How buildingBlocks intends to complete education?

The last two posts talk about the caveats or problems in the current schooling system and the ideal role that education needs to play. This post would highlight how we at buildingBlocks intend to play a role in completing the education. The chart below would give a pictorial view of what are the aspects of education that we would emphasise on:



Obviously, Vedic Teachings and Yoga are nothing but some examples of providing a spiritual experience and physical exercise respectively. So, if we add the incomplete education system of today and the buildingBlocks experience, it would complete the educational experience of the kids of today. Our experiments at the Arya Samaj, Moti Nagar are good examples of how this correction in the system works. Additionally, you can see how this complete system works in the picture below:



Finally, if you think there are some holes that exist in this holistic educational framework, please feel free to add anything through the comments section.

What's wrong with the current schooling system?

So here's my second post in the series of analysis about the education and its purposes?

So, let's see how the current schooling system in India (and that too public -- forget about the government aided) is faring? I believe that the current schooling system is able to do only 25% of it's job. Explanation is below:



As you can see in the figure above, the schools should be able to impart training/education in six categories, however, the Indian schools are providing training only in three areas (academics, physical and creative) aspects. One may ask why half bit of proficiency in the field of Academics, Physical and Creative aspects (actually the reason for 25% performance level). We do not need any science to prove that the learning, prevalent in our schools, is very rote based where the joy of learning is sucked out of the whole experience. Evidently, we faired worst amongst countries like Singapore, US and Australia if we believe India Today's recent survey. So, a lack of experiential learning from academics makes us believe that even schools are failing in imparting the 'right' academics education. Physical and Creative education is also suffering from similar problems (details on that to follow soon...).

So, how are we going to change this when these problems exist in overwhelming quantities throughout the urban society irresepective of any segment. My next post would try to tackle that issue. However, if you differ with our analysis at any point of time, please feel free to jump in -- the discussion would only create a better understanding of the problems and possibly solutions.

holistic schooling system

I reckon our organization is as strong as the research that we put in definition of our course curriculum. We have decided to invest into this very important and often overlooked aspect of education, the curriculum.

In order to ensure that we do justice with the same, we spent close to a month to come up with the role of education in the society. Can education be limited to the box of market based education, which is pervasive in today's world?

a). Is the education system limited to produce linear dimensioned individuals (read doctors, engineers, CA's, journalists etc).

b). Or is the purpose of the education to produce people who have multiple dimensions -- leaders at work, participants in community, compassionate for poor or the disadvantaged, ethical in their dealings.

After the brainstorming sessions with several eminent educationists and thought leaders, we have come to the conclusion that education is supposed to do (b). Unfortunately, what it's ending up to do is (a) and yes! that's true even for the creamy schools. The results are evident in the failure of the evolution of the Indian society into a ethical, compassionate and homogenous group. The results are also evident in today's kids becoming good engineers and doctors, however, insecure and lacklustre leaders.

We also came up with the model for holistic education -- and what it essentially means. Additionally, we analyzed what's being done by today's schools and where is the education system miserably failing and the role that buildingBlocks can play to complete the education -- I plan to cover this in two-three entries. This entry would just talk about what is holistic education:



As shown in the picture, the education is more than the commonly perceived academics and physical education. Education includes other very important fields like moral/ethical, spiritual, civic and creative education. If you think that there's more or less to education than this -- please enrich the discussion with your comments.

Indian Montessori Congress 2007

Anyone who has any stake in the education of the child education should definitely attend this Indian Montessory Congress 2007. I think it's a must for the educationists and NTT course holders. If you are planning to be in Bangalore during this time and have interest in knowing more about buildingblocks, please let me know through the comments section.

what's our wealth?

An observation that was impressed upon us in our Macro Economics class by Professor Karma was that the wealth of any nation is it's people. This is truer for some nations than others. For instance, our nation India has been built only by the human resources as we have not been blessed with natural resources (read oil) like Saudi Arabia, Iran or some of the countries in the world.

Whatever modest achievements, we have had, have been through our people's enterprise, perseverance and grit. So, essentially our true wealth lies in our people rather than any particular mineral, stone or whatever. So our goal should be to pay most attention to the grooming our people. This is a question that I would like to pose to the audience of this blog -- are we really doing that?

Is our government, rising above the petty partisan politics, ready to consider education as an equally important asset as roads or electricity. Our we as individuals ensuring that we become a stakeholder in the education of not our own kids, however of the whole society itself. I am sure the answers to all these questions are very grim and so is the future of nation.

I have thought about this a lot and have also worked on a long-term solution. I will post my solution on the blog in next couple of days. However, would be interested in listening to yours as well.

