It is certainly a platitude to say that learning can happen everywhere and at all times, at the most unexpected places and moments in our lives. However, that said, we also recognise that the school is a very valuable place of learning: formally and systematically in a graded way,level upon level so that we can tackle end-of-stage examinations which help us to choose our futures. But while all this is happening, a lot of undocumented and stimulating learning is going on simultaneously,
In this issue, articles on experiential learning about the environment, reading as a means of expanding horizons as well as acquiring language skills, the morning assembly as a treasure house of the learning experience- are all here. Other articles have given detailed accounts of science as a dispeller of superstition and an enhancer of a spirit of enquiry and curiosity. Sports do more than just teach the rules of the game, suggests an article: they can internalise values, inculcate inclusion and gender equality. There is an array of perspectives on the learning within learning which, paradoxically, falls outside of it.
All in all, this issue confirms what has long been felt and known — the learning that occurs outside the classroom is as vital as the formal pedagogy which takes place inside.

This issue focusses on Textbooks and their significance in learning, how they are created, the ways they have been used and how they can be improved upon. The articles are based on classroom experience and as such are relevant and universal. Much thought has gone into the perceptive analyses by the authors, who have considered the full impact and importance of the power of textbooks.

पाठशाला भीतर और बाहर के अंक 2 में भारतीय शिल्प व चित्रकला में, शिक्षण सम्बन्धी चित्रों के बारे में लेखों की दिलचस्प ऋंखला शृंखला का पहला भाग शामिल है। यह लेख शिक्षा के रोचक इतिहास के एक पहलू को खोलता है। इस अंक में विज्ञान शिक्षण पर दो अन्य लेख हैं, जो इस विषय में कुछ काम करने प्रयासों और विज्ञान सीखने में मिलने वाले आनन्द व जुड़ाव की बात करते हैं। एक लेख फ़ेल न करने की नीति और इसकी ग़लत व्याख्याओं के बारे में है। एक लेख में शिक्षक की पहचान व स्थिति की पुनर्कल्पना करने की आवश्यकता, इसमें स्कूल नेतृत्व की भूमिका और चुनौतियों की चर्चा है। इस अंक में भाषा शिक्षण और सीखने के पहलुओं पर अध्यापकों से बातचीत भी शामिल है। महत्त्वपूर्ण भाषाओँ पर अंग्रेज़ी की पकड़ कैसे बनी, इसके विश्लेषण पर आधारित एक लेख भी इस अंक में शामिल है। 

The second issue of ​“Pathshala..” carries the first part of a very interesting series on schools as they were. The article brings out in an interesting manner how we come to know about what happened in earlier times. Two other articles on science teaching talk about the effort of making something work and the joy and engagement it brings to learning science. There are articles that discuss the policy of non-detention and the way it is mis-interpreted, the need to re-imagine the identity and status of the teacher, what role does school leadership play in it and the challenges the leadership faces. The conversation with teachers is on dimensions of language teaching and learning. There is also an article that analyzes the way English has captured the place of the most important language.

Teaching Learning Materials (TLMs) and Aids, which form the focus of this issue of Learning Curve, an indispensable part of a teacher’s bag of tricks, is a generic term that describes any material that supports and buttresses teachers’ efforts in getting a class of diverse capabilities to understand the basics of any learning. They have to fulfil some basic requirements: simplify concepts, provide the chance of practice, increase interest and motivation, help to explain complexities, concretise abstractions, enrich the course — though, of course, a single TLM may not meet all the above criteria. Thus, they are various kinds of TLMs, starting with the humble, but ever-present, blackboard (which has come in for much adverse criticism) and going all the way up to ​‘smart classrooms’, with all the advanced technology they entail. TLMs have the added value of aiding the memory — when children see how a concept/​rule of language/​experiment works, it is more likely to stay in the active memory than just learning the same thing by heart. This issue presents a wide variety of opinions and experiences with TLMs and Aids.

Education initiatives are part of governments all across the globe, guided by a much-deliberated system of principles influencing decisions that are aimed at achieving pre-determined outcomes, which, in turn, are perceived to be beneficial to a particular country’s goals. Much thought goes on behind creating initiatives: they are statements of intent and, equally, the task of implementation is a very complex one. Not just that, innovative education initiatives have the huge additional responsibility of creating and shaping future generations, who, in turn, are any country’s future. The initiatives have to keep in mind the cultural and social norms of the country, while creating the atmosphere for salutary change. Another aspect that has to be taken into account while designing innovative government initiatives in education is the changes in society and its demands, both locally and globally, and rethink their strategies in order to benefit a new and contemporary scenario which will equip children to face and handle challenges of current times.

