Shikshantar’s Hacking the Education System Fellowship
In terms of future, no one has any idea of how it will turn out to be. Despite of all the expertise and technology human kind has now, unpredictability about future is undeniable. Schools are supposed to prepare children to cope up with the future, a future that no one have any idea whatsoever. There are some people who use their time wisely to think and solve problems. They are the ones who contribute to shaping the future.
There is a famous story of Einstein and a child. One day Einstein was travelling in a boat and suddenly it got stuck in the muddy sand. The boat did not move an inch even he tried so much to tilt it. After 5 minutes, a small child came with a small boat in that way. He saw Einstein and the boat. After seeing the problem, he said to Einstein, “Can I help You by Bringing Bigger Boat from My home?”. Einstein replied calmly, “No, child. It is fine. a high tide is coming in sometime. I am waiting for that”. Child replied in amusement, “sir, it will take about 3-4 hours for the waves to come. What will you do till that time?”. Einstein said, “Dear child, I will use that time wisely. I will think!!”.
Do Schools Kill Creativity
In his famous talk, Sir Ken Robinson describes how schools kills creativity and why we should treat creativity with the same status as literacy. Education is about learning but no one talks about learning.
Teachers are forced to be compliant to the system and they force children to be compliant. Forced compliance starts with instructions like; “Silence”, “Raise your hand if you want to talk”, “You have to come on time or I will report to your parents”, “Do your homework or I will report to principal” etc.
Hacking the Education System Fellowship
The Emperor Has No Clothes: Hacking the Education System Fellowship in Udaipur, Rajasthan hosted by Shikshantar Andolan provide a platform for youth to hack the school system in India. Education in school is based on conformism and standardization.
Children just do clerical work in class rooms, in tuition centers and in home. Children do not have time to be curious or creative due to this struggle to achieve “A” in exam papers.
Hack Education System India
Duration: 7 weeks
Description: To conceive, design and implement a project that will help hack the existing education/factory schooling system and promote alternative pathways of self-designed learning.
Stipend: Rs.12,000 to support their living/travelling expenses (No stipend for fellows outside of India)
The Fellowship program will be scheduled as such: –
Week 1-2 – May 15-25 – Hack Camp in Udaipur: Meet all the fellows and engage in intense co-creation and design thinking process. Work on collective hacks.
Weeks 3-6 – Away on your own time: Work on collective hacks. Prototype your project. You are expected to engage in weekly check-in calls with your mentor and Sangha fellows.
Week 7 – June 25-July 1 – Hack Camp in Udaipur: Celebration, sharing experiences and discuss how to take their prototypes forward
