School education should not just be about strategy but also about content. As rightly said, a strategy can only help in the process of communication. Content, on the other hand, is about introducing concepts and building knowledge through them to create new knowledge. Resources that enable learning to take place, a technology that motivates the young learner to engage in her learning through collaboration and school architecture that uses space as an instrument for creating a conducive environment for learning. Needless to say that the learner should be an integral part of it all.
The year in the life of a school is very structured and predefined into terms or semesters. We know when assessments will take place, when and how feedback will is provided, what are the instruments for reporting, yet time appears to be the single biggest luxury in the life of all the stakeholders.
It is quite paradoxical when the whole school apparatus is geared to provide a learning experience for the pupils, then how is it that the recipient is so stressed for time. What then is the core need that needs to be addressed? Good grades, recognition, better admissions, are all tangible benefits. What about intangible benefits of education? Ability to remain motivated, manage time, acquiring problem-solving skills, entrepreneurial skills, conflict resolution etc. are skills that somehow get left out in our schooling system. Would it be ambitious of me to state that if we were to invest a little time in developing intangible benefits that we could add more value to the tangible?
Schools must learn to break down the traditional silos that they work in to work more collaboratively to make education more sustainable. If the system does not help in building trust amongst all stakeholders, distribute adequate time between teaching and testing, provide opportunities for knowledge creation and management through reflection then it cannot be termed sustainable.
Sapna Yadav has extensive experience of over 20 years of facilitating students unleash their academic potential.
At Samaskaara, Mrs. Yadav channels her experience to provide customized Learning Frameworks to students; equipping them with 21st-century skills, to develop their profiles and this allows them the freedom to plan their academic and personal growth. Under her guidance, her students have secured admissions in various reputed colleges such as Yale University, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania in the USA, McGill University, University of Toronto, UBC, the University of Waterloo in Canada, HKU and HKUST in Hong Kong to name a few. You can connect with Sapana by Email sapna@samaskaara.in or Phone 9818108908.