Arthur Foot Academy - A matter of sunshine on a rainy day

In the midst of heavy rains in Uttarakhand, a courageous person who drove from Dehradun to Arthur Foot Academy came along. As you enter the roads leading to the school, you're surrounded by tall trees, low trees, and other vegetation. I was happily welcomed by Ms. Minakshi Prasad and Reena, the Principal at Arthur Foot Academy. They both took me around the school to meet all the young teachers, some of whom have been with them for many years and some who have recently joined. 

Meeting all these teachers reminded me that there is a lot of joy and hope when some people choose to teach and are concerned about a child's learning. Ms. Minakshi, Ms. Reena, and I believe that all the teachers at the Academy are eager to learn and improve. They were sharing their classroom challenges with a lot of openness. Math teacher Mr. Sushil was discussing the benefits of learning by playing, and if there is even one person in the school who believes there is a way to learn like that, half our work is done. 

We discussed how, in the coming weeks, we can come together on Zoom to read and uplift ourselves as teachers, bringing the same joy to our classrooms for children. Interestingly, children with even a few chairs in a school were so hungry for learning. They had some beautiful posters up on the wall. 

Arthur Foot Academy has a significant opportunity ahead, and the time is ripe to empower teachers through collaborative learning, reading, discussion, reflection, and sharing. There is so much power in a classroom, between the space of a student and a teacher, for both. 

- Neelashi Mangal, Program and Training Lead with the Learning Forward India Foundation, you may email her at NM@LearningForward.org.in

Experience the Joy Of Learning from your home

Learning Forward India Professional Learning Program (PLP)

PLP1 The Joy Of Learning

We live in a society consumed by materialism and the desire for more. Does this mean our next generation of children will grow up being literate and numerate greedy consumers whose lives are judged by the size of their houses and the latest model BMW on the drive? Or can our society, along with the desire of educators, teach our children the values they need to take responsibility for living and learning? It's simple; the children are our future, it's our moral duty in schools to provide a Values-Based curriculum.

The future of education will be built on immutable values alone. 

Appreciation, Caring, Co-operation, Courage, Freedom, Friendship, Happiness, Honesty, Hope, Humility, Love, Patience, Peace, Quality, Respect, Responsibility, Simplicity, Thoughtfulness, Tolerance, Trust, Understanding & Unity.

The Joy Of Learning (JOL) explores twenty-two values that can be taught through schools. This program will inspire you by using examples of where the costs are already being used by children and adults in schools and share practical tools to stimulate discussion and philosophical debate. It will also help people to take stock of their values and how they wish to lead their life. On successful completion, the individuals receive a certificate of participation.

The Joy Of Learning (11 Sessions) The teachers collaborate and work in groups to explore the 22 values and discover how the values help in the personal and social development of an individual. The benefits come alive at their school and enhance learning at the classroom level.

JOL is an extensive and profound learning experience that immerses members in a model of inquiry and problem-based learning. Staff members work collaboratively to gain knowledge to solve significant student learning problems in their schools. We seek to understand individual members' needs and then assist them in meeting objectives through a collaborative learning environment and with the support of experienced coaches.

Outcome and Certification: The educators are recognised for their effort with a Certificate Of Appreciation for every level of the Progam, a Gold Badge is awarded on completion of the three levels.

The PLP offers a great challenge and rewards the educators for the extra effort. The Certificates are awarded at the Graduation Ceremony/Annual Day of the school.

Register for the April 2020 Cohort
Experience the Joy Of Learning at Rs. 1100.00 (Rupees Eleven Hundred) only, delivered exclusively as an eLearning Program using ZOOM (Video Conferencing) & Telegram Messenger.