tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87381138219962405412024-02-18T22:30:00.429-08:00EdoocationA page in the life of a "Teach For India" Fellow.Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-50610584126083249142010-11-15T02:20:00.000-08:002010-11-15T02:44:21.872-08:00Unveiling the Treasure<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Giving tells the Universe that you believe you are provided for. For even as you empty your purse, you fear not. The act alone is a demonstration of faith that you will remain whole, that your coffers will be replenished, and that love is what matters most. And for whomsoever believes these things to be true, it shall become their reality, and abundance shall be showered upon them unceasingly, as if the heavens had opened up</b>. – M. Dooley</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After a year into the Teach For India Fellowship I felt as if now I knew what giving was – I had left a lucrative job offer to teach kids in under-resourced communities, I had successfully led 37 under-resourced kids who were more than 3.5 grade levels behind to achieve new horizons, I had undergone a myriad of experiences from making 300+ people “Come Alive” to shadowing a rag-picker and lived his life for a day in a community of daily wage earners in an Ahmedabad slum. Additionally, I felt an immense amount of joy and satisfaction that I had sensitized numerous individuals to the needs of education equity in this country. Little did I know that my inner transformation had just begun … the road ahead was to unveil a treasure – a hidden conviction that love has no boundaries, was laid bare. And with that treasure came a transcendental epiphany where the “I” dissolved completely to show that “I” am simply so abundant.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I made some hard choices this year. After immense amount of reflection, I decided to do things “unusually”. The proposition made my mentor, Rajshree Doshi was an intriguing – she suggested that to learn the most out of it, I should use the upcoming year as a means to challenge myself. The way to challenge myself she said was to take on approaches, roles and responsibilities that are contrary to my normal disposition. If in a situation I am used to talking, I should keep silent. If I am the first proactive person to jump in with a suggestion, then I should hold back. If I take on leadership roles, then I should immerse myself as a team player. If my constitution led me to be at the center of things providing vision and direction, then I should focus on communities and grassroot reality. If I shoot out a list of 20 things to change, to lie low and understand the purpose behind decision-making. If in any situation I criticized and pushed for improvement, then I should now appreciate and only look at the positive. If I held a strong face and held my conviction in face of challenges, I should show my cards on the table and openly let others know about my struggles and difficulties. In brief, she wanted me to work on becoming humble – by talking less, becoming a better listener, being a team player and focus on grassroots community transformation. This process was way more difficult than I had anticipated it to be.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The process was painful, almost self-deprecating. Often I questioned my own self-conviction. Sometimes I confronted contemptible vagaries of my nature. The decision to not being myself was suffocating, sometimes even nauseating me (figuratively). This in conjunction with an incredibly challenging working environment – unfriendly staff, unruly children, a large class and students 4 years behind their learning levels – meant I questioned my mentor’s best intentions numerous times over. But, the due-diligence to walk the unchartered territory paid huge dividends – I pushed my learning curve way beyond my expectations.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In ways more than one it helped me rediscover myself. It made me realize subtle nuances about my behaviour and my image, which I never chose to confront before. I became way more aware about my anger management. I controlled confrontations and deeply reflected on them if they would occur. I became aware of the effects of an over-bearing nature and a subtle constitution to talk too much, too often. I became a far more patient and aware of my speech – leading to more responses to situations rather than reacting to them. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Above all I confronted my fears and failures in front of people. This helped break open new ice. The most difficult of them all way to refrain from jumping into a situation and becoming the “control freak” that I tend to be. I let others take leadership roles. I purposefully avoided the limelight in team jobs – not in terms of shrugging responsibility but focusing instead on issues that were more grassroots and community oriented. This led me to observe, work with and develop programs for a section of the society that I had not focused on hitherto. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I discovered that many more individuals discovered their hidden talents and leadership qualities as they took on roles I would have jumped in to grab. They developed and blossomed in numerous ways, and watching them gave me a joy unparalleled. Amongst the communities I found an appreciation for deep relationships and discovered an “urban village” context lying in the by-lanes of Mumbai’s Metropolis. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As I gave of myself to appreciate other’s work rather than centering on obtaining the limelight I discovered a subtle difference in working towards “success” and “joy”. Through all of this my ego seemingly dissolved and sprung out a love unparalleled – one of acceptance by many, one that was abundant in its nature and form. And through that emerged answers of community empowerment and my inner transformation. The essence of joy of giving was in the act of letting go!</span></span><br />
