Reimagining Education — How a crisis woke us up
The COVID-19 pandemic affects everyone, that is true. To the naked eye, it has been indiscriminate. It does not, however, affect everyone equally. In any crisis, the ability to safeguard yourself, to inform yourself, to prepare and act is quite often, a luxury, enjoyed by the affluent. COVID-19 has been no different. Yes it affects the rich and the poor, old and young, but as with any catastrophe, the ones who suffer and endure the most, are in fact, the marginalized and as long as inequalities exist in society, as deep and systemic as they currently are, as long as we let background and wealth determine access, we will continue to live in a world where the rich get richer, and the poor, well, stay where they are.
Born out of these thoughts, inspirED 2020 was in many ways a catalyst response to the effects of COVID-19 on children the world over, stemming from a deep need to change what has long been prevalent and set in motion a new normal. The first of its kind, a virtual conference, launched by Firki, Teach For India’s online teacher training portal and Teach For India, inspirED 2020 brought together students, educators, policymakers, parents, and investors under one roof to reimagine education.
Keeping this in mind, sessions at inspirED 2020 were organised, speakers were invited and a schedule was finalized which included but wasn’t limited to 21st century skills, socio-emotional learning, mental well-being, blended learning, the New Education Policy 2020 (NEP) in India, student leadership and voice and what reimagining education will really look like.
Reflections from inspirED 2020
All Children
A session that left everyone stirred was Jo Chopra’s, ’Who are you to include me? Why disabled kids don’t need anyone’s permission to exist’. Jo Chopra, Executive Director, The Latika Roy Foundation, surfaced many difficult yet poignant truths during this session. At a time when inclusion is a hot and arguably necessary topic, Jo challenged the very notion of inclusivity saying, “Inclusion is a passive word. It’s a word that sets up a power dynamic where somebody else gets to decide whether you can get in.”
Developmental pediatrician, Vibha Krishnamurthy who has over two decades of experience of working with children with disabilities conducted a session called, ‘The Three Experts’, highlighting those who are critical in making a classroom inclusive for children with disabilities. Sharing the experiences of many children, one inspiring example that stood out was that of young Advait who tackled his ADHD by treating it as if it were a monster, that needed to be trapped in certain situations and released in others.
Anurag Kundu, Chairperson, Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights, through his session, ‘Building Early Warning Systems for Identifying & Predicting Child adversity for Timely Intervention’, highlighted that while school enrolment rates in India may be high, dwindling attendance numbers poses a far bigger threat that many comprehend and is an indicator of students going through adversity and possible trauma resulting in them missing school.
Haley Valdez, a student Alumna from Strive Prep High School, in Denver, Colorado, who took part in a panel discussion titled, ‘Power Needs to Shift’ expressed that the purpose of education is to create a society filled with compassion, where people are able to support one another. She further shared her experience with an initiative called Future 10x (a 12 week Teach For America Fellowship), where 22 students reimagined the educational landscape in Colorado, by conducting empathy interviews to understand how students feel about the current reality of their education system.
The hope of the NEP
Our Chief of City Operations, Sandeep Rai, through his session, ‘Teacher Leadership and the NEP’, shared how the only way to truly transform education is to have excellent teachers and highlighted how great teachers keep learning relevant by being creative and innovative. Priyanka Patil, a Teach For India Student Alumna who took part in a session called, ‘We the Children: What we think of the NEP’ stated, “As long as we’re not connecting with our learning, we’re not going to be invested. What the NEP is trying to do is bridge our individual selves to our country, to the world, to nature, and to the society that we live in, which will bring us to engage with what we’re learning.”
‘NEP 2020: An Implementers’ Perspective’ conducted by Dr. Neha Belsare, Aditya Natraj and Siddesh Sarma was another insightful session that took place. While each panel member shared their own unique perspective on the NEP, the key takeaway from the discussion was that while there can be many problems that arise from the implementation of a vast document like the NEP, there are definite bright spots that we mustn’t miss out on leveraging.
Compassionate and courageous leadership
Jacqueline Novogratz’s astute, compassionate and empathetic take on leadership and what constitutes a good leader moved all those who attended. During the session, she recounted seeing many capable people being left out while growing up and stated that is what inspired her to involve herself in social impact. Building on this, Shaheen Mistri, Founder & CEO, Teach For India, shared, “I resonate so deeply with that. As children, we visited India for our vacations and I remember flying into Mumbai over the slums, and on landing seeing the huge urban slum community right at the footstep of skyscrapers and asking myself “how, why?” Steeped in inspiration, Jacqueline ended her session with this beautiful message, “What separates those who make change in the world and those who talk about it, is really the courage to fall down, make mistakes, but most importantly get up and keep going.”
Padmashri Sunitha Krishnan, the Founder of Prajwala, shared how courage can be cultivated, in her session. As someone who has spent her life fighting against sex trafficking, she spoke about how systemic oppression mixed with centuries-old mindsets has made her work challenging beyond belief. Sunitha made the following suggestions to anyone who would like to cultivate courage — have clarity in your convictions, answer ‘what’ you’re solving and ‘why’ you’re solving it, know your strengths and weaknesses and the magnitude of the challenge ahead of you. She also emphasized the need to understand and acknowledge one’s vulnerability and to plan strategically without getting obsessed with results. Concentrate on the act, and you will be successful.
