Social Sciences Education and the Value Problem

In my first post, we explored “What kind of Social Sciences is worth teaching.” 
Part 1 of this blog explored the broad 'Aims of History and Social Sciences Education'. In this part, we will explore the ‘value problem’ in these disciplines.

The teaching of the social sciences to school children is complicated by what may be called the ‘value problem’ in these disciplines. The separation of value judgment from judgment of reality - or ‘ought’ questions from ‘is’ questions - does not pose the same kind of challenges in the natural

sciences that it does in the social sciences.

There are, of course, certain basic values embodied in the Constitution of India. The nature and significance of those values should be explained to students and they should be encouraged by their teachers to adopt them. But the Constitution sets down its basic values in very broad and general terms. It is when we come to details and specifics that the real disagreements come to the surface. As they say, the devil is in the detail.

Should we strive to elaborate one single set of values within the framework of the Constitution for the education of all school students throughout the country? I am not sure as to how far we can or should go in that direction without violating the basic principle of liberal democracy which is the tolerance of a diversity of values, including a diversity of conceptions of the good society. If there is one thing that we ought to be proud of and cherish in the Indian tradition is its tolerance of the diversity of ways of life among the people of the country. Our zeal for the promotion of ‘value-based education’ through the social sciences should not undermine that spirit.

Finally, if we believe that diversity is our greatest treasure, we must encourage our students to take a serious interest in this diversity and to value it. Here the most significant contribution of the social sciences to the education for citizenship will be to encourage our students to cultivate an enquiring attitude towards their own ways of life and a tolerant one towards other ways of life.

In 1964, the Kothari commission said that one of the aims of teaching social (studies) science is to help students acquire certain values and attitudes which are critical for participation in the affairs of the world other than the acquisition of knowledge of the environment and understanding the human relationships. And in 2005 in its position paper on social science, the NCF said that it is important to ‘reinstate the significance of the social sciences by not only highlighting its increasing relevance for a job in the rapidly expanding service sector, but by pointing to its indispensability in laying the foundations for an analytical and creative mindset’.

Given that since the time social science has been brought into the mainstream in the context of education in modern India, all the committees have said the ‘right’ things, the discipline is yet to get the status it deserves in the opinion of the larger society. For the larger society, social science is a non-utility subject. Therefore, there is need to drive home the point that the social sciences are essential to provide number of skills required to adjust to the globalised world, and to ‘deal with political and economic realities’. 

- The blog piece has been written by Ms. Vasundhara, who works as the School Transformation lead at Mantra4Change. 

Inquiry Based Learning

Triggering inquiry is about learning something new, and triggering curiosity is no small feat. It takes modeling enthusiasm; and learning something new generates our own enthusiasm, even if it’s something new about the content we’ve covered for years. 

Think about it. Let’s say you’re clicking through your Twitter or Facebook feed and you stumble on a link in your content area. You realize it’s a new factoid, a new perspective on an age-old topic. Maybe it’s a new TEDTalk or graph with statistics, something that makes a concept more concrete. Maybe it’s an infographic or a photo, something that startles you to furrow your brow and say, “Whaaa?!”

To Read more about inquiry based learning, click here.

- The article has been originally published on edutopia.org and has been authored by Heather Wolpert-Gawron (https://www.edutopia.org/users/heather-wolpert-gawron).

My tryst with Mantra4Change: A JOURNEY TO REMEMBER

- The blog piece has been written by Ms. Soundarya Ganesan, who worked as an intern at Mantra4Change. She is in 2nd year of her graduation at SRCC, Delhi. Her energy and enthusiasm continue to inspire us.

It all started with the movie ‘Homeless to Harvard.’ The movie took a toll on me. Until then, I never really thanked God for His blessings rather I would always badger him to give me good grades, to bless me and my family with good health and we all know there is no saturation point for human needs. This movie made me recount all the bountiful blessings God had showered upon me. He blessed me with good parents, good family, good teachers, good friends and a good life altogether. I realized there are people who weren’t as privileged as me.  I was filled with remorse and I experienced a pang of guilt for always badgering the Almighty with my list of never ending needs. I realized I should do something, something that would make up for all the trouble I caused to the Good Lord. I couldn’t really figure out what I could do. I kept asking myself ‘what can you do’.

