplete project or activity to another.  Sometimes she would return and do some more on and off.  Some projects may never have got completed.  I did not find it necessary at this stage to say, “Stick to one thing and learn to finish it.”  Because I felt that this was a time of search, experimentation and creativity.  My son who is now in this age bracket takes on very few projects and goes at them with great intensity till he finishes them. Then he has to take a long break.  He is a perfectionist and will demand adult help so that there are no mistakes and mess.  He also dreams a lot in between one intense activity and the next.  I resist the temptation to get him to ‘do something’ every time I see him ‘doing nothing’.  I find that open ended ness rather than trying to time bind a project leaves more scope for new ideas to emerge and for the project to diversify.  It also becomes evident if the project is not satisfactory and can be dumped instead of expending unnecessary time and energy on it.

My first child had been at home and really over-protected until the age of 6. I felt it necessary for her to venture out into the world a bit.  She was timid and clingy by nature, and not much inclined to do so.  Over the first few years she committed to one class of special interest, for a short duration, and then took a break.  These short-term commitments with initially very long spaces in between were an education in many things like dealing with the outside world, strangers, getting ready in time and time bound projects designed by someone else.  These were usually creative classes where they did take the child into account and allowed some scope for creativity and a few choices.  Over the next few years she committed for a year to a once a week class.  There were times when she would want to break the commitment or at least miss a class.  I took the opportunity to discuss the reasons.  The problem turned out to be an incompetent teacher, but the course itself was interesting. I helped her to deal with her feelings and thereby handle the situation.    One class she joined and where we paid a high fee but turned out not to her liking (or mine), we discontinued though we lost the money.  I figured that the money lost was less than the ‘intangible’ losses due to continuing something that was not worth taking time and energy out for.  By the end of this stage she committed herself to more than one, yearlong programme at a time, was able to cope with strict teachers and increasing amounts of practice and homework.  She expressed a wish to join mainstream school, and I did not hesitate an instant, as I had already felt that she had completed her home education successfully and was ready to join mainstream.  I leave the choice up to her as to which aspects of mainstream she wishes to join.  Academically she was behind what her age children had covered, so since June she has taken on the Herculean job of ‘learning the syllabus’!

Sahya’s early academic journey:

Sahya learnt to read by age 9, and there were many times I worried about it.  Later I came upon a website on unschooling, which mentioned that some children read at 4, and some at 14, and by 18, no one can tell the difference!  (So many children and parents around the world are suffering because experts are telling them about their children’s variously entitled learning disabilities, when actually there is nothing wrong with these children.  Many are brilliant, but grow up severely damaged because of these, according to me, fictitious diagnoses.)  Sahya only wrote birthday cards for years, her spelling of ‘Happy Birthday’ evolving so sweetly over the years.  Around her ninth year, she would be writing lists, time-tables, little stories (she is quite a story writer), and often she would yell, “Mama, how do you spell _?”  And without having to leave off what I was doing, I would yell back the spelling.  So when people ask me what our homeschool schedule is, this is an example of why we never needed a schedule.  In mirambika, a free progress school in New Delhi, founded by Neeltje and Mattijs, where children learned in a very harmonious and aesthetic atmosphere, through group and individual projects, I remember a girl who hated to write.  But when she was 14 or so, she wrote a play that the children acted out.  Perhaps it is the extra gifted who learn to write late.  Perhaps late writers are gathering material to write about.  Let us explore these possibilities before judging our brilliant children as disabled or deficient and then embarking on programmes that disable their inner genius, neutralizing it forever.

Though I needn’t worry, every so often I do worry, and it is Sahya who puts my doubts at rest and shows my fears to be baseless.   For example, around the beginning of this year she decided that she wants to study towards joining school.  Since she started so late on the syllabus, she has a lot of ‘catching up’ to do.  In the beginning I was so afraid that this ‘catching up’ would eclipse her other areas of interest and activity, and initially it did, as the routine was unfamiliar and exhausting.  She attends academic and non-academic classes for which she has to complete homework.   All this necessarily forms a structured routine.  But as I write this, it is the beginning of October, and she is able to draw, compose, read, work on her own on-going academic projects on the computer as well as in her notebooks, write umpteen short stories, make her bead jewelry, go for her monthly nature trek, play indoor and outdoor games…the list is endless as is her capacity, and her ability to manage her time.