पाठशाला भीतर और बाहर का यह पहला अंक है। इस अंक में कक्षा और शिक्षकों से जुड़े विभिन्न विषयों पर कई लेख केन्द्रित हैं जो इनसे जुड़ी चिंताएँ और सवाल उठाते हैं। क्या कक्षा में सीसीटीवी कैमरों का उपयोग करना उचित है; क्या शिक्षक पेशेवर है और पेशेवर शब्द का मायने क्या है, जैसे सवाल इसमें शामिल हैं। अन्य लेख जिन मुद्दों से सम्बन्धित हैं, वे हैं- बोर्ड परीक्षाओं के प्रति हमारा दृष्टिकोण क्या होना चाहिए; हमें पर्यावरण अध्ययन की कक्षा में बातचीत कैसे शुरू करनी चाहिए; बच्चों की उच्चारण सम्बन्धी गलतियों पर प्रतिक्रिया कैसे देनी चाहिए; क्या एक ​‘अच्छी कक्षा’ गणित की ​‘सफ़ल कक्षा’ भी हो सकती है? आदि।

The first issue of ​“Pathshala ..” covers matters of classroom and teachers through many articles and raises a few areas of concern and questions. This includes appropriateness or otherwise of using CCTV cameras in classrooms, whether the teacher is a professional and what does the word professional mean. Other articles deal with what should be our attitude to board examinations, how should we begin to have a dialogue in an environmental studies class, how should we react to pronunciation mistakes of children and whether a mathematics class perceived to be ​‘good’ is also a useful learning class.

It is different for each one of us which is why when people reminisce about their school, opinions can differ about the same subject or teacher. The teacher, for her part, also has unique relationships with the class she goes to. It is a dynamic, organic process. The same concern, involvement and thoughtfulness that was evident in the experiences recounted in the first part are present in the narratives of this Issue too.

What happens within the classroom has the power to change lives — for the better or for the worse. We ourselves know from our own school experiences of transactions which empowered or disabled or left us unmoved, according to the atmosphere in the classroom. This is not quite the same as the relationship between teacher and student, vital as that is. In this issue, we have a number of articles which explore the boundaries of the classroom and its importance as an investment for the future.

Education policies have resulted in several enduring legacies in keeping with the ever-changing society, as well as its political manifestos. Because of the dynamic nature of society in general, and the speed with which the world changes, bringing with it changes vis-a-vis every aspect of socio-economic-political change, national education policies from 1968 have seen changes in 1986, 1992 and now a draft policy in 2016. It is expected that each policy, when introduced, will take into account the demands of the day while preserving the central core of its goals. National educational policies are, or at least should be, the consequence of a clear understanding of the socio-cultural beliefs of India, and at the same time having clarity in introducing a system that is aligned to the goals enshrined in our Constitution and has the avowed purpose of creating a democratic society of enlightened citizens. In this Issue, we have articles which examine education policies from 1968, which was the starting point chosen for this issue. The draft policy of 2016 has been closely examined, as have the ways in which language and literacy have been addressed. Another article is an examination of the history of educational policy documents. Other articles have been written about specific aspects such as CCE and the Midday Meal Scheme. This is only a sampling and we hope that readers will find this Issue interesting.

The teacher is central to the teaching — learning process, whatever a school’s policies, whether private or public, whatever board it has chosen to adopt. The teacher is an essential component of the success of the process. This being the case it is essential to consider what ​‘creates’ a good, effective teacher and what sustains her and , through her, the framework of the school. This Issue is aimed at not only teachers and teacher-educators, but also policy makers and observers, in short, anyone with an interest in education. The focus articles deal with the policy and practice of teacher development and suggests alternatives while two more examine gender sensitisation and pre-service teacher preparation discussing in considerable detail the curriculum and its realities. This is followed by articles from practitioners across the field, from both private and public institutions. Teachers have recounted their experiences on the ground. There are critiques of the present system holding up practices against the light of theory, while some teachers have described their positive encounters, testifying to the dedication of colleagues working with enthusiasm and vigour in remote areas, without the help of sophisticated teaching aids.

The theme of public education is one that affects every society across the globe. All over, there has been fundamental dissatisfaction with the systems, though the idea itself is intimately linked with a democratic society: one in which the individual is taught her place in the larger society. In India there has been disaffection with both public and private schooling, especially in urban centres, where private schooling flourishes at exorbitant cost, many times with inadequate space, facilities and less than adequate teaching. Every single person in the country is crucially involved in what form education takes, since it matters to us what the future of our society is going to be. It reveals too the tremendous hope that we all have that there are solutions, elusive perhaps, but they exist and it is for us, and others who follow, to find these solutions. This hope is all the more attenuated when we hear stories, as we do, of our public schools in the remotest of places, where teachers are doing a wonderful job, coming to school braving the weather, working under very challenging circumstances, their enthusiasm unabated.

The starting point of this Issue is Mahatma Gandhi’s Nai Talim which he envisaged over many years and made available in 1937. Children learn by making and doing, and it is by relating these two to the larger context that the understanding of the whole picture emerges. It is this larger picture that this issue has attempted to present. This issue also explores the relevance of Nai Talim in the India of today. The explorations are on the idea of Nai Talim and the overall visions of a ​‘good society’, rethinking Nai Talim in the light of the NCF of 2005, as well as in the present context.

Learning Curve decided to devote this issue to Inclusive Education as a theme. In this issue, readers will find articles on literature for children particularly emphasizing inclusion, on gender stereotyping and an article on RTE and inclusion in schooling, among others. The issue also has an article on teaching language to include, caste as a barrier to education and upward social mobility and, finally, teacher preparedness in curriculum development.

