III
SIP AND THE STUDENT
Through the Child’s Eyes
We
wonder if we could choose what we want to do .....
do
it the way we want to .....
see
life our own way
not
as adults want us to .....
Experience,
explore and ask questions
about
anything that we are curious .....
Create
our own environment
find
our own space .....
Have
fun, get messy
taste,
smell, touch, feel .....
We wonder
if .....
We could just be .....
Near the steps of the school
the two-and-a-half year old was bidding a brave farewell to his mother. On the
staircase stood a pre-school teacher with a welcoming smile and a greeting.
Encouraged, the child left his mother’s hand and climbed up the steps slowly.
At the bend of the steps further up stood another adult. “Hurry up, you don’t
have all day to climb up.” The strident tones shook the child to the harsh
reality of a new environment.
The incident was
small, yet it leaves one thinking. Just how much adjusting does a
two-and-a-half year old have to do at every turn of the step? Does he/she
understand the contradictions of the adult world? How can adults be sensitised
to the needs of children ?
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Any child coming to school brings with him an innocent wonder about the world he encounters. There is a curiosity about this world and a willingness to touch, feel, ask questions about the things he encounters. The look of concentration on the face of a three-year-old as he tries to balance blocks, the face of a fouryear-old as she tries to thread beads - it’s important for that child to get it right. She’s willing to try the same task again and again until in her own eyes it appears perfect. Children come to school as active learners, their minds open to learning. This freshness is what they largely lose as the reality of school hits them. They end up learning to adjust, accomm-odate and conform to a pattern of learning rather than create their own patterns. The adults in the environ-ment seem to forget that children think in ways that adults can no longer remember. The
spirit of “I am willing to try”, “I want to know more” dies out as children
feel pressurised to learn chunks of knowledge beyond their interest and
understanding. Any originality or creativity a child may want to show often
gets nipped in the bud. Children end up losing the spirit of questioning, the
freedom to initiate their own learning. On the other hand |
they gain a distaste for formal learning, dispensed as the teacher and the system sees fit. They grow up as adults expected to take initiative, make the right choices, lead independent lives when their schooling precludes those very qualities. An uphill task This
discrepancy is perhaps because the
focus of education has been on the content, seldom on the recipient.
The School Improvement Programme at Diamond Jubilee Schools recognised the
existence of this discrepancy through the evaluation undertaken in 1987.
While at one level children were given to believe that education and ‘study’
is important for the future, in reality, as many as 50 per cent of the
students interviewed during the evaluation found studies dull, often beyond
their present capacity... an uphill task with little support in the home. The
conflict was real for these children - of knowing that education is important
and yet, in its present form, being unable to handle it. School Improvement implied looking at the whole
process of education from the point of view of the child. Was the learning in
the classroom meaningful to the child? Did it excite him, challenge him, draw
upon his existing frame of experience and lead him on |
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to change. From the teachers’ point of view, it meant
stepping back from directing learning to facilitating it, watching it happen
at its own momentum and in turn, learning from it. It meant, setting aside
traditional modes of teaching, reposing faith in each individual child’s own
ability to learn. |
MY INTRODUCTION TO SIP
I was in the VIII Std. when I
was first introduced to the School Improvement Programme. It did not include the
senior classes. In the beginning I had no idea about the project. I remember
being invited with a lot of other students to what seemed like a workshop
rather than a routine programme.
We were also expected to work
together as a group and not individually. Each and every individual was given a
chance to express their views and exhibit their talent and skill. The
discussions were really exciting as everybody gave their independent opinions.
After that we were asked to
write individually a small story or incident on a given topic that would
reflect our opinion as well as ability to communicate through words. Can you
imagine my joy when later on I was given a short story I had written during
this workshop. I was told it was going to be one of the reading cards for the
primary. I still preserve it as my most precious possession.
When I look back I feel I
learnt a lot from this experience. The group discussion really changed my way
of thinking. I learnt to think broadly from all aspects and then comment on a
particular subject. It has broadened my way of looking at life, taught me how
to communicate with people, get to understand their personal views.
It was a wonderful experience
getting to know the students as well as teachers as individuals. The programme
is a very nice beginning to help students express themselves freely, helping
them to become creative and less book-oriented.