Time and space to learn intangibles:

Though now her life is relatively routine and not very flexible, I feel that the earlier years being without routine and completely flexible left scope for more to emerge in terms of self awareness, awareness of other people and things and to figure out how they operate; awareness of how to interact with the world, ones personal preferences, limitations; getting a ‘feel’ of what is going on; time to discuss troublesome areas and other intangibles.  Her time management capacity, inner discipline and punctuality, may be because no one else had charge of making her routine and pushing her around the clock.

Expressing affection and physical touch:

As children grow older, many parents forget, or don’t deem it necessary, or feel awkward to hug and cuddle their children.  I think that physical closeness, comforting and kissing in India may be decreasing due to rushed schedules.  This is something that when postponed indefinitely, can be very awkward to re establish.  Often we may wake up when it is too late.

Ages 11-16.

I had written many of the earlier ideas before I had children, so though what I write for the next two age groups is not backed by direct experience, you will all see its relevance for it is common knowledge which needs focus.

Need for serious, honest feedback:

When I worked, learned and taught at mirambika, N. Delhi, a free progress school, during my last year I was working closely with a group of children who were turning 12.  Around the ages 11-12, they wanted to take their academics seriously; they wanted proper feedback, not just “Wow! That’s great”, and they wanted me to be strict with them.  I had the same experience with my daughter, who mouthed almost the same sentences I’d heard all those many years ago.

Need to take on the tough life:

Alongside serious academics, my twelve year old daughter wants to do ‘everything’.  And unlike when she was a child, she manages to organize her time to a large extent.  Now she very rarely whines or complains, when things get tough, but just grits her teeth and gets on with it. But mostly, she can manage to do what has to be done without much ado.  In fact she loves the feeling of challenge, competition and overcoming life’s toughies.

Need to socialize:

Becomes a serious matter.  Many people criticize homeschooling and unschooling on grounds of ‘socialization’.  Human beings living in remote areas, on lonely farms, and all corners of non-urban earth, have been able to socialize without prior training!  There are books and movies and history written about the problems overcome and the humorous experiences of first encounters with a new social set up.  Socialization comes naturally to humans.  We are gregarious animals.  Non-school goers meet with different kinds of people in real life situations, and meet society in stages with gradually decreasing protection.  School children are in an inescapable situation with little or no advice or protection.  A child is stuck with a bully that as an adult he would be able to avoid; or with a cruel teacher, that in adulthood one would be able to cope with.  It is easier for non-school going children to change their coping mechanisms and upgrade their responses with changing situations and people as they grow.  School going children can too, but the situation and people remain the same, and responses tend to become a habit, which are harder to break.

Infrastructure for ages 7-11 and 12-16:

Where:

Education should happen all over the city, town and village. It needn’t be confined within the walls of institutions.  Individual persons who are gifted and wish to share their skill or knowledge can operate from their homes or neighbourhoods; two individuals can set up a learning exchange at their mutual convenience; great gurus and earnest shishyas will find each other; groups can get together for a combined learning process or project; apprenticeships are a great source of practical learning that benefit the master and the apprentice in many ways.  The paths and ways of education are numerous.

Individuals:

Teachers, housewives, retired persons, students, artists…any individual can operate from their home, or from the Neighbourhood Safe Place. This encourages individuals to earn from their own talents, interests and hobbies.  It saves on transport, congestion, pollution and energy.  Each neighbourhood will be abuzz with teachers and learners in innumerable fields.

Guru Shishya:

This would need an elaborate and detailed explanation beyond the scope of this paper, so I will only mention it as an important part of a larger educational canvas.