This issue of the Learning Curve focuses on one of the most important periods in any individual’s life — early childhood. Whatever differences there may be on any other aspect of education, this is one area on which everyone agrees: that the years between birth and eight are the most significant and can make or break a life. So universal is this that it is equally true in all cultures. You will find focus articles by some of the most well-known and much respected educationists in the country, followed by very practical and hands-on approaches to Early Childhood Education (ECE).

The dictionary defines the word ​“enable” as, to make able, to give power, means or ability; to make competent, authorise, to make possible or easy. The word ​“enabling” when used as an indicator in school education can be defined as a comprehensive, multi-faceted series of empowering activities required to address the needs of youngsters facing barriers in the acquisition of both academic and life skills. In this Issue, we have tried to bring together articles recounting the experiences of practicing teachers, educators and students across India even one from a school at an altitude of 12,000 feet from distant Leh! — who have all been part of this process. We have articles that enlarge on the theme of empowerment through responsible citizenry by involving the community in the process, of methods used to facilitate collaborative learning by getting students and teachers to jointly examine their problems and concerns, of attitudinal changes enabled through dialogue.

In this issue, we have a range of articles recounting personal experiences of teaching with the goal of inclusive learning rather than a random attempt at throwing information at a mixed ability group, only some of whom could lick the system with others falling by the wayside. Readers will find that diverse aspects of assessment have been thoughtfully tried and objectivity is a key theme. Another important aspect of assessment, namely, reflectively constructed rubrics have been given a place in this issue.

This issue of Learning Curve focuses on ​‘Innovative teaching-learning practices’ — recipes that have been tried and tested and found to be efficacious, not methods recommended by textbooks. They are practical and completely doable in the most ordinary circumstances, as most classrooms in India find themselves in. No special equipment is required to try out these ways of teaching and the common thread running through them is just the desire to make a difference.

The latest issue of Learning Curve focuses on ​‘arts in school education’. The burthen of the collective message of this issue is: in the life of our children, Art is as essential as any other subject. Art sharpens perceptions of the world around us, it increases awareness and sensitivity. It also enhances human relationships as we discover the similarities of the artistic experience. There is a general recognition of the fact that the word ​‘art’ encapsulates within itself a wealth of meaning, as witness phrases such as the art of writing, of communication, of social and political exchange.

This issue of Learning Curve focuses on ​‘sports in education’ which explores topics ranging from the interpersonal and collaborative influences that sports have on children to the skills it develops, from the harsh realities about why people don’t take up sporting careers to the challenges parents face while bringing up sporting kids, from questioning notions of competition in sports to detailing the power of a sporting mind, from examining the contribution of the RTE to revealing the NCF’s take on sports education.

This issue of Learning Curve centres attention on the subject of ​‘school leadership’. It defines the construct and scope of educational leadership, ruminates on whether a school leader ought to be an academician or an administrator, reflects on the challenges of school leadership and explores the forms of school leadership in India.

This issue of Learning Curve deliberates on the the purpose of social science in society, what the National Curriculum Framework says about the subject, the many moral conflicts while teaching it, pedagogic dilemmas, and a look at social science education across the world. The effort has been to give our readers an honest and comprehensive view of the nature of social science as a subject.

This issue of Learning Curve is cantered on the subject of Mathematics. While one article discusses the very nature of Mathematics, the other traces the history of the subject; similarly while one describes the pedagogy of the subject the other shares insights and the practical perspective of the teacher.

This issue of Learning Curve is devoted to the theme of language learning. In it, students, teachers, field practitioners and academicians talk about what language means to them, its multiple benefits and the issues and challenges associated with its learning.

In this issue of the Learning Curve, practising scientists, professors, school teachers and innovators ruminate on the methods and merits of science education. A range of topics from ​‘why teach science’ to ​‘how to make science fun for children’ to ​‘how to encourage children to take up higher education in science’ and ​‘how critical it is that we have a strong stream of scientists emerging from our education system’ are addressed in this issue.

In this issue of the Learning Curve, read about how the Educational Development Index is calculated and what constitutes an effective education system. Krishna Kumar’s book ​‘The Political Agenda of Education’, a comprehensive account of the goals of the Indian Education system under British rule and its ramifications for independent India, is also reviewed.

In this issue of the Learning Curve, the pros and cons of the voucher system are discussed and the value of arts in the school curriculum is elaborated upon. The book ​‘Escape from Childhood’, in which author John Holt advocates for a broader definition of childhood, inclusive of political and economic rights for children, is also reviewed.

In this issue of the Learning Curve, the importance of community participation in education is explored and we read about Bindooben, a highly remarkable teacher in Gujarat. Paulo Freire’s ​‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed’, in which the author delineates the incredible potency of education as a tool for liberation (genuine revolution of the people) and its capacity to dominate people, is reviewed.

In this issue of the Learning Curve, we explore the various obstacles standing in the way of equity in the Indian Education system. Factors responsible for low access to schooling of disadvantaged groups like the Scheduled castes and the minorities are discussed.