One day, it dawned on me that I could teach the kids –the kids who couldn’t afford good education like I do. As a kid I used to love playing ‘teacher-teacher’ with my flat mates. Never ever had I thought I’d be teacher, teaching kids for real in the future. I spoke to my acquaintances in Chennai and Bangalore; and finally one of my good friends in Bangalore told me about Mantra4Change. I approached them and after a few formalities I was in. I was totally happy.  It was amazing to know about Mantra4Change, its journey and its mission. Before formally starting my internship, I tried my hand in crowd source funding to contribute to their existing campaign. I was really excited and reached out to my friends, family etc. for help. The best part was that a lot of anonymous donors from different parts of the world donated to the cause and they encouraged me so much. I was enthralled. Thanks to all the donors once again!J For once, I really felt good about my own self.  

Once I was done with all my academic commitments at Delhi, I flew to Bangalore. I met the entire team at Mantra4Change and also got to spend a day with them. On my first day, I visited two of their partner schools- one Govt.-run, Urdu-medium school and one low-fee private school located in the slum. I encountered something that we all heard and read on the news: All the students in the Government-run school were first generation learners and most of their parents were daily-wage workers. I got an opportunity to talk to the teachers and they were very thankful to Mantra and team for bringing a change in the mindset of the people in the community and making them understand the significance of education.

The visit to the private school helped me witness the functional and infrastructural change brought by Mantra and team. I was taken aback by all the efforts taken by Mantra and its team. The next day, I visited my placement school which Mantra4Change had started working with just 2 months ago. From my interaction with kids, I figured out that they were really poor in English and they were really scared to hold a conversation in English. I started with the basics in English Grammar for all the children regardless of their standard. Initially, being in classroom with 40 kids, I felt like a rudderless ship tossed in every direction and my self-confidence started to ebb away. But the team at Mantra gave me continuous support and motivated me to keep working hard. Gradually, children started opening up to me. They were enthusiastic and receptive. Whenever they had free periods or when the respective subject teachers weren’t there in class, they would ask me to conduct activities for them. They approached me with a lot of doubts / queries. I was really happy with the progress I witnessed. By the end of my 30-day tenure, I made sure the children were confident in their basics and all the lessons I taught them.

I was in tears- happy tears of course- when my children presented me a “Thank you” card on my last day with them. I had developed a saccharine bond with the kids and it was very hard for me to bid farewell to those ever charming and budding faces. It was a great learning experience for me. I never thought I could be a teacher and I think I’ve done justice as a teacher. I’m very thankful to Mantra4Change for giving me this wonderful opportunity and for having been immensely encouraging and supportive. Looking forward to work with you guys again J

Opening a world full of possibilities on Karnataka Rajyotsava

To anyone staying in Karnataka, November 1^st is a day of celebration. It’s Karnataka Rayotsava, i.e. Karnataka Formation Day.

On November 1st 2016, the same fervour could be felt at one of our partner schools. The crisp morning air, the children lined up with almost military precision and the stage all set for the day added to the anticipation and excitement that was palpable in the air. There were a line of speakers and along the sides, there were children dressed in traditional clothes ready to perform the traditional art forms. Amongst all this, there was a considerably large group comprising of parents and children crowded around team Mantra4Change and a couple of other people, clutching forms and pens. This was the day, chosen to provide scholarships to the students who excelled in their studies, but did not have the financial backing to continue their higher secondary schooling.  

Mantra4Change has found a wonderful partner in Vidya Poshak, an organisation that believes that poverty should not be a barrier to education. They provide 5-year scholarship and mentorship support to selected students till completion of their graduation. Their process of choosing students for scholarship has been meticulously designed and is two-fold.