One to one; groups:

Learning exchanges on a one to one basis can be worked out.  I once taught piano to a friend who taught me Hindustani Vocal.

Groups can get together to learn something together, do a project together, form a team where each brings in something different to the group project, thus enriching the learning experience.

Children learn beautifully from each other.  Anything my eldest learns filters down more effectively to the younger ones. They also all learn from each other in a most natural way.

Apprenticeships:

Every business from a bicycle repair shop to a huge corporation can have apprenticeships, training departments and any sort of educational section that they can use to benefit their own business while teaching it.

Professionals like hairdressers, doctors, dentists, lawyers, architects, engineers can also have young apprentices who learn hands on before, during, after their professional courses.  (They are all unanimous that the hands on training is worth more than the professional course syllabi that turn out to be largely irrelevant in practice.)

Formal education institutions:

I have included formal education as a part of educational possibilities, and not as an all important, childhood and youth consuming aspect.   There is a kind of safety and protection that busy parents can rely on in a formal institution.  However, the compulsory syllabus has to be drastically reduced, and the choices and options available to students increased, so that they may choose how much time they will spend, and on what they will spend that time.  Children should be free to take a day, a month or a year off to participate in non formal school activities, take a trip somewhere.  There has to be much more fluidity and flexibility.  All this is really hard to monitor and to convince parents who are paying fees.  Therefore interested parents should be allowed to involve themselves in their children’s projects and school lives constantly.  Their places of work must allow for this.  This may cause even more difficulties in organization.  To really benefit from flexibility, people will have to learn the art of Disciplined Negotiation and Emotional Control!

Non-formal places of education:

Many non-formal learning institutions exist, though not as many as I would like to see.  NGO’s have them on building sites, slum areas, and villages.  They find it very effective, and that it encourages children to come to school.  Some enlightened urban parents have opted to send their children to non-formal schools, but they often have to pull out due to the board exam monster, that universal leveler, and the pre-requisites to further studies and job opportunities.

Computer centers use non-formal methods.  Students go straight into hands on practical applications.  Again, found to be very effective.

International Baccalaureate and Montessori schools do a marvelous job, however, they require highly trained and therefore well-paid staff, they spend on materials, equipment, transport etc.  The fee therefore becomes quite prohibitive.

Non-formal schools usually require extra funds; special kinds of training for their staff, children tend to spend years with the same small group of people, which inhibits growth and change.  In many setups a large part of the burden rests upon the teachers, while children have fun and parents complain!

These problems could be overcome if educational infrastructure suggestions such as those that follow below, are in place.

Though millions of people want options to formal schooling, they cannot take the risk of opting for it, as the board exam is the only ticket to higher education and jobs.  Thus true learning alternatives become impossible.  It is precisely for this reason that I propose the removal of tests and board exams.  They can be replaced by entrance tests specific to entering an institution or job, which are designed by the institutions and corporations themselves.  In any case the combined content of board exams is mostly irrelevant to the individual and organizations.

Hands on exploration:

In some countries there are science and other museums where children can learn by doing.  Our country would do well to invest in such places.  Children love visiting the planetarium in Mumbai and the University of Pune has a child friendly science center where some remarkable people are poplularizing science for children, especially of Municipal schools.

Organize field trips:

In Pune we have some wonderful organizations, and I’m sure they exist in other parts of the country and the world.  Some take children on nature trails, and over-night camps; some take families on treks and camping holidays.  There are art field trips, pottery workshops and ‘enrichment’ classes (some of which are spurious.)  We even have a remarkable children’s computer class that teaches computer through art and craft, which includes working with wood, beads, clay and metal.

We need organizations to take children to art galleries, museums, science centers, libraries, planetariums…

Plurality is the concept I am trying to put forward.  More choices, more ways of doing things, more options in every line.  Always remembering that intuition will/should guide the individual as to what to do when and how.