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</span></span>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-81754889937160448822010-09-20T02:33:00.000-07:002010-09-20T02:38:13.196-07:00What after Teach For India?<p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong><br /></strong></span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>As the Fellows grapple with the question - What after TFI? Here are 87 Ideas, 87 Aspirations, One idea per Fellow. Lets figure out how to make them a reality….</strong></span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">1. Help build excellent Pre-KG and KG for government schools</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">2. A Teacher Training Institute (especially for Municipal School Teachers)</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">3. A research and department rating system for R&D groups in India. Also, a consolidated place which accesses and talks about them.</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">4. An advocacy sister group – aka Leadership for Education Equity from TFA</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">5. An online website for teacher collaboration on lesson plans – aka <a href="http://www.betterlesson.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.betterlesson.com</a></span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">6. An group that works to enable collaboration online and offline amongst all education or development sector NGOs in India</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">7. A forum which leverages technology to enable learning for under resourced children using technology – it should be attuned to needs of parents, children and teachers</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">8. A social enterprise that raises volunteers who can assist in classroom education – for TFI and then for other partner NGOs</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">9. A “TFI For Senior Citizens” – a social enterprise that is tuned to involve senior citizens in social work</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">10. A career guiding or “career coach”-ing enterprise – that uses a “robinhood” model to serve career needs of under-resourced children</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">11. Impact for India (TFI type organization for other sectors) : TFI for health, TFI for agriculture, TFI for public works, TFI for rural welfare, TFI for vocational skills, TFI for sports</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">12. Implement and experiment models for TFI for rural areas, TFI for smaller cities, TFI for third and fourth tier applicants</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">13. A grassroots level organization for “urban community building” – a scalable model for Manav Sadhana type organization</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">14. The Art of Living Rural and Tribal schools run 90+ schools in India. Introducing activity based learning and new teaching methodologies in these schools would form a great model.</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">15. Akanksha is looking to quadruple the number of schools in Mumbai and Pune – even expand nationwide in future. A great opportunity to be a school leader and build centers of excellence.</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">16. Make “One School For All” a reality nationwide – a single school that integrates children from both resourced and under-resourced communities.</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">17. Start an “Urban Ashram” like one in Pune along with a Seva Café in different cities</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">18. Make cities in India child friendly – like Riverside’s “aproach” project</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">19. Build strong alumni programs at TFI for each of “School and Teacher Leadership”, “Political and Advocacy Leadership”, “Social Entrepreneurship” or “NGO/Board Leadership”</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">20. Teach For All Leadership positions in other countries</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">21. Build technology and education collaboration in and outside TFI</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">22. Indicorps Fellowship</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">23. Bringing together various youth movements in India : Jaagore, Indicorps, Gandhi Fellows, TFI, Young Indians, Rotract/Interact</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">24. Start a Connect India LEAD+ for Indians</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">25. “Swadhyay” – spend one year travelling around India spending two months in each ashram. Or if you like in different schools around the country.</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">26. An online resource portal on ESL for Hindi speaking audience similar to khanacademy.org<strong> </strong></span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">27. Mobile education packages like MDhil has for medical use. Look up MILLEE from Carnegie Melon University.</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">28. Bring the best in education through online packages for under-resourced communities and figure out last mile delivery.</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">29. Create an “Incubator Fellowship” – a Fellowship where you can experiment to create your social experiments and see them through. A lot of collaboration opportunities provided.</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">30. Make a case for and start high quality charter schools in India – KIPP for India</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">31. Take a year off to nurture and grow your passions. For me Travel, Pottery, Archery, Sanskrit, Drums, Books, Blog and More Travel. You pick yours!</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">32. Start Indian version of “The New Teacher’s Project” (TNTP)</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">33. Travel the world for a year to study youth programs and movements. Connect. Study. Research. Learn.