Once the potential candidates were chosen by Mantra4Change based on merit, the process started off with a written test to assess the academic prowess that the children possessed. This was followed by a home visit to ensure that the scholarship went to financially disadvantaged families who were committed to let their children study further.

This scholarship support by Vidya Poshak plays a major role by enabling our children to pursue their studies to create a better future for themselves. Thus, this Karnataka Rayotsava marked the beginning of a partnership that completes the cycle of our quest for providing quality education to children irrespective of their socio-economic background.

This year, 38 of our students across three of our partner schools got the scholarship support. The school had graciously invited students from other partner schools of ours and they set aside a slot just to give away the scholarships amidst the celebrations, inspiring more students to work harder because they had to know that there is always help for those who work sincerely.

As the state celebrated its formation day, the kids celebrated a new world full of interesting possibilities for their future and we were the happy spectators.

- The blog piece has been written by Ms. Amrutha Krishnan, who works as the School Transformation lead at Mantra4Change.

Lighting up the temple of knowledge on Diwali

Diwali is the celebration of good over evil. But it is more popularly the festival of joy and that of light. It is symbolic of fighting off darkness. What could be a better way to celebrate Diwali than by building a temple of knowledge that could fight off the darkness of ignorance and illiteracy..! What could be a better way to celebrate Diwali than by creating a space for the tiny human beings- the students of the Kindergarten section- of my school to learn by exploring in an 'adapted' Montessori Method..! 

This beautiful space would have only remained a dream, but for the Principal of the school. The Principal's belief in the changes that Mantra had been bringing into the school and his trust on the process of transformation made this possible. This huge shift of mindset from garnering the little profits earned from the school to spending most of it on development of school is very heart-warming and is an achievement worth being proud of.

Read our previous blog on how we introduced the ‘adapted’ Montessori to our pre-primary classrooms.  

Gradually as the principal of the school started realising how kids were excited about this new way of learning and how this is benefiting them, he went out of his way to ensure that his kids get the best environment he could offer. The dirty-looking corner that used to store all the junk and discarded materials suddenly got transformed into a shining and bright ‘Activity Room’.  At Mantra, we reached out to our partner, Let's Do Some Good Foundation (LDSG) for monetary support. They contributed part of the funds for building this space, and so did the extremely invested principal of the school. Now that is how magic happens..!  

Usually these kids in the pre-primary section are live wires, full of so much energy that they can't always seem to contain it. Turns out that the activity space is their Zen-zone, a place as envisioned by Maria Montessori; a place where the child is a dedicated worker and explorer.

Every day, we (adults) stand around the kids watching them in awe as they labour in pure bliss and concentration. The teachers look on proudly at the children and why should they not. It is their handiwork, indeed. They imbibed the training, meticulously implemented it and even created a few activities to add on to the already existing Montessori activities. Such was the dedication of the staff and the management of the school.

Nobody could have come up with a better way to celebrate Diwali. It was the day a dump yard in the school got transformed into a beautiful activity space for children.

- The blog piece has been written by Ms. Amrutha Krishnan, who works as the School Transformation lead at Mantra4Change.

Samarasya - The Knowledge Fair

Someone once said –“A mind when stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions.”

One of Mantra’s partner schools took the words literally.  Apart from the usual, they decided to celebrate Children’s day in a fashion that gave children the opportunity to expand not only theirs, but others’ mental horizons. They decided to host “Samarasya” – a knowledge fair – for the children (and parents), by the children.

Students from grades 5^th to 10^th showcased their individual ideas through projects in streams of Science, Math, Social Sciences, English, Hindi and Kannada. They put up an elaborate showcase of three hundred projects. Anyone who walked in was awed by the sheer variety and concepts of the projects put up. From Robotics to Magic of Cards to Kuvempu to drip Irrigation models – they had it all! Along with these, children gave talk shows on Formation of the Solar System and on The Seven Wonders of the World.  This one beat all records known to the region. Receiving a heavy foot fall, the show went “house full” from 10am in the morning to 4pm in the evening. It almost challenged Bahubali’s popularity! In a different location, they also held talks that showcased their primary research in geography (courtesy TIGS-IGYS 2016), their views on Education and the lives of the Jnanapeetha Prashasthi.