Further, we just launched a new feedback form on our website as we consider that the parents and teachers are the most important stakeholders in the whole educational reform process and we intend to learn a lot from their suggestions -- if you happen to be one of those concerned with the wealth of this nation, please give suggestions over here.

buildingBlocks@wikipedia

Finally, started promoted buildingBlocks on wiki as well... Wrote down a little blurb abt the mission and ideology of buildingblocks over here. People may pass it as a cheap marketing tool, however, I envision this wiki to become a source of universal feedback on the concept of something like buildingBlocks. Further, we plan to upload all the minutest details of our course curriculum and expansion plans on the wiki to initiate an unhindered third party dialogue with the consumers.

Next to come an entry about my experience of Mumbai as well.

Meeting with Aakar

Finally, I got a chance to meet up with some extraordinarily good and responsible talent in India. After talking to so many entrepreneurs/professionals who have their minds fixated on bottom lines, it was very refreshing to talk to someone who thought about social responsibility as well.

Yes! I got a chance to meet one of the founders of Aakar solutions (Saurabh Saxena). He was also in favor of doing something socially responsibly with a keen eye towards maintaining a healthy bottom line to ensure longevity of the organization. We got a chance to talk about the ailing aspects of contemporary education system. The whole discussion was very enriching and encouraging.


Additionally, I got some really good suggestions from him about not waiting till eternity to get out with something that is a good foundation and can be improved upon. Further, we seemed to agree on the problem of pervasive mediocrity in every aspect of our society – essentially the need to differentiate buildingBlocks.The issue that it is not just another hobby class, rather a place that offers holistic approach towards education. On the whole, it was great to catch up with entrepreneurs who are as passionate (and in all likelihoods more) about providing enriching education to today’s kids. The only hope is that collectively, we will take today’s education system to the next level.

off to Bombay

I will be meeting with the founder member of Aakar solution during my trip in Bombay. This would be a good trip as we intend to learn a lot from the meeting and see how their curriculum has enriched the lives of the aspiring children of today. We may have many synergies with what we are trying to do with buildingblocks.

Further, I am hoping that the travel time would allow me to work on some good theories of Montessori approach.

Content Management Intern Wanted

Content Management Intern: Job Profile


Job Title: Content Manager, iMom.in

Job Responsibilities:

1. Content:
a. Driving the syndication of content for iMom.in.
b. Assisting in formulation of features in the website.
c. Assisting in deciding the strategy for content.
d. Owning the site editorial feature.
e. Owning the site blog feature.

2. Advertisement:
a. Create advertisement revenue strategy for iMom.in
i. Identify potential partners
ii. Initiate the relationship building with the advertisers.

3. Product Management:
a. Provide inputs/requirements for customization of content management system.

Desired Qualities:
The candidate should be an enterprising, driven and creative individual with good written English communication skills. He/she would be connecting with different content specialists of related fields therefore we expect the candidate to be good at getting along with others. Finally, most importantly ethics are extremely important for our organization and absence of same in the candidate would warrant disqualification. Further, the candidate should be a first/second year Journalism/Mass Communication student at Delhi based reputable university.

Length of internship:
The length of internship is variable with a review every three months or at the end of the internship, which ever is earlier.

Remuneration:
The interns would be paid Rs. 2500/- per month on the 5th of every month and they would be expected to work anywhere from 80-100 hours a month. In case of examination days, the interns would be paid on an hourly basis of Rs. 30/- per hour.

Anyone who is interested can contact us at tarun.bhalla@buildingblocks.in

Chandigarh: The only planned city in India

I was in Chandigarh for last two days to attend a friend's wedding (who was visiting from Seattle). The whole experience was very interesting and enriching. For one, Chandigarh is the only planned city in India. And, believe me it was visible in the wonderfully laid out six lane city roads and complete absence of skyscrapers. The traffic, on Chandigarh's streets, is easily negotiable and I can bet running/walking on the roads early morning would be a wonderful experience. Further, the way the different sectors are laid out makes it extremely easy for any new visitor to figure out the directions.

The planned nature of the city has also in some sense provided civic sense to the citizens of the city. Lane driving was strictly being followed and the rowdism (a common trait of travel in Delhi) was unbelievably absent from the lovely streets of Chandigarh. Most of the city seems to be inhabitated by the so-called elites of the urban society. An interesting question to answer would be if the wonderful beauty of the city is because of the elites or the elites are present there because of the planned city. Anyways, I would pose this question to the audience of this blog?

Further, we (Mausam and I) did some sight seeing as well. We went to the High Court of Punjab (an architectural wonder), the Nek Chand Rock garden and a play school in Chandigarh. We actually sat through a hearing in the High court, which was very intriguing and broke so many stereotypes that many of us would have had of Indian courts (thanks to the pervasive Bollywood). The high court experience warrants a separate blog entry and so does the session in Classical music that Mausam gave to me.