Innovation in a post pandemic education system
Founder of Khan Academy, Sal Khan’s conversation with Teach For India Student Alumnus, Raghavendra Yadav on ‘Learners, Teachers and Technology’ helped audiences understand the impact that is possible when technology and teachers work together. Setting the tone early on Raghavendra stressed that “learning is a two-way process, which sometimes we forget.” Emphasizing on the need to employ innovation to keep learning going, Sal said, “It’s a difficult time, but it’s also an opportunity for experimentation and trying new things. If it works, great, if it doesn’t, that’s okay. It’s time to think of what really matters.”
Bill Drayton, CEO, Ashoka, had an inspiring conversation with Teach For India, Student Alumna, Rutuja Bhoite on ‘Education in the New World.’ Bill kicked off the session with some nuggets of truth — “Every young person’s purpose is to figure out how to contribute to society in their life.” He went on to say that, “A large part of humanity is adapting while a large part isn’t. This is dividing the world. Those who are in the new game and those who aren’t. This gap is increasing and that’s how income distribution is getting worse. This is why there’s such a strong us vs them.” Rutuja expressed that, “Teachers and students should work together to reach a goal. Personally, I believe that every child should have a dream. Shaheen Mistri says that problems equal opportunities. How can we change problems into solutions?”
One of the most eagerly awaited sessions at inspirED 2020 was ‘Spotlight on NEP: Constitutional Values and the Launch of the India & I Curriculum’ — a panel discussion that had industry leaders such as Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, Anu Aga, Former Chairperson of Thermax & Founder Trustee, Teach For India, Shaheen Mistri, Founder & CEO, Teach For India and Aaran Patel, MPP Candidate, Harvard University, Consultant, The India Climate Collaborative and Teach For India Alumnus take part in a much needed conversation on constitutional values and education. Not mincing words, Amitabh stated, “We must allow people of different viewpoints to express their opinion as that is the only way we can encourage the development of scientific temperament.” Adding to this Aaran stressed the importance of constitutional values saying that “Education is the pathway through which constitutional values can be built.” Explaining how prejudice can be explained and dealt with in the classroom, Anu said, “Let the teacher start by sharing her prejudices so that kids don’t feel guilty or small for having them.”
At the end of the session, Teach For India launched the first version of the India and I curriculum, which is an effort to build future citizens today- through a curriculum that develops key 21st century skills and encourages action towards change.
What we achieved?
In our continued efforts to be agile and adapt to the changing dynamics of the ed-sector while staying true to our mission — ‘one day all children will attain an excellent education’, inspirED 2020 was a collaborative, global space that brought together various stakeholders and more than 35+ partners to discuss ideas, listen, and learn from each other. How important student voice and partnership between students and adults is, was also highlighted at inspirED 2020. Special care was taken to listen to our most important stakeholder — the students — by having them conduct sessions, participate in panel discussions and be part of masterclasses. For we are clear, reimagining education is impossible without recognising the role students play in their own education and the education of others. Sessions on Courage, and Critical Thinking, which constitute some of our 8 C’s, the skills that prepare our children for the 21st century, were big hits as they saw leaders like Padmashri Sunitha Krishnan and Harsh Maheshwari impart their learnings from over the years. Live masterclasses were also featured by teachers and students, which are an excellent source for valuable practical insight around themes such as art, creativity, recreation and Math.
No matter the circumstance or reason, there is something magical about seeing a whole community of people of varied ages, backgrounds, designations and motivations come together to dream and create a better world. And that is exactly what inspirED 2020, did. It highlighted the problem, offered solutions, held space for different perspectives and enabled participants to think of actionable ideas that can be implemented in their own individual worlds, be it schools, communities or government. For the truth is, this is too big a problem, affecting too many of us, for us to work in silos. Putting new systems in place will need all of us to be a part of the solution- we need to hear from our students, from our teachers, those in policy, donors, investors and people in government if we hope to bring about change, real change that will serve all children and not just a select few.
5 days, 35+partners, 170+ speakers and panellists, 12 white papers, 70,000+ viewers and a curriculum resulted in participants listening to diverse perspectives from stakeholders across the globe, picking up tips by entering virtual classrooms, learning from world renowned experts as they shared their vision for education, being challenged and inspired to make a difference and having thoughts and ideas spark around a reimagined education.
What you can do!
We invite you to join this movement and keep the conversation going. In just a few simple ways you too can contribute — invite students to share their perspective whenever possible, amplify student voice as much as you, connect with a child and listen deeply, have open and honest conversations with diverse stakeholders about what needs to change and how those changes can be made. If all of us do just a few of these, we will be a step closer to making this world better, safer and more equal for ALL children.
Conference website: https://www.inspired2020.org
Apply to the Teach For India Fellowship — https://apply.teachforindia.org/
Sponsor a device to help keep learning going — https://www.teachforindia.org/dont-stop-learning/
Note — In addition to the speakers named in this article, inspirED also saw a host of prolific visionaries such as Karthik Muralidharan, Dr. Rajesh Ramachandran, Jon Long, Lou Yeoh, Roya and Mehrdad Baghai, Nedgine Paul and Wendy Kopp take part, in addition to many others.
