Apr 28, 2016

School is NOT the Solution. We need to Understand the PROBLEM

My six year old son, Sid told me he did not want to go to school. Sid had been complaining about this everyday for more than year and a half. I first changed the school, then as any educated father I did what the society expects any father to do.

I tried

Explaining — Explain why going to school is important…
Inspiring — So and so went to school and look where they are now…
Reasoning — If you do not go to school then what do you think is going to happen…
Bribing — If you go to school I will buy you this…
To Guilt him — If you do not go to school, how can dad go to work?
Creating Interest — On this I thought isn’t this for the school and the teachers to do? … Nevertheless I tried my hand at this as well

Dad: So what do you want to do when you grow up?

Sid: I want to be an Iron Man

Dad: Alright, do you want to learn how Tony Stark’s dad taught him to fly?

Sid: Yes (very excited)

Dad: Get me the newspaper and I will show you how

(Dad makes a paper plane and tosses it in the air)

Dad: Showing the plane fly — See this is how Tony Stark’s dad taught him how to fly.

Sid: But it does not have boosters

Dad: Proudly thinking I had now inspired him to go to school I said, See, I told you, that is why you should go to school. To learn to build one. (I had no idea what Sid was about to say next)

Sid: They do not teach that in school.

When I reflect back at the real conversation I had with Sid a year and half ago, a few things became very clear to me.

I was doing everything to send him back to school, something clearly he did not want to.
Sid wanted to learn. He however felt that he was not being taught what interested him.
As a parent, I did not have any other choice. We created a system and said — one size fits all.

As the founder of KiDiHOU Children’s Museum, in Hyderabad, India, I was trying to understand and make sense of my experience with my son. I started to dig deeper and tried to understand the problem. In the last 42 months I and my team had the privilege of working with over 250,000 plus school children. I had the privilege of interacting with kids from various grades, kindergarten to Grade-9.

So, What is the School Problem?

Some Children clearly do not like going to school
Many Children do not clearly know why they are going to school or why they are learning what they are being taught
Parents feel children would be more productive and get formal education in school rather than staying at home and watching TV
Schools were created so parents can go to work
Society/Govt needs to provide children with skills so they can survive and contribute back, else they could be a burden to the society.
School is always conducted at a time where parental involvement is the least — Obviously the Govt wants us to work and contribute. In short they are the cheapest day cares (may be not in India :) )
Teachers are overwhelmed with their thankless and under-recognized job
Schools have become a very lucrative business. (Even many people asked me why I was not starting my own school. I felt I did not need to add another one.)
Top 3 reasons for School Dropout — Failure in Exams + Boredom + Lack of Relevance
The only recognized means of education assessment is formal academics. There is no other alternative (I am yet to find one that the society readily accepts).

One of the best things of formal education I think is that it is standardized. A school can say what the child has done in a given period of time. No other system has been ever designed to do that. Part of the reason why no other system was ever developed, we just thought we need different kinds of schools — Public Schools, Private Schools, Charter School, Govt School, Home School and now even Alt (Alternative) school. I find it ironic that even an alternative to school is called “Alt” School (great concept though, I wish they could name it something else).

In other words, how I see it is that someone has designed what they felt was the best suited healthy diet for us and our family. Yes, there are vegetarian and non-vegetarian options, but the government and a few people have decided that there are 2 options each, and by the way it is called meal only if it cooked in the cafeteria(School). There are obviously good and bad implications of the same.

School Vs Sports — The BIGGEST difference

I always observed different outcomes from children when it comes to sports vs academics . Looking closer into both aspects, I found the following observations interesting

Most sports coaching are conducted at a time, when at least one of the parent can be involved (after school and after work). Parents are more supportive and involved and play the role of a coach or mentor.
Children are always given a quantifiable target which another child of their age has achieved.
Unlike school, there is a definite difference and progress from a first ranker in sports as compared to academics (i.e. Under 13 swimming record in 2016 vs 2006 as compared to a first ranker or a first grader in 2016 vs 2006)

Parental Involvement — School Work / Homework & Sports Work

For the most part, sports work is less taxing on a parent. Parents see this as a stress buster and not a stress creator. I personally think that it is criminal to give homework to a child. I am sure a lot of parents must be having various strong opinions about my thoughts. Let us think this through.

How many would like to fill even a single paper evaluation that assesses your work for the day that needs to be submitted to the boss early next day?
What is our attitude towards helping our child with home/school work after work?

I love doing this. I am looking forward to going home and helping my child with this.
I just want to be done with this. I do not have a choice.
I can/ I wish I can afford someone to do this and I just do not want to deal with this (dirty job) when I get back home.

I am type (3) and my wife is (2). Neither of us enjoy doing this. Where do you stand on this? Now, if this is our attitude how can we inspire and excite our little aspiring achievers? In fact I know many school teachers who are in (2) or (3) category when it comes to their own children, leave alone other working parents who are not teachers. I am merely exposing the problem.

So what are the Key Elements for the solution/ alternative to School?

According to me, the system should be able to do all of the following.

Should be able to capture and quantify what a child has done
Should be able to accommodate parents at a time that is convenient to them
Should be able to allow children to pursue and learn things that they want to learn
Should be able to inspire kids
Should be relevant in today’s day and age
Should allow the child to learn at their own time and pace
Should be able to bring out the best in each child

All of this sounds very nice I am sure you would say. So, How do we solve the School Problem?

I believe the school system was designed to provide a solution to a few work going individuals about two centuries ago. Expecting the same system to solve today’s problem is unfair, I think. I do not believe it can fit for everyone.

Before I share how it can be done, I think one needs to be open for changing their old Mindset.

We are so used to charging our cell phones plugged into a socket. Unplugging and re-plugging to another socket will not change the mindset. We are merely doing the same thing in a slightly different way. What I am talking here is about charging your phone wirelessly. Not just on a little tray or in a room but in any room and in any place. That is the idea I am about to propose and I am super excited to be working on.

My Solution — Children’s Experience Labs (CELS)

There could be many solutions that can emerge once we see the problem differently. A solution that I am passionately working on and currently implementing is KiDiHOU Children’s Experience Labs tied through technology available on a pad and or a phone. Children working to build real life experience from a young age.

So, What is Work Experience?

Work Experience = Working on More Projects >> Exposes to More Challenges >> Develops More Skills >> Builds More Experience.

Children work on various projects that expose them to various challenges that develop more skills which in turn build their overall experience. End of the day, each child is given their own unique compass that identifies their own unique skills and role they played on each team thus showcasing their individuality.

I have seen a fantastic response the way children and parents are excited about it. I will for the first time now have a place, where I can now take Sid and help him build Iron Man. I am looking forward to building many such Experience Labs across the world to help children and parents find a joy in learning.

Children’s Experience Lab is not a school. It is not meant to replace one. It can however supplement / compliment, or even one day, I dream it can offer an alternative place where one can learn in a different way.