--- Safia Kapadia. ex-student D.J. Girls
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Easier
Transition Over time it was observed that children
coming to school did not spend their initial weeks crying in an attempt to
adjust to their new surroundings. It now seemed easier for a two-and-a-half
year old to make this transition. All
it had required |
was an understanding on the
part of the adults that what the child needed was warmth and affection not
only education and discipline. This was however a hard transition to make
for the adult. The schools had been grappling for years with the issue of
discipline. The notion was that unless the rules were enforced, children
would go astray. It took a few years to understand that the term discipline
was not an enforcement of rules, rather it encompassed an awareness of the
rights of others. The idea was not to get children to regard the wrongness of
wrong conduct as a breaking of a rule. Rather, the wrongness lay in being
inconsiderate or infringing upon the rights of others. The idea was not to
have a heavily rule bound institution in which children cannot see beyond the
rules to the reason for them. |
My Day .....
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Sayyad
Shahid 6th A : I’ve been in
D.J. Boys since Std I --- 6 years now. This is my first School. I wake up at
6.45 a.m. iron my clothes, pour water to the plants, dress and come to school
by public bus. After I go home, I change my clothes, have food. I play video
games for one hour by myself. My sister helps me with my studies till 8 p.m.
I have four sisters and two brothers. I am the youngest. I don’t have cable
T.V. I watch cricket and read Tinkle. My father runs a business he sells grass and nylon mats. I want to be
an engineer. |
Mustakim
Telwala 6th A : I joined D.J. Boys in Std I. I went to another
school before that. I wake up at 7 a.m. I bathe, have breakfast and come to school.
When I return I change my clothes, eat. I love playing cricket and football
within my room. I study upto 8.30 p.m. Sometimes I watch comedies and horror
movies. My father has a business perfumes, body sprays but I want to be a
doctor. I have to study more Science and get more than 96%. |
Bhavesh
Jain Std. 9th B : I go for Maths tuition in the morning. After
that I come to school. I go home during the long break for lunch. After
school I play for a while. I study until 6.30 and then learn Karate. I like
watching comedy programmes and movies. I’d like to do Commerce. Maybe I’ll
join daddy’s cloth business. |
Arun
Vishran Std 9th B : I’ve been
in D.J. Boys for 5 years. I take Maths and Science tuition’s. I like Science.
I’d like to do research in physics because I enjoy experiments. |
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reported, recognised the value
attached to the tokens, and set up a barter system with the rest, in order to
encash their tokens for a larger reward! Gradually it was recognised that
other means of motivation would have to be devised. However the system succeeded in instilling one idea: the importance of self worth. The adults were beginning to recognise the dangers of eroding a child’s self esteem. Schooling at D.J. had seldom until then consciously talked of self esteem. Teachers became aware of how vulnerable children feel because the teacher could exercise power to control and evaluate. |
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WHAT AM I LIKE ? |
WHAT DO I WANT TO BE ? |
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SAIMA... I think I am intelligent, I am proud. Silly things make me laugh. But that is when its about others. If anyone else does that I start crying. What makes me happy is when I get the highest marks. I feel angry when teacher scolds me or someone talks behind my back. I don’t like it when someone else is praised. I don’t even talk to that person !. I hate being compared, I am not close to anyone in my house. I only tell things to my best friend. I think school is better than my house. |
MEHJABEEN I am sometimes naughty, sometimes angry and sometimes sad. I feel happy when someone praises me, when I get good marks and when I help someone. I do show off but others showing off makes me angry. You know I don’t have a father. He was in the Navy, his ship sank. I miss him. I am close to my mummy. |
YASMIN.... I know I would not be sent to college. My parents are very strict. I don’t talk much to my daddy. He did not know that I am the head girl of my school for a long time. I get a higher percentage than my brother. My father says “I spend so much time teaching my son and my daughter does better.” He feels that girls should not study. If they do study they will work. He says to me “I don’t want your money.” |
REHMAT .....
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Exams ? ....... easy !
In a system that relies
heavily on testing the decision not to have exams at the Primary is a brave
one. When these children move into the Secondary and are faced with tests for
the first time, they approach it without any ideas of what is expected of
them. Some anecdotes on this new intrusion.
During the recent unit
tests, confusion and chaos prevailed every afternoon since the Std V students had
absolutely no idea of examinations at all (how they were to behave, where they
had to, sit etc.) Most of the teachers were driven up the wall by their
blissful ignorance!
One little fellow, when the
answer books were being collected, put up a terrific fight. The teacher asked
for his paper, which he promptly refused to give up. Clutching it tightly he
asked indignantly, “How can you take my paper? I haven’t finished writing! I
will finish my paper and then I’ll give it to you!”
A Std V student asked the
supervisor in his classroom during the exam whether he could pick up his bag.
