The Open School, by Kartik, Founder, Driveway Devi

 

On a recent airport transfer, as I debated between reading my book or getting some work done on the laptop, I couldn’t help overhear stray bits of my Uber driver’s phone conversation. Things didn’t seem alright and I organically proceeded to ask him if something was the matter. 

Neither did I read a word of my book, nor did any work; like most of us I had assumed that in either activity, would be a judicious use of the time the longish drive would take – instead I ended up talking to the Uber driver for the entire hour and a quarter my intra-city journey lasted.

The minutes hardly called attention to themselves. Though that wasn’t the reward, that I’d been able to traverse a most unpleasant commute without glancing at my watch. Far from it. What this interaction did gift me, as I quickly realized settling into my seat aboard the flight, was the kind of insight, and knowledge, that years of academic study couldn’t have; compressed, authentic, from the horse’s mouth, in a fraction of the time!

This bounty of newly gathered wisdom around small-town Uttar Pradesh and migrant workforce in the national capital, their lives, struggles and modest triumphs, their hopes, fears, dreams and aspirations, their forsaken native lives, sacrificed family members, this gentleman’s wages and survival-mode existence, his ‘education’ that had falsified the promise of prosperity – each word out of his mouth encapsulated an India that I wasn’t ever a part of, and was unlikely to be – more significantly, his was a microcosm of a dismal epic-sized reality, one, astonishingly kept veiled, secret, a closely hidden & protected recipe that served and serviced only a waver-thin minority.

I digress, since this isn’t intended as a socio-political rant. That I’d gained so much, from such little time, and zero effort, got me to thinking. What I’d always known, practiced half my life then forgotten somewhere along my bigger journey, hit me like a ton of bricks. 

Hope and Friendship - Super7 BHIS

Hope & Friendship - Miracles of the Modern World

“Hope is .... a vital of our spiritual lifeblood,” states the book Hope in the Age of Anxiety. “And it is the most effective medicine for overcoming feelings of helplessness, alienation, and fear.” 

In simple words, it can be easily described as a desire for something to happen in the future. When we feel that we are caught up in a deep world of melancholy, the hope of a brighter tomorrow is what keeps us moving forward. It facilitates inner peace, strength and determination without which life remains incomplete.

Hope theory suggests three essential aspects:

• Goals: Something we aim to achieve in the future.
• Pathways: at least one way (and hopefully more than one) that might enable us to achieve those goals.
• Agency (or Efficacy): the belief that we can make things happen along those pathways in order to get to the goal

Hopeful children are happier - they are more satisfied with life. They have better relationships and are usually competent.

As educators it important for us to ensure that our students remain hopeful. It is our duty to -
1) help them build a future focus
2) work with them on plans (or pathways)
3) ask them, “What do you think is the next best thing to do?” or “When to have you overcome something like this before?”

It is better to guide them in finding the answer rather than imposing it on them.

It was a bright, sunny day and the class was filled with cheerful faces. However, the teacher noticed that Dhruv was sitting quietly – she went to up him and inquired about it. He did not reply and after much coaxing, he began to cry. I calmed him down and asked him what was wrong. Still sobbing, he told me that his mother said,” You are not intelligent, you don’t know anything, and I only love your elder brother.” He was very sad and felt hopeless.

Academics challenged him as he was a slow learner. I told him not to worry himself over an emotional outburst and promised him that I would see him through this phase. In the beginning, he was very reluctant but slowly he started accepting challenges regarding reading and writing which helped him improve in his work. Seeing that he could read and write very much like his peers, he gained hope. He became more confident and positive about himself than he was ever before. He started interacting with the others, and very soon he had developed his own circle of friends.

The interpersonal bond of friendship is what gives us a sense of stability in life. Our relationships with our friends validate us and add varied flavours to our lives.  Schools are perhaps the best place to nurture friendships. It gives immense pleasure to a teacher to see such healthy bonds develop in the class. However, sometimes tensions do arise among students forcing the teacher to intervene and sweep away the clouds of unhappiness, in a subtle manner.

At the beginning of the new session in grade VIII, the teacher could sense that something was amiss among the students. Upon close observation, she understood that a feeling of hostility lay between two girls, Shireen and Pooja. This had, in turn, affected the dynamics of the entire class. The other students liked both the girls and were forced to choose between them as neither wanted to talk to the other's friends. 

The teacher realised that she needed to step in immediately before the negativity spread any further. She spoke to each one, separately. Upon some persuasion, it was revealed that a disagreement in Grade VI led them to harbour antagonistic feelings for each other. After a rather lengthy conversation, this time with both of them, the teacher could settle the matter. Interestingly, by the end of the session, the girls turned out to be best of friends, just as they had been before the misunderstanding had driven a wedge between them.

Such interventions, by teachers and parents, sometimes help in fostering healthy relationships leading to a positive frame of mind among the children. It is important for us, as mentors, to bridge the gap. Students need to understand the importance of empathy and try to support their friends when required. It makes them more aware of the way they would have to cooperate with others in the future. Not only does it prepare them to work with others in a real-world, but it also transforms them into a whole new person altogether – filling their lives with hope and a warm circle of friends.

Super 7 @ Billabong High International School, Thane

- Sayantani Mukherjee, Dimple Awasthi, Ritu Chitnis, Manjusha Saji, Jyoti Ramdhave, Vijayalaxmi Ramesh & Sumati Muthukumar

David Geurin: Balancing Achievement and Agency

How do you define student achievement? Is student achievement defined by how students perform on some type of standardized assessment? When politicians, policymakers, and lots of educators too, talk about raising student achievement, it usually means raising test scores.

The problem is that test scores are a very narrow way to define student success and student achievement. That definition favours a certain type of student, magnifying a certain type of skill set while diminishing a whole range of other factors that can lead to success academically and in life.

So why is it the current definition of student achievement is always tied to how students perform on one test that happens in one moment once a year? I want to see more emphasis on student agency. I want to find ways for students to connect to what they are learning, to apply what they are learning, to do things with their learning that are making a difference. To me, when students exercise agency and demonstrate growth, that is an achievement.

When we are driven by preparing kids for a test, we may neglect to prepare them for life. I'm not saying we can't prepare kids for the test and for life, but too often I think that's exactly what's happening. The test is driving everything in some schools.

But does the learning stick? Will students remember the things they must know for the test? I really like how Will Richardson put words around this idea. He says we need to aim for learning that results in permanence. We should seek learning that has lasting value. When students have agency and ownership in learning, it's much more likely to have long term impact. When it connects to their passions and their goals, they're much more invested emotionally and intellectually.

Another question I would raise is this, does the learning shift perspective? Simply learning content and using it to answer test questions doesn't necessarily change who you are or how you see the world. And I think education should always result in more empathy and understanding. It doesn't just change what you know but helps you better understand who you are and how you can make a bigger difference.

If we want more permanence and perspective in education, we have to be willing to invest agency. We must empower students and teachers to do things that are bigger than just mastering content standards. We have encouraged creativity and connection and allow for learning that taps into strengths and passions.

So let's aim to get a better balance between achievement and agency. Achievement won't solve the world's problems unless our students learn they are powerful problem solvers. They must know first and foremost the significant agency they have to make a difference.

Originally published:
http://www.davidgeurin.com/2019/05/balancing-achievement-and-agency.html