However, I do want to talk about the Nek Chand Rock garden. It was an incredible piece of art, creativity and love for the enviornment for an unknown Roads Inspector of Chandigarh city (Nek Chand).

To do justice to his works, I would start wiuth a quotation that Mr. M.N.Sharma, the former chief architect of Chandigarh had to say, "Nek Chand's architectural and engineering innovations have touch of Antonio Gaudi". Since, I visited Barcelona recently, I cannot agree more with this statement.

You can find out more about Nek Chand's rock garden over here.

mathMonkey

I was exchanging few emails with Ken Williams of Vedic Mathematics Academy. It seems that he has joined a new venture based in US on bringing Vedic Maths to the popular mass. Their venture is called MathMonkey. Is'nt it ironical that India, which is sitting on such wealth of spiritual and scientific knowledge, is not able to use it for it's own betterment.

Having had the privilege to use some of the ten sutras of Vedic Mathematics, I can say that its such a beautiful language of Maths. And, it's great that there is growing recognition of Vedic Mathematics now. I hope our efforts with buildingBlocks would help us further propogate this incredible powerful mathematics tool here in India itself.

May be someday we can branch out to have Mathematics specific crash courses called mathBlocks :).

Thanks,
Tarun

philosophy behind buildingBlocks (an educational venture)

So, why education and that too primary and elementary?

1. The future of the nation: It’s an adage that “children are the future of any nation”. What’s the state of future of our nation or may be some economist or statistician may want to ask what the “future of nation” index is? I can bet you without even going after any empirical evidence, its worse than what it was 10 or 20 years back.
And, what are the reasons?
a. Growing indifference or ignorance of parents towards what’s right for their children.
b. Rampant commercialization of education sector in absence of proactive regulatory or monitoring authorities.
c. Increased proliferation of Television in the Indian household and worst still unmonitored viewing of censored programs.
And the results:
1. Today’s kids mature before the right age.
2. Traditional values in our kids are a thing of past.
3. Today’s kids are prone to depression and psychological problems (that were unheard of just a few years back).

Still, all these issues in themselves do not warrant a start of yet another new school or educational institution as there are already existing schools and even alternatives, so why don’t they fix the problem in our society?

2. Existing education system is weak: The existing education system of India has comprehensively weakened since independence for all the different sections of the society. The lowest strata of the society (i.e. the poor and impoverished) are pretty much helpless and in a dismal state, given the indifference of the majority of government supported educational institutions. Further, even the schools catering to the middle class and affluent parts of the society are in a mess. A good example of that is the India Today’s recent survey where our supposedly genius kids are trailing behind their counterparts from other countries. Mind you these samples were taken from supposedly the best schools of India. So, it’s up to the reader to contemplate how bad would we perform in the case of MCD, NDMC or other government supported schools. One may think that there are already existing alternate education systems that could support the ailing education system. However, there is a caveat there as well:

3. Unethical practices prevalent by Private players: One of the most unfortunate aspects of the reasonably working free market capitalism is that the worst aspects of capitalism are mostly visible in the developing nations. The alternate education mostly being carried out by private players like Mother’s pride and Shemrock are nothing but mammoth factories with a penchant in good marketing. It is shocking how these factories operate a Marketing department under the name of Research and Development. Additionally, none of the big players (especially Mother’s pride and Shemrock) are adhering to the recommended guidelines set up by NCERT (worst they don’t even know if these guidelines exist). As, Dr. Ranjana Sharma has pointed out in her recent research, these money thirsty corporate pre school raiders are fiercely after profits and bottom lines so the costs spent on training figures last in their scheme of things. Lack of proper training and pomp and show of these marketing outfits are doing no good to the society other than creating consumers out of these innocent kids.

So, with such dismal situations prevailing in the education system, I could have done two things:
1. Crib about the problem and feel helpless.
2. Else, take control of the situation and try to offer solutions which work towards making the future of nation complete well rounded individuals. Citizens who enjoy their freedoms and rights, however, at the same time are cognizant of their responsibilities towards themselves, their families, society and finally the nation.

So, that’s the goal and philosophy of building blocks:

To instill confidence, moral values, mental sharpness and responsibility into the children of today so that they grow up to become model citizens of tomorrow.

In order to breakaway from the dubious past of inefficiencies and over promise and introduce long lasting change, we have invested heavily into Research and Design of course curriculum and our program. If you would like to know how we have knitted together both science and spirituality to come up with this new form of corrective education, please click over here.

