My North Star-Inquiry Guiding My Journey
History has a funny way of revealing the underbelly of a people’s values and enduring traits. Within the realm of education (which cannot be described as distinct from other ‘realms’ of life) history reveals the back and forth of ideas and perspectives that characterizes public influence over ideas and themes. Consider the early influencers of early childhood education, folks like Martin Luther, Friedrich Froebel, Maria Montessori, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, John Dewey and many others. These foundational thinkers (the OG influencers 🙂) constructed ideas about how young children learn and their perspective of best practices and objectives for facilitating quality education in the early ages. The idea of educational policy and learning objectives emanating from social discourse is not new. Fast forward to recent times, where national conversations around school choice are motivated by parents’ perspectives (and some political drive) of educational objectives and opportunities that are desirable for their children. Consider also the interestingly phrased ‘reading wars’, a (sometimes) heated debate about the best way to teach young children how to read. Proponents of the whole word method follow the maxim of Horace Mann (Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education in the mid-19th century) who exhorted teachers and parents to “Hide from them all the ABCs. Entertain them with whole words which they can understand and which they will retain with far more ease and pleasure than all the printed letters”. This idea was in sharp contrast to proponents of ‘Phonics instruction’ which advocates for explicit and systematic instruction in how to decode words using the alphabetic code (following the sounds of letters to read a word). Consequently, in the course of my career as an educator and from the perspective of a mother, I have been informed and empowered by this clear idea that society (including my humble self) plays a role in the policies and practices that impact educational learning objectives. This is the mindset that I brought to my exploration of global education, and specifically, my analysis of education in India.
As we were introduced to an exploration of the Indian educational system by facilitators and subject matter-experts in India, I got the sense that learning objectives and policies were primarily constructed by government organizations and agencies. I did not get a sense of community or parental involvement in identifying desirable learning goals. As a society, Indian families desire high scores on standardized assessments because that correlates with admission to sought after schools and careers. Parents who have the means place their children in private schools and are more able to ‘choose’ the academic outcomes for their children. However, community and parental collaboration is not absent in the school and family dynamic.
Schools as a movement- The idea of school as a place of opportunity, inherently requires a definition of opportunity. Opportunity for a middle-class family in Austin, Texas, may not present the same way for a lower caste family in Bangalore, India. The social values and expectations are different for both locations. This is why a visit to the RBANM school in Bangalore was impactful. The RBANM was founded by an Indian businessman in a time of British Colonial rule. Dharmarathnakara Rai Bahadur Arcot Narrainsawmy Mudaliar was able to carve out property in Bangalore, despite the imagined and real challenges of colonial and local obstacles, to build a school for children from lower caste and poor families, and for girls. He believed in the power of education as a catalyst for social change. His commitment to this cause attracted other like-minded individuals and international participation (including visits from the U.S. Fulbright teachers). These individuals became members of the school trust and contributed to the goal of spreading the mission of the school locally and globally. This vision also appealed to teachers who strived to create an environment that nurtured inclusion and equality. A notable example is the art curriculum implemented by the teachers who displayed a culturally aware perspective and implemented projects with a theme of social justice, inclusion and activism.
The opportunity of curriculum- Within India, the dichotomy of Public (Government) schools and private schools endows inherent opportunity and sources of influence. Depending on the designation of the school, the curriculum to be used is predetermined by the Government or by the school founders/sponsors. For schools that have financial and curricular autonomy, learning objectives may be either strongly or minimally influenced by the parents/families. One of the schools we visited shared that parents are integrally involved in the upkeep and maintenance of the school. The idea of opportunity is also inherent in the invaluable human capital of mothers. On our visit to a Non-Government Organization called Pratham, Dr. Banajee explained that a previous push for adult literacy had created a heightened call for more of a focus on early literacy. Pratham initiated and implemented programs that mobilized mothers in rural and underserved areas in the service of educating them and providing resources to them that they could use to teach their children foundational literacy and numeracy. These programs included games and activities that had literacy components that were sent out to these mothers. Additionally, community events were held close to the beginning of a new school year with the goal of engaging the community through educational games and activities and garnering mothers as literacy and numeracy collaborators.
At the conclusion of my journey, the distinct idea that stayed with me is that India is a land of stories. From the tales of Arjuna to the stories of identity and belonging accessed through the experience of rich Indian cuisine. The consistency of this theme made it evident (to me) that a throughline of cultural stories, social perspectives and generativity inspires the motivations and goals of the communities we visited. One of the schools we visited exemplifies thai theme through their clearly articulated subscription to a Story Pedagogy. Katha Lab school engaged students in learning through the telling of stories that centered around students’ lives or community experiences, and thai was used as a conduit for learning, creativity and problem solving. This idea of a story pedagogy appealed to me greatly, because our stories come from our families and communities. The ideas and goals we strive for are born out of experiences and stories from our families and communities. Consequently, I believe the community influences what is taught to kids. Maybe not how it’s taught (that might remain in the hands of teachers and educational organizations), but there is a school-community connection which can be enhanced and expanded upon in the future.
