After talking to a few people we realised that in India, there's a unanimous understanding of the under-evolved, over-quantitative and rather pretentious educational boards; And yet, due to either lack of choice or sometimes general apathy, we succumb to the mindless factory supplies of 'english mediums' and console ourselves by claiming to have 'educated' our child (because that in itself is a huge social brownie point) But any parent who has ever sat with his child for homework knows what really goes on in the name of education and how absurd, meaningless and idiotic the whole scenario is.
At about the sam time, we were lucky to get an opportunity to spend some time with the children at Shreyas foundation. A most fascinating campus, large and equipped with deer, vultures, peacocks and banyan trees, the ecosystem felt like one of those gurukul systems we've so often pictured in our imagination. Right out of a storybook, almost medieval and yet so progressive.
We sat with the 9-12 year classes' co-rdinator and slowly grasped the system of their education - The 'floor learning', the assessment and feedback system, the gujarati - english medium intermix, the heavily activity based time-tables inclusive of carpentry, farming and food and nutrition. It was all new, exciting and mostly inspiring, like a wishful discovery. They were warm and inviting and kind enough to let us spend a few days with the children over the course of the week.