When not presenting projects, many students were found volunteering and just helping out. From organizing to directing visitors, controlling the queues and giving tickets for the house full talk show, assisting the presenting friends, they did it all. Teachers witnessed a lot of student leadership at play. This made them truly proud.

The event received a heavy footfall of the students and teachers of neighboring institutions and parents alike. Students were found to steal time and take rounds to see their peers’ works. Each and every visitor was enthralled by the projects; many teachers also commented how they were pleasantly surprised by their own child's capabilities.   

At this school, 14^th November 2016 was one of those days that will be remembered for a while. It was a children’s day where each child literally shone like a star. This was a day for the children and by the children. 

- The blog piece has been written by Ms. Shikha Bohra, who works as the School Transformation lead at Mantra4Change. 

A Step in the right direction: Giving new meaning to Women empowerment

As I narrate this, I do so with pride: Proud at having been able to witness the events of change unfold before me. I had always imagined "important meetings" to take place in high profile offices. After having been a part of the social sector, I have realised that it is the willingness to work and an undefeatable sense of purpose that is essential; and an "important meeting" can take place in a room, a shack or as in this case, in a government school.

At MANTRA, one of the key elements of our project is working on enabling community. To this end, we keep exploring meaningful partnerships that can bring (economic) opportunities to the doorsteps of these people in the community. Today’s is a story from one of such communities that we work very closely with.

It is a community like any other low-income community that has blended so seamlessly with the more affluent part of the city that nobody gives a second thought about its being, purpose or reason. The agenda for the day's meeting was to create self sufficiency amongst the women in the community. These women work at the local ‘beedi’-rolling and ‘agarbathi’-making factories in order to supplement the meagre income that their husbands bring. The wages that the men in the family receive often reduces before they reach home due to many habits, they have inculcated over the years. 
Along with Mantra came the rather influential benefactor of the community and Mr. Venkat Raman Iyer and the other people in attendance were the women in the community. Having turned myself into the photographer for the event, I happened to notice how raptly everybody listened to Mr. Iyer as he spoke of how in a similar community, he along with the women in the community formed a self- sustaining group. They make cloth bags that are sold to nearby shops. While the women earn some amount of financial independence, an environment-friendly alternative is being provided. What a brilliant example of killing two birds with one stone..! Thus, the meeting set the wheels of change in motion.

About a week later, I visited the community in Koramangala with my colleague, Pallav and the ladies from our community. We met the group of ladies who successfully run the cloth bag enterprise. As we entered the house of the 'aunty' who manages the entire process, we witnessed piles of cloth bags and cloth material, covering every inch of the floor. We seated ourselves on one of those piles and 'aunty' dove straight into business. She opened by explaining different kinds of materials used for making the bags and followed it up by demonstrating how to measure and cut each kind of material. Once she felt that sufficient practice time had been provided to the ‘visiting’ ladies, she moved on to explaining how to maintain and tally accounts effectively. It was impressive to watch how she articulated her experiences as manager and shared them with the audience. She went onto say that it is imperative that the accounts manager make each tailor sign in a separate book mentioning the number of bags submitted, once they have been counted in front of the tailor, in order to avoid misunderstandings later on. She then let the ladies use the sewing machine in her house, so that each of them can practice sewing a bag. As the machine whirred on and each lady got to work, they started sharing their experiences in their community. They disclosed that they don't feel valued and often are at a disadvantage of being a woman. This meant that they don't get paid regularly for the work they do. The work being rolling 'beedis' and 'agarbathis' in the nearby factory.

As they each flourished a cloth bag proudly, I overheard one of the ladies, Gulnaz promise Pallav that she will stand by us for the good of the people.

As I took leave of the group, I walked away light-hearted, yet excited.

- The blog piece has been written by Ms. Amrutha Krishnan, who works as the School Transformation lead at Mantra4Change.