The teacher who asked for the reason was told very matter of factly, and in no
uncertain terms that he had forgotten an answer (he said that he had known all
the others) and he wanted to revise it and then write it !
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clear about allowing children to make choices about their own learning in school, they had to deal with parental anxieties about outspoken, “undisciplined” children. As pre-school teachers grew to understand children and their ways of learning, they became more confident of facing the parents. “Do the parents realise that the school is making no demands on them? Why are they not appreciating this fact? Parents have set ideas about percentages,” reflects Laila an ex DJG student and subsequently a teacher in the pre-school section. |
Exams ? ....... easy !
In a system that relies
heavily on testing the decision not to have exams at the Primary is a brave
one. When these children move into the Secondary and are faced with tests
for the first time, they approach it without any ideas of what is expected
of them. Some anecdotes on this new intrusion.
During the recent unit
tests, confusion and chaos prevailed every afternoon since the Std V students
had absolutely no idea of examinations at all (how they were to behave, where they
had to, sit etc.) Most of the teachers were driven up the wall by their
blissful ignorance!
One little fellow, when the
answer books were being collected, put up a terrific fight. The teacher asked
for his paper, which he promptly refused to give up. Clutching it tightly he
asked indignantly, “How can you take my paper? I haven’t finished writing! I
will finish my paper and then I’ll give it to you!”
A Std V student asked the
supervisor in his classroom during the exam whether he could pick up his bag.
The teacher who asked for the reason was told very matter of factly, and in no
uncertain terms that he had forgotten an answer (he said that he had known all
the others) and he wanted to revise it and then write it !
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clear about allowing children to make choices about their own learning in school, they had to deal with parental anxieties about outspoken, “undisciplined” children. As pre-school teachers grew to understand children and their ways of learning, they became more confident of facing the parents. “Do the parents realise that the school is making no demands on them? Why are they not appreciating this fact? Parents have set ideas about percentages,” reflects Laila an ex DJG student and subsequently a teacher in the pre-school section. |
Exams ? ....... easy !
In a system that relies
heavily on testing the decision not to have exams at the Primary is a brave
one. When these children move into the Secondary and are faced with tests
for the first time, they approach it without any ideas of what is expected
of them. Some anecdotes on this new intrusion.
During the recent unit tests,
confusion and chaos prevailed every afternoon since the Std V students had
absolutely no idea of examinations at all (how they were to behave, where they
had to, sit etc.) Most of the teachers were driven up the wall by their
blissful ignorance!
One little fellow, when the
answer books were being collected, put up a terrific fight. The teacher asked
for his paper, which he promptly refused to give up. Clutching it tightly he
asked indignantly, “How can you take my paper? I haven’t finished writing! I
will finish my paper and then I’ll give it to you!”
A Std V student asked the
supervisor in his classroom during the exam whether he could pick up his bag.
The teacher who asked for the reason was told very matter of factly, and in no
uncertain terms that he had forgotten an answer (he said that he had known all
the others) and he wanted to revise it and then write it !
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clear about allowing children to make choices about their own learning in school, they had to deal with parental anxieties about outspoken, “undisciplined” children. As pre-school teachers grew to understand children and their ways of learning, they became more confident of facing the parents. “Do the parents realise that the school is making no demands on them? Why are they not appreciating this fact? Parents have set ideas about percentages,” reflects Laila an ex DJG student and subsequently a teacher in the pre-school section. |
“It’s
not fair. We didn’t have fun when we were small.”