Unrelated, however, good content

I saw this ad sent to me by an old friend about Mahatma Gandhi. This was a masterpiece and honestly I used to ponder about how was Mahatma Gandhi able to generate a mass revolution in the absence of the real time communication tools that we have today. I guess it was his steadfast belief in truth, integrity and honesty that lead to the trust that people had in him.

And, as he said in one of his writings: "If your mission is true and you follow the path honestly without expecting any results, people would join you and you would win in the truest form".

May we get that messenger of God again in this life term.

Thanks,
Tarun

Vedic Mathematics

hello there,

I got this email today from the Vedic Mathematics Newsletter that I had enrolled to last year. Infact, my tryst with the beauty of Vedic Mathematics was fairly recent. Last year, during a seminar organized at University of Washington, I got to know about the tremendous potential of Vedic Mathematics in creative computation.

Anyhow, I got this note from one Ken Williams (who and I think his organization) is trying to debate and discuss the decision of Ireland's government on the accession to the usage of calculators in the state examinations. You can read more about the post over here.

Since, I have been fortunate to be enchanted by the symmetry and one-ness of Vedic Mathematics, I believe this debate is crucial and holds high importance to stop deterioation of our over dependence on machines. Let's see what course does this debate in the future.

Thanks,
Tarun Bhalla

First plane of children's development

Montessori observed that children less than six years old are clearly self centric and ego centric in action and attitude. Although, these qualities could have been interpreted as negative, but Montessori realized that this natural drive of young children can possible provide the focus and energy for their self development.

She envisioned of a program whereby a child could develop, with proper aide by the adult, into a strong individual capable of independent action, language, self discipline, and basic academic skills of writing, reading and mathematics.

Additionally, she noted that children less than six years old could go through specific and well defined periods of interest in certain areas of development. For example, there is a period of intense absorption with order, another for language, and another for learning to walk. During each of these time frames, varying in duration from months to years, the child is so focused on the particular development that he will ignore other phenomena previously of great interest to him. His energy level and dedication to his single minded task are extra ordinary but terminate just as abruptly as they began. Montessori called these intervals Sensitive Periods and the children in this plane of development as "Sensorial Explorers".

We, at buildingBlocks, plan to use these "sensory explorer" qualities of kids to really develop them into individuals capable of independent action, language and self discipline.

Montessori Approach revisited

The travel allowed me to read a very interesting book on the Montessori approach. I will use the medium of this blog to write summary about this book.

As per Dr. Montessori, a child goes through four planes of development that span through the age 0 to 24. At the conclusion of age 24, the adult is fully formed. If all has gone well, he/she is a mature being, ready to live wisely and responsibly and to fulfill his/her part in serving humanity.

The four different planes of development identified by Dr. Montessori are as:
1. First plane of development: 0 to 6 years old.
2. Second plane of development: 6 to 12 years old.
3. Third plane of development: 12 to 18 years old.
4. Fourth and final plane of development: 18 to 24 years old.

Each plane of development is associated with certain characterstics and associated challenges, I would go into these planes individually in a separate blog entry.

Two Months break

hello readers and fellow educators,

Sorry! for such a long break on this blog. Actually, I was on a vacation for two months and as a result was not able to add much to this blog. The break was really good and refreshing and now I can concentrate on putting all these theories to actual use in buildingBlocks.

BTW, if any of you is interested in knowing about our travel experiences, you can log on to our travel blog.

Rest from now on I will ensure to populate this blog with important information frequently.

Cooperative Concept of preschooling

Another method of preschooling popular in United States (am not sure if a mainstream form of this even exists in India) is cooperative preschools.

What is the cooperative concept of preschooling?
Many folks in US who cannot afford a traditional preschool, or can't find one with a philosophy that meshes with their own, consider looking for or even founding a cooperative school. These parent-run programs are usually less expensive than other schools (because of the sweat equity that parents contribute) and allow participating families to help decide what kids will learn and how.

In a cooperative preschool, parents take turns doing everything from managing the finances to washing the windows to assisting in the classroom. Usually, a professional teacher oversees the classroom, but parent volunteers recruit and hire her, serve as her aides, and help develop the curriculum.

Of course, this takes a good deal of time and energy. It's not a commitment to be entered into lightly. But many families believe it's worth it. Aside from the financial benefit and the direct influence over your child's education, you get the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded parents, to observe your child and his peers as they learn and socialize, and even to learn skills that could be valuable in your current or future career.

This is a great concept, however, is very difficult to scale up. Apart from getting parents excited about this concept, it may be extremely taxing on their time. With the unpreceedented growth seen in the job sectors, I have my doubts and concerns if parents would be able to invest this much time into their kids (irrespective of its worthiness).

buildingblocks may try to marry this concept with some of the traditional concepts of pedagogy. Of my experience talking to various educators and experts in the field of education, the more participation that we can have of the parents the more successful the program would become on all dimensions.

