School closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic has led to complete disconnect from education for the vast majority of children or inadequate alternatives like community based classes or poor alternatives in the form of online education, including mobile phone-based learning.

Our bi-annual publication in Hindi bringing together the experiences and views of teachers in the field of education.

COVID-19 made it clearer than ever that the school does not and cannot be looked at in isolation from society. In this issue, there are articles that show not only teachers supporting children’s learning during the closure, but also how parents overwhelmingly supported teachers to continue their work; how, when all other ways of distance learning failed, the unanimous decision of parents was that the education of their children should go on.

This working paper aimed to evaluate the impact of a quality-controlled mid-day meal program from a centralized kitchen on children’s nutritional indicators and learning outcomes. It also looked at household characteristics of students to determine their impact on children’s nutritional outcomes.

This working paper reflects on the importance of how oppressed and exploited communities look at education, at the relations of power in pedagogy and curricula, how students internalize ways of looking at class life that come from their social location and so on in an Indian context.

Our bi-annual publication in Hindi bringing together the experiences and views of teachers in the field of education.

This issue proves that children can, and do, learn, provided they get the encouragement, support, respect and dignity that is due to them during the process and after. The response got for the topic was so overwhelming that it led to the creation of a second part.. It is all about children learning. and enjoying themselves in the process, rather than just getting a formal education.

Children are, first and foremost, individuals and so it follows that their developmental patterns are influenced by environmental conditions. With even twins differing in their abilities and milestones, it is near impossible to predict at what rate a child will learn. Thus children enter school with a wide range of abilities — and therefore possibilities.

However, the assumption that all children can learn the basic curriculum at the same pace, in the same way and to the same extent and level- is unsupported either by research or by personal experience. If we agree that children have varied strengths (multiple intelligences) the it surely follows that teaching methods have also got to vary correspondingly and that there have got to be multiple teaching styles.

This issue addresses many of these concerns and to do that we have a wide range of articles from writers across the country which establish resoundingly that every child can indeed learn — only it requires empathy and compassion from the teacher to make it happen.

An immigrant, who worked in an American machine shop, acquired polite standard spoken English by reading romance novels in an 18-week adult extensive-reading English as a Spoken Language (ESL) class. Full time employment in the machine shop and once-a-week class discussions provided the only places where the student was routinely exposed to spoken English.

पाठशाला भीतर और बाहर के अंक 4 में एक लेख देश में महिला शिक्षा की पड़ताल करता है। एक अन्य लेख बचपन के अर्थ पर सवाल उठाता है और पूछता है कि क्या शिक्षा का एक मात्र उद्देश्य एक आदर्श बच्चे का विकास करना है; पत्रिका में शामिल एक और लेख शारीरिक दण्ड के सदियों पुराने सवाल की समाजशास्त्रीय पड़ताल करता है और एक दूसरे लेख का पहला भाग भारतीय शिक्षा पर मैकाले के प्रभाव की जाँच करता है। इस अंक के दो अनुभव आधारित लेख कविता कहानियों के माध्यम से भाषा शिक्षण के रुचिकर तरीक़े सुझाते हैं। संवाद में शिक्षकों व शिक्षक- प्रशिक्षकों के साथ मूल्यांकन और परीक्षा के विभिन्न पहलुओं पर बातचीत है। दो-एक लेख शिक्षा से जुड़ी नीतियों और इनके अमल में आने वाले मुद्दों की आलोचनात्मक पड़ताल करते हैं।

The fourth issue of ​“Pathshala ..” has an article that examines women’s education in the country; an article that interrogates the meaning of childhood and asks if the only purpose of education is to develop an ideal child; an article that examines the age old question of corporal punishment sociologically; the first part of an article that examines Macaulay’s relationship with/​impact on Indian education; there are two experience based articles on interesting ways to teach language using stories and poems; and a discussion among teachers and other educators around assessments and examination. Some of these articles critically examine policies and the issues in their application.

In this issue, we have a wide range of articles from writers who have looked at children with disabilities in a variety of ways- but through the same lens: inclusion. There are articles tracing the history of different organizations which have worked for several years to create opportunities for the education of children with disabilities, language acquisition, travel, opportunities for independence and respectful acceptance, among others.

पाठशाला भीतर और बाहर का तीसरा अंक स्कूली शिक्षा के दो महत्त्वपूर्ण सरोकारों पर चर्चा व विश्लेषण करता हैं- रटन्त पढ़ाई का मसला और सही मायने में सीखने का सवाल। शारीरिक दण्ड के ऐतिहासिक और दार्शनिक आयामों पर भी इसमें एक लेख शामिल है। इस अंक में कुछ अनुभव आधारित लेख भी हैं जिनमें एक ग्रामीण परिस्थितियों में शिक्षक की निर्मिति पर, एक स्कूल हेडमास्टर की यादों पर और एक इस बात से सम्बन्धित है कि हम बच्चों को कितना समझते हैं। भारत में शिक्षा के विकास पर लेख की ऋंखला इस अंक में भी जारी है क्योंकि इसमें यात्रा के एक महत्त्वपूर्ण कालखंड के अध्ययन को प्रस्तुत किया गया है। हर अंक की तरह इस अंक में भी शिक्षकों से साक्षात्कार और पुस्तक चर्चा जैसे स्थाई स्तम्भ शामिल हैं। 

The third issue has articles that discuss and analyse two important concerns of school education – the question of rote memorization and actual learning. There is also an article on the historical and philosophical dimensions of corporal punishment. There are interesting experience-based articles – one on the process of making of a teacher, one on the reminiscences of a school headmaster and another related to how much we understand children. The series on the development of education in India continues as it covers an important period in that journey. Then there are regular columns like interview with a teacher and book reviews.

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.

India’s overall economic performance over the last fifteen years has been outstanding, with the economy growing at an average of over 7% p.a. Growth has been service-led with the services sector accounting for over 60% of GDP growth over the period. Importantly, India’s structural transformation has been marked by a shift straight from agriculture to services led growth, leapfrogging manufacturing. The problem with this pattern of growth has been that it has generated relatively fewer opportunities of employment generation. The role of the manufacturing sector, ordinarily considered to be an important engine of growth and job creation for low and middle income countries, has been rather limited. Its share in total GDP and employment has continued to hover around 15% and 12% respectively for the last three decades.

Author:

• Radhicka Kapoor

Understanding the nature of work performed by women in India requires rest of all that we broaden our understanding of what is work, and recognize the different kinds of socially necessary as well as other work. The nature of work and how to capture it in empirical data have indeed been among the most complicated and debated issues in social sciences. This is particularly so in societies where much work occurs in informal, often even very private, settings that can be very hard to identify, let alone measure. The fact that international de nations of work and of economic activity have themselves been changing over time only adds to the complexity.

Authors:

• Bidisha Mondal
• Jayati Ghosh
• Shiney Chakraborty
• Sona Mitra

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).