(Views expressed by older non SIP children at D.J. Schools about the children coming up with the Programme)
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THEY (SIP) |
WE (NON - SIP) |
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v Play games with lessons. |
v We didn’t. We wanted to but we were not allowed. We had only one period for play. |
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v They sit on mats & misbehave. |
v We have benches. |
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v They celebrate parties, they are given snacks between periods. |
v We didn’t have any parties or snacks. |
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v They have educational games. |
v We had lengthy portions. |
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v They enjoy studies. |
v We didn’t. |
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v They are good at talking telling jokes, not at studying. |
v We have learnt more. |
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v They don’t study or take tuitions. |
v We only study. |
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v The children and teachers are both active. |
v We as children were not active. |
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v They don’t carry bags. They come and go empty handed. |
v We carry heavy bags. |
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v Their teachers look after them well. |
v Nobody took care of us. |
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v They know nothing when they come to Std V. |
v We had to study so much in the Primary. |
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v They get surprise tests and no exams. |
v We were at least told about the dates for the exams. Its better. |
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v They don’t know to write, they just come home and play. |
v We spend three hours on homework. |
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v Look at their furniture it’s so bright. |
v In our days the desks and chairs were always brown. |
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v Even weak children are being promoted as there are no exams. |
v We had to pass. |
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v Even the 4th Std girls seem to know better English than us IX Std girls. |
v We still can’t speak English well. |
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v They have such interesting worksheets. |
v We were “dumped” with books. |
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New pathways It was not easy changing the teaching strategy. The teachers had to get a basic understanding of what it means to accompany children in their learning process. The children coming up with the new methodology seemed to lack the skills required in the higher classes. It was felt their reading and writing skills were poor. They did not appear to come up to their teachers’ expectations. |
GREAT IDEAS
The Chair Pocket
Tiny tots in the Primary
carry a 2 kg. load on their small shoulders daily to school and back. In most
Indian schools the bag, bursting at the seams with note books and texts, is symbolic
of the load which the child carries right through his 13 years of
schooling. In school these bags occupy
precious classroom space, hinder mobility, distract children who spend a good
proportion of their instructional time opening and closing flaps, hunting for
exercise books in the recesses of the bags, apart from the odd pencil or eraser
that rolls out of reach and hides within the depths of the bag.
The quality of the bag each
individual child brings to the classroom varies with varying economic
backgrounds, to the despair of those children who can’t afford to own quality
bags. The school bag also means children could bring expensive materials to
school to show off to their less fortunate classmates.
With reduced homework, keeping the textbooks in school, and stationery provided at school, the bag becomes redundant. The question then arose, was a bag required? Of course what about their lunch boxes? How would they carry the calendar and their library book? The answer lay in the creation of a small bag—more like a chair pocket that could be hung on the back of the chair. The school got small black bags made for all children. However, comments like “the bag is a waste”, “Our children don’t need to carry nondescript bags” are heard from parents.
The philosophy of sharing, of becoming aware of the quality of equality, does not seem to have got communicated. Coincidentally around the same time that the Chair Pocket replaced the regular bag at D.J. Schools, the government’s own slogan of “Basta hatao, Bachpan Bachao” (Remove bags, save childhood) caught up and implementers at D.J. Schools felt that their stand was vindicated.
The move is on to create a
stronger, better looking bag --- of course it is going to be more expensive !
“I do planning”
Interviewer : What do you do in school Tahoor ?
Tahoor : [Both index fingers pressed to his temples].“Mein sochta hoon”. I think ........ I do planning.
Interviewer : What is
Planning ?
Tahoor : Planning ..... um I think .... which area to go to ? Block area, Quiet area ...... book area.
---- Tahoor is a Pre-schooler, all of 2 ˝ years old
Why I put Dushyant in D.J. ......... a parent speaks
My son Dushyant has just turned three. He proudly goes to the ‘D. J. Nursery High School’ (to quote him) Unlike other little babies of his age, who are already bent double with books, and burdened with home work, Dushyant has no such troubles. He enjoys school (though it took him a while to realise that everyone there wasn’t about to fulfil his every whim and fancy). When other kids his age are asked what they do at school they answer, ‘I study’ Dushyant’s answer to the same question is, ‘I play’.
It is precisely for this reason that I chose to put Dushyant in D.J.H.S. despite its reputation, and despite the fact that I commute from Vashi to school everyday with him. Believe me, it isn’t easy. However, as troublesome as it may be, it is well worth the effort to know that my son finds learning a pleasurable activity, one in which he willingly indulges. The fact that he is close by during the day while I teach also helps a lot.
What I appreciate most about SIP is that Dushyant grows increasingly independent and self confident. I enjoy his re-enactment of a typical school day, where he tells me what to say, so that he can play school --- at home !
A typical conversation between me and Dushyant :
Dushyant : Mummy say, `Planning time, planning time !’
(I repeat)
At this point this tiny little boy sits cross-legged on the floor, shuts his eyes tightly and ‘plans’.
Dushyant: Art area, book area.
Dushyant : Now say ‘Dushyant which area do you want to go to ?’
(Again I follow his instructions) and he answers !
Dushyant : I want to go to the art area (this is his favourite). Now say `Dushyant hop & go’ (sometimes its jump or crawl)
After playing with his clay, he announces that it is cleanup time. Generally, I’m expected to help with this ! He then announces to an imaginary class:
Dushyant: Friends -- see what Dushyant has made --- now clap for Dushyant !”
When I see the happiness and joy reflected on Dushyant’s face when he thinks of school, I say hats off to SIP ! It’s worth every effort and all the time & trouble it takes bringing him here !