Montessori Association of India

On some further investigation of Montessori philosophy of pre-schooling and its presence in India, I was able to find some useful information about the Montessori centers in India.

The center offers both online and offline diplomas in Montessori training. It was very fascinating to find that Maria Montessori spent some part of her adulthood in India (precisely in 1939). Dr. Montessori was ousted from Italy because of her liberal views in general and opposition to Fascism in particular.

The Indian Montessori Association has predominantly taken inspiration from the works of Dr. Montessori in India, Mr. Joosten and Mr. Swamy. The center is currently headed by Mrs. Meenakshi Sivaramakrishnan.

The center plans to expand its base all over India. has it's headquarters in the IT city of Bangalore, Karnataka. They mostly promote themselves as a policy making body with an intention to have satellite centers in the different parts of the country (they have successfully achieved that in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Various Preschooling philosophies

With proliferation of preschools in the Indian society, I thought this entry may help parents and preschool providers to understand the various philosophies that different pre schools are following. Since, there are several philosophies on preschooling, I will be using multiple blog entries to explain each of those philosophies. I have used extensive information from this source.

Preschools subscribe to many different theories and philosophies of education. You may hear some of the following terms used to describe schools you're considering. Familiarize yourself with the various styles to help determine which one is the best fit for your child.

The different categories of philosophies are as:
1. Montessori
2. Waldorf
3. Projects
4. Community/Religious
5. Cooperative
6. Reggio Emilia


Montessori:
Montessori is centered on establishing independence, self-esteem, and confidence while fostering learning at a child's own pace.

This self-paced education is accomplished by changing the role of adults in the classroom from teachers of a whole class into that of "guides," as they are often called, for the students as individuals. According to the American Montessori Society, guides have four principle goals, which encompass what the Montessori method hopes to achieve. The guide strives to

* awaken your child's spirit and imagination
* to encourage his normal desire for independence and high sense of self-esteem
* help him develop the kindness, courtesy, and self-discipline that will allow him to become a full member of society
* help him learn how to observe, question, and explore ideas independently

The guide may introduce a lesson to the class as a whole, but will then focus on working with students in small groups as they investigate topics on their own in a carefully prepared classroom environment. This individualized attention means children with special needs — whether they are gifted or delayed — often do well in a Montessori environment.

This environment is another trademark of a Montessori program. With so much emphasis on individual and small-group exploration, the room itself is kept bright, warm, and inviting. It will often contain many learning centers that allow a child to focus on what they are most interested in, while being shown through gentle encouragement that they should not be afraid of trying new things either. These centers are filled with objects that cater to what preschoolers are most responsive to — highly tactile, very hands-on learning materials that teach through manipulation.

The sense that they are in charge of this environment also fosters feelings of responsibility and accountability in the children, another focus of the Montessori approach. Studies have shown that a feeling of ownership contributes to better care of belongings. Visitors to Montessori classrooms are often amazed to see children working together to clean up centers after they are done experimenting and learning in them, feeding the animals they are helping raise, even watering plants and tending to small gardens in some instances.

This in turn helps create a mentality of cooperation, instead of competition, among the children. To further this cooperative spirit, Montessori classrooms are divided into three-year sections, which allow children to get to know their teachers and one another better. Older children are encouraged to help the younger children in their explorations, teaching compassion and instilling the lesson that there is no shame in needing help in life all at once.

Finally, to end this entry a quote by Maria Montessori (the thought behind Montessori programs).

"Our goal is not so much the imparting of knowledge as the unveiling and developing of spiritual energy."
- The Child in the Family :: The Clio Montessori Series, 1996 :: p. 63

Reggio Emilia Approach of preschooling

My continued exploration of children's development in India led me to find this interesting offering by ibambini. Ibambini is trying to promote an Italin approach to child care and education called Reggio Emilia approach. I took excerpts of this concept from here.

What is Reggio Emilia?
There is much about Reggio Emilia's approach to child care and education that distinguishes it from other efforts both inside and outside of Italy, and attracts worldwide attention. Of special interest is the emphasis on children's symbolic languages in the context of a project-oriented curriculum. The Reggio Emilia approach is made possible through a carefully articulated and collaborative approach to the care and education of young children.