Farmers, social workers, hospitals:

Are always in need of extra hands.  There can be a crash course followed by short-term commitment, especially by youth in their late teens and early twenties who need to earn and learn.  While the learning in colleges gets increasingly academic, working for basic human needs may have a very balancing effect that will round off their education on a more realistic level.

Villagers have a lot to teach the urban population.  Rather than us going in there and teaching them math and science implying that that is superiour  to what they know, we can organize learning exchanges based on mutual need and interest, rather than board exam requirements so far removed from their reality.

Education Directory:

To let students of all ages, know what is available, I suggest an Education Directory, listing details of courses and teachers.  It may not be easy, and the business angle will have people or organizations pretending to be something they are not.  Categorization may not be too easy either.  But an education directory for every city/town is essential.  In spite of constant tests and exams keeping children away from other than board exam related activities there is a demand for other kinds of learning.  The supply is also on the increase.

Safe Road and Transport System:

Children have a right to safe roads and a special transport system.  In order to travel to places of interest, hobby, individual or group learning, they will need safe private and public run buses.  We could have male and female bus drivers and conductors.  Volunteer parents could take turns in monitoring routes.  Grandparents who otherwise baby-sit at home could ride the bus every so often to ensure safety.  These are just suggestions.  Businesspersons, NGOs, government agencies and parents from different walks of life can together devise various suitable systems.  More important but most difficult is re-organizing the roads to accommodate safe bicycling paths and sidewalks.

Parents’ involvement:

All parents are not inclined to be involved with children.  However, there are some who would love to be included and many whose contributions could prove invaluable.  Some may be good at planning and organization.  Some may be great at just being with children and joining in the activities, lending a helping hand.  Some may be good at trouble-shooting and coming up with creative solutions.  Some may be great teachers who couldn’t take up teaching as a career, but who would feel fulfilled if they had a chance to teach.  Both children and adults can benefit.

In today’s world this seems impossible due to parents’ schedules and board exam constraints.  The idea will have to really take root before this sort of thing can start happening.  In some countries parents do visit and join in classroom activities, and it is a proven success.

Need for peer group:

This is an age when the need for peer group and interaction with the opposite sex becomes intensified.  I don’t know what exists in the rest of the world, but our country needs places for teenagers to hang out and activities like dance, drama, singing, trekking, visits to places of interest etc.  Adults who interact with teenagers need to understand their needs and emotions.  At the moment most teenagers are stuck in classrooms, and with tuition teachers after school.  According to me, this is the worst way in which this age group can spend their time.  We assume that they are safe and out of trouble.  But their bodies are there, while their minds are elsewhere, yearning to be free.  Why cannot we allow the body, mind and soul to travel together?  This kind of repression has a price.

Serious about learning:

In ancient societies, (American Indian, Spartan Greece, India) boys went through rigorous initiation rites and tests, to prove their readiness for the transition into adulthood.  As I mentioned earlier, children want things to get seriously tough.  They want our help to push them to their limits.  Not just in academics, but in as many things as they are capable of.  This can be a really exciting stage of interaction between parents/teachers/caregivers and children.  Usually, since children are relatively more independent by age 11, adults heave a sigh of relief, and get on with their own lives, not suspecting how much interaction will benefit both parties and the community!  Keep the communication going.  It is easy to lose, and then very difficult to re-establish.

Accreditation:

The many types of learning centers and organizations dealing with this age group can get more exacting and tough about quality of work, commitment to projects and coverage of large areas and levels in the child’s sphere of interest.  The quality of person that holds accreditation from a teacher or institute will be a shining example of that teachers’ prowess and will increase the standing of the institution.  (At the moment, ‘good’ schools usually only take responsibility for high grades and cent per cent results.)  Children shine when they have meaningful challenges.

In conclusion I will leave you with a dream:  A world in which there are no board examinations, and infinite places, paths and means of learning.  Where the minds and bodies of all children and mankind are set free within the constraints of basic community.  Let alertness and intuition be our constant guide that will lead us to our more illumined, beauteous selves continuous with creation.