P.S. “The first time I heard about ‘planning time’ I asked Dushyant what he did during that time. He looked at me disdainfully and said, “I Plan !”
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Meanwhile the children continued to demand the attention of the teacher, pressurising her to look afresh at her own strategies and create new ways of learning. By continuously demanding the teachers’ attention, asking questions, they were practically forcing teachers to think along different lines. The teachers were being compelled to examine their teaching strategies, plan |
WHEN I AM ANGRY
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When I am angry I bite
myself to control my temper ..... See these marks on my wrist ?
...... a thirteen year old |
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« I tell my
teacher ........ « I fight
.............. « I keep quiet
............... ...... six year olds |
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« I throw things
........ « I cry .............. « I don’t talk
................ ...... ten year olds |
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expected to teach them the basics of writing as well ? They are a voluble undisciplined lot. To top it all they don’t even have the skills. What are we supposed to do ?” The tussle continued between the primary and secondary teachers. But in the process all the adults were beginning to look at children and their learning patterns as a continuum. |
differently to be able to satisfy the child’s hungry curiosity. It was recognised that a good deal of sophisticated observation of children was required. This would then have to be followed by reflection and re-view to link learning to the pre-occupation of children especially in the pre-school. The project was learn-ing that Child Observation was vital. |
PROBLEM SOLVERS ----
CREATIVE SOLUTIONS
IF THERE IS NO GAS ....
[ Cut a tree, make small pieces, burn them and then cook.
[ For cutting the tree go to the jungle on a motor-bike.
[ If there is no breakfast, don’t come to school.
[ Take the gas from the school.
[ Change the cylinders.
[ Use a stove.
--- If none of these work, contact Jr. K.G. A for further suggestions.
MUZRIM HAAZIR HO...!
Teacher : Yusuf is impossible. He disturbs my class to such a degree. I don’t know what to do. My children get totally unsettled.”
Strategy.. Let’s try to get the children to decide what punishment to give him. What do you think we should do about him?
The air was electric with tension. Yusuf sat cowering in a corner. It took some encouragement to get the children to articulate what they felt should be Yusuf’s punishment. Once confident the responses were many:
“Take him to the Principal”.
“Tell his parents”.
“Keep him outside
the class for a whole week”.
“Beat him”?
“Don’t talk to
him”.
“Write in his calendar”
“Give him another chance”
“Make him write sorry a hundred
times”
“Give him a last chance”
“Let him say sorry”
“He should promise he wouldn’t do it again”
It was interesting to see their efforts at solving a problem. This approach has subsequently been used time and again at D.J. schools effectively.
It was a small group meeting over the issue of discipline, rules and regulations. Sections of parents, teachers and a couple of student representatives were there. The meeting was proving to be volatile with the adults blaming each other and not taking responsibility.
The issue at hand: parents don’t come to meet the teachers when called.
The teachers’ view was: parents never come. They don’t value our notes. They are not bothered about their children.
The parents’ view was: how do they expect us to come running every time? The teachers should deal with the children at school. That’s what they are for.
The two bewildered students, the subject of the debate, sat silent. Finally, interrupting the heated discussion, one of the boys gingerly raised his hand...
“Miss....... may I speak? If my mother is not coming when you call her, why don’t you keep me back in school, she’ll definitely come when she finds I have not got back home.”
THIS CHRISTMAS I WANT ......
BULLETIN
BOARD MATERIAL CONTRIBUTED BY 6 YEAR OLDS (1996)
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Increased dialogue with children and increased communication between teachers brought forth the realisation that teachers needed to have a common understanding of how children learn and how teachers should teach. The project recognised that teachers needed a theoretical/ developmental understanding of children, their learning. While it was clear that the kinds of activities that the project had initiated were appropriate, it required a framework within which to be applied. The child’s world Gradually teachers began seeing the world through the child’s eyes, becoming aware that children are more than just `small’, they are different. The fact that they were small did not mean they cannot plan |
and execute. The adults began to see that whenever learning was directed by the teacher perhaps they ended up teaching helplessness. Meanwhile the inevitable differences that exist between children and their abilities and the manner in which they are valued by individual teachers have been emerging issues. Was the success of some children being made possible at the cost of the relative failure of others? Were some children feeling marginalised while others were praised? Is the stress on achievement rather than on effort? Or is the particular level of achievement of each child being accepted as a starting point? The attempt has been to enable children to feel free to make a choice and feel confident about their world. |