In the USA particularly, the experiences of the city of Reggio Emilia have been reified into the "Reggio Emilia Approach", a new curriculum model of excellence, which heavily reinforces existing instrumental developmentalist discourses of education. This 'branding' of Reggio Emilia, obscures the postmodern accent in the dialogues that the pedagogues of Reggio Emilia have attempted to establish. Critiques of the US 'Reggio Approach' which have targeted attempts to establish normative Reggio 'curricula' have largely been ignored. The work in Sweden by Gunilla Dahlberg, and her UK colleague, Peter Moss, provide unsettling counterpoints to the monolithic arguments of the proponents of the 'Reggio Approach'.

Cornerstones of Reggio Emilia approach are:

Community participation:
Reggio Emilia's tradition of community support for families with young children expands on Italy's cultural view of children as the collective responsibility of the state. In Reggio Emilia, the infant/toddler and pre-primary program is a vital part of the community, as reflected in the high level of financial support.

The parents' role mirrors the community's, at both the schoolwide and the classroom level. Parents are expected to take part in discussions about school policy, child development concerns, and curriculum planning and evaluation. Because a majority of parents--including mothers--are employed, meetings are held in the evenings so that all who wish to participate can do so.

Administrative Policies and Organizational Structure:
There is no hierarchy among the teachers (consequently no teacher). This staffing plan, coupled with the policy of keeping the same group of children and teachers together for a period of three years, facilitates the sense of community that characterizes relationships among adults and children.

Teachers as learners:
This one core aspect of Reggio Emilia approach that really distinguishes it from others. Teachers' long-term commitment to enhancing their understanding of children is at the crux of the Reggio Emilia approach. Their resistance to the American use of the term model to describe their program reflects the continuing evolution of their ideas and practices. They compensate for the meager preservice training of Italian early childhood teachers by providing extensive staff development opportunities, with goals determined by the teachers themselves. Teacher autonomy is evident in the absence of teacher manuals, curriculum guides, or achievement tests. The lack of externally imposed mandates is joined by the imperative that teachers become skilled observers of children in order to inform their curriculum planning and implementation.

Teachers routinely divide responsibilities in the class so that one can systematically observe, take notes, and record conversations between children. These observations are shared with other teachers and the atelierista and parents in curriculum planning and evaluation. Teachers of several schools often work and learn together under the leadership of the pedagogista as they explore ways of expanding on children's spontaneous activities.

The role of enviornment:

The organization of the physical environment is crucial to Reggio Emilia's early childhood program, and is often referred to as the child's "third teacher". Major aims in the planning of new spaces and the remodeling of old ones include the integration of each classroom with the rest of the school, and the school with the surrounding community. The preschools are generally filled with indoor plants and vines, and awash with natural light.

Other supportive elements of the environment include ample space for supplies, frequently rearranged to draw attention to their aesthetic features. In each classroom there are studio spaces in the form of a large, centrally located atelier and a smaller mini-atelier, and clearly designated spaces for large- and small-group activities. Throughout the school, there is an effort to create opportunities for children to interact. Thus, the single dress-up area is in the center piazza; classrooms are connected with phones, passageways or windows; and lunchrooms and bathrooms are designed to encourage playful encounters.

The hundred languages:
As children proceed in an investigation, generating and testing their hypotheses, they are encouraged to depict their understanding through one of many symbolic languages, including drawing, sculpture, dramatic play, and writing. They work together towards the resolution of problems that arise. Teachers facilitate and then observe debates regarding the extent to which a child's drawing or other form of representation lives up to the expressed intent. Revision of drawings (and ideas) is encouraged, and teachers allow children to repeat activities and modify each other's work in the collective aim of better understanding the topic. Teachers foster children's involvement in the processes of exploration and evaluation, acknowledging the importance of their evolving products as vehicles for exchange.

Very interesting concept and idea. buildingBlocks plans to develop a similar concept, however, contextual to the Indian ethos and culture.

Vedic Mathematics: What is it?

My exploration of alternative but effective methods of overall development of children is driving me to understand all these Eastern modes of thinking. As, we have tried many of the Western ways of thinking and I believe they have both pros and cons.

I had heard a lot about Vedic Mathematics and was always enticed to it. Really got a chance to understand it over last few months. Was talking to an IIT professor who takes classes in Vedic Mathematics couple of weeks back and was bowled by the observation that he had. According to him, there are no calculators to do equational computations (for example no calculator to divide 5x square - 3x + 1 from x + 3). According to him that Vedic mathematics can be used to do a computation like that -- some of the sutras that he demonstrated earlier made me believe that it's possible.

BTW, below is a overview about Vedic mathematics that I picked from this site:

What is Vedic Mathematics?
Vedic Mathematics is the name given to the ancient system of Mathematics which was rediscovered from the Vedas between 1911 and 1918 by Sri Bharati Krsna Tirthaji (1884-1960).

According to his research all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. For example, 'Vertically and Crosswise` is one of these Sutras. These formulae describe the way the mind naturally works and are therefore a great help in directing the student to the appropriate method of solution.

Perhaps the most striking feature of the Vedic system is its coherence. Instead of a hotch-potch of unrelated techniques the whole system is beautifully interrelated and unified: the general multiplication method, for example, is easily reversed to allow one-line divisions and the simple squaring method can be reversed to give one-line square roots. And these are all easily understood.

This unifying quality is very satisfying, it makes mathematics easy and enjoyable and encourages innovation. In the Vedic system 'difficult' problems or huge sums can often be solved immediately by the Vedic method. These striking and beautiful methods are just a part of a complete system of mathematics which is far more systematic than the modern 'system'.

Vedic Mathematics manifests the coherent and unified structure of mathematics and the methods are complementary, direct and easy. The simplicity of Vedic Mathematics means that calculations can be carried out mentally (though the methods can also be written down). There are many advantages in using a flexible, mental system.

Pupils can invent their own methods, they are not limited to the one 'correct' method. This leads to more creative, interested and intelligent pupils. Interest in the Vedic system is growing in education where mathematics teachers are looking for something better and finding the Vedic system is the answer. Research is being carried out in many areas including the effects of learning Vedic Maths on children; developing new, powerful but easy applications of the Vedic Sutras in geometry, calculus, computing etc. But the real beauty and effectiveness of Vedic Mathematics cannot be fully appreciated without actually practising the system. One can then see that it is perhaps the most refined and efficient mathematical system possible.

Use of Abacus for faster calculation

In several parts of India, Abacus, as a mathematics learning technique, has become a rage. Some of the major service providers in this field are:
1. Aloha India
2. UC Mas India
3. Smart Brain India

I just took a stab on how this technique works and after few minutes of exploration found out following literature on this ancient mathematics technique:

Anatomy & Construction

The standard abacus can be used to perform addition, subtraction, division and multiplication; the abacus can also be used to extract square-roots and cubic roots.

The abacus is typically constructed of various types of hardwoods and comes in varying sizes. The frame of the abacus has a series of vertical rods on which a number of wooden beads are allowed to slide freely. A horizontal beam separates the frame into two sections, known as the upper deck and the lower deck.

Basics

The abacus is prepared for use by placing it flat on a table or one's lap and pushing all the beads on both the upper and lower decks away from the beam. The beads are manipulated with either the index finger or the thumb of one hand.

Bead Values

Each bead in the upper deck has a value of 5; each bead in the lower deck has a value of 1. Beads are considered counted, when moved towards the beam that separates the two decks.

Counting
After 5 beads are counted in the lower deck, the result is "carried" to the upper deck; after both beads in the upper deck are counted, the result (10) is then carried to the left-most adjacent column.

The right-most column is the ones column; the next adjacent to the left is the tens column; the next adjacent to the left is the hundreds column, and so on. Floating point calculations are performed by designating a space between 2 columns as the decimal-point and all the rows to the right of that space represent fractional portions while all the rows to the left represent whole number digits.

Technique
Proper finger technique is paramount in achieving proficiency on the abacus. With a Chinese abacus, the thumb and the index finger together with the middle finger are used to manipulate the beads. Beads in lower deck are moved up with the thumb and down with the index finger. In certain calculations, the middle finger is used to move beads in the upper deck.

Finger Technique: A Japanese textbook published in 1954 shows the proper technique for moving the beads. It shows the thumb being used to count beads in the lower deck and the index finger being used in all other cases.

With the Japanese version, only the index finger and thumb are used. The beads are moved updown with the index finger. However, certain complex operations require that the index finger move beads up; e.g. adding 3 to 8 (the adding of the three is called Jian Chi Jia Shi which literally means, "subtract 7 add 10"). with the thumb and

The Abacus Today
The abacus is still in use today by shopkeepers in Asia and "Chinatowns" in North America. The use of the abacus is still taught in Asian schools, and some few schools in the West. Blind children are taught to use the abacus where their sighted counterparts would be taught to use paper and pencil to perform calculations.

One particular use for the abacus is teaching children simple mathematics and especially multiplication; the abacus is an excellent substitute for rote memorization of multiplication tables, a particularily detestable task for young children. The abacus is also an excellent tool for teaching other base numbering systems since it easily adapts itself to any base.

We do plan to have ABACUS and Vedic Mathematics as part of course curriculums at buildingBlocksTM

Eklavya Foundation

The more research that I have been doing on the primary education system in India, the better my experience is becoming. There are several issues with the primary education system in India, however, like any other thing in India, there are several good initiatives that are taking place in the field of education.

Eklavya institute is one such initiative. This institutions goals are very similar to the goals of buildingBlocksTM probably with only difference in the speed of implementation.

Eklavya's philosophy:
Eklavya believes that education is an infrastructure, atleast, as important as nation's roads, electricity and telecom. It plays a fundamental role in determining the prosperity and well-being of its citizens. Progressive nations have strategically invested heavily in education on a long term basis.

I guess the Non profit status of this organization may have resulted in the gradual implementation of the programs.

Preschools

Well, it's not been reported in the business media, however, one of the fastest growing segment in the education sector is that of preschools i.e. teaching pre nursery school kids. Personally, I think this concept of pre schooling is ridiculous. One may come up with several arguments that these kids can learn a lot because they are really young. However, I firmly believe with some resounding evidence from other independent sources that these preschools are bringing a lot of stress on these kids.

The parents end up spending less time playing with their kids, and more time training/coaching them how to respond to certain type of questions. The situation has worsened to such depths that parents end up yelling at the 3 year olds because they were not able to clear the preschool entrance examination. The actions of the High Courts have definitely brought relief to some of parents, who ended up sending their kids to these pre schools because of the interview pressure.

However, the jury is still out on that segment that is extremely ambitious for their kids and wants kids to win races when they can hardly walk.

Experiential Learning

Experiential learning, a fairly recently educational concept doing rounds in the elitist echelons of the Indian education system. I have been attracted to the concept of experiential learning from the moment that I heard about it.

On wikipi'ing the word, I realized that there has been a lot of academic study and research that has been done on this particular methodology to teach tiny tots. Having experienced both the kinds of educational systems, instructional and participatory, I have been amazed by how the method of instruction can catalyze the agility and capacity of the learner.

Wiki says following about the historical context:
John Doewy, an American educational philosopher, was an early twentieth century promoter of the idea of learning through direct experience (action and reflection). Experiential education differs from much traditional education in that teachers first immerse students in action and then ask them to reflect on the experience.

In traditional education, teachers set the knowledge to be learnt (including analysis and synthesis) before students. They hope students will subsequently find ways to apply the knowledge.

Despite the efforts of many efforts at progressive educational reform, this movment has not really taken off.

A lot of what buildingBlocks is trying to achieve is pretty much on these lines.

Hope to write more on this topic.

Learning: Cognitive or Experiential

C Rogers classifies learning of two different types:
1. Cognitive
2. Experiential

Cognitive learning primarily deals with academic learning for example learning vocalubary, multiplication tables, solving trigonometric equations etc. Whereas, experiential learning refers to applied knowledge for example learning about aerodynamics if you want to build a mini-plane for your science project. From my experience, Indian education system is dominated by cognitive learning with extreme focus on ranks, percentages obtained etc.

Since, there are two broad categories of learning, a logical question that would come out would be which learning methodology is superior? Many folks would believe that experiental learning is superior and advantageous and true it is. However, in my humble opinion there is a place and space for cognitive learning as well. Absurd it may sound, however, cognitive learning is much more easier to scale and in developing countries is a good model for education delivery.

Rogers also talks about the role of teacher in the experiential methodology, which is related to my earlier post. Roger says "experiential learning is equivalent to personal change and growth. Rogers feels that all human beings have a natural propensity to learn; the role of the teacher is to facilitate such learning. This includes: (1) setting a positive climate for learning, (2) clarifying the purposes of the learner(s), (3) organizing and making available learning resources, (4) balancing intellectual and emotional components of learning, and (5) sharing feelings and thoughts with learners but not dominating."

Well, the jury is still out to decide on the efficacy of both these forms of learning as mass education delivery modules. However, I have my pick and that being a right balance of both in every kid's life and that's where buildingBlocks comes in.

What is teaching?

Sri Aurobindo once said that the first principle of teaching is "that nothing can be taught". J.S.Rajput comments on this profound statement:

This statement of Sri Aurobindo condenses a whole lot of theories of education and a new form of pedagogy closer to integral approach to education. It puts learning above teaching. It makes learning a self starting, self propelling process. It redefines the role of teacher as a possessor of information to a facilitator and guide for the learner.

This statement definitely has profound meaning and extreme relevance in today's times.

What is this blog about?

This blog is intended to discuss various aspects about a child's development. I am going through this exercise as my current professional venture is trying to address this problem, I thought it would be good discuss about this in the public domain. I intend to explore the past, present and future of various methodologies involved in child's development in this public forum.

This way my ideas, opinions and assumptions would get verified and may have universal application. In case if you have interest in learning about my company (Building Blocks), please feel to send me a note on tarun dot bhalla at gmail dot com.

Thanks,
Tarun