</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">34. School Coach or Consulting to develop new schools or improve schools</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">35. Political involvement group for youth in India - TFI for Politics, GYIPS</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">36. Child spaces for disabled children</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">37. An excellent school where children with learning disabilities are integrated</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">38. A leadership Institute (College) for Youth - aka African Leadership Institute.</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">39. Big Brother Big Sister mentoring program in India</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">40. Habitat For Humanity – housing for under-resourced in India</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">41. Special Olympics – sports for differentially-abled children in India</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">42. Reach out Mumbai! – a movement where citizens volunteer once a month with different NGOs or organizations</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">43. Capital Area Food Bank in India – collecting food and distributing to needy across the country</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">44. Goodwill stores in India – donate items whose proceeds are used to help under-resourced communities</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">45. An online website that enables one single point application for Indian students to get Scholarships for study abroad</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">46. Internships for people coming from abroad. Internships for people in India with a focus on development sector.</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">47. A venture capital fund: Education Reform Venture Fund aka NewSchools Venture Fund</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">48. Ed Week or “Teacher Magazine” like magazine – education magazine</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">49. Hippocampus (Bangalore) and Early Childhood Center (Delhi) like children library or reading room chain. Also, see Rooms To Read.</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">50. Education Week like Online ed daily (similar to 48 but different)</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">51. Alternative Education and Home Schooling - investing in Indian context</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">52. Kumon Publishing type books but with Indian context</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">53. Recipe For Reading and Indian Phonics books. Even franchise phonics classes all over the country.</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">54. "Holistic" activity or entertainment centers for Art, Drama, Craft, Sports and Dance – where resourced and under resourced kids come together in integration</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">55. Summer Indoor and Outdoor Activity Camps for children (esp underresourced ones)</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">56. TED-EdxIndia - TED type talks specific to Indian Education</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">57. Ed Venture Lab - tie up with IIMs or SP Jain type institute to form India's first lab focused on Educational Ventures</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">58. Ed Reform and Enterpreneurship Competition - an autonomous body that holds a Non-profit and For Profit Business Plan competition in ed-reform and edu-preneurship</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">59. Creative recreational and fun spaces - can we create creative spaces where children in the city can come spend “down” time?</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">60. A social networking site for all Teach For All Fellows - a “Facebook” only for TFAll</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">61. Blogging for TFI Fellows aka <a href="http://www.teachforus.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.teachforus.org</a></span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">62. Enabling a strong social networking presence for Teach For India</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">63. Fellowship – Piramal Fellowship for Sustainable Businesses</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">64. Fellowship – Gandhi Fellowship</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">65. Fellowship – Tony Blair Faith’s Fellowship</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">66. Fellowship – Ashoka Fellowship</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">67. Fellowship – Atlas Corps Fellowship</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">68. Start a “White House” Fellowship program for Indian Government</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">69. School or Teacher Leadership Partners – Riverside, Muktangan, Shishuvan, Akanksha</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">70. Improve Education Initiative’s standards and assessments (now that you have worked with them night and day!)</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">71. Start an EI type assessment testing body. Or join other options - Indus, EI, EQFI</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">72. Study different schools in India with a specific culture – start a new school</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">73. Travel around the world to learn about new schools. Identify the charter school movement in the US and other countries – start a charter school movement in India</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">74. Travel to Finland which is known for its education all over the world. Identify best practices and port them to India.</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">75. Find a community idea – and apply for Comminteers Fellowship</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">76. Work as a consultant with the Central Government – now we know one young Indian working for HRD and one for Women and Children’s Department. It’s possible!</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">77. Work as an executive assistant or in the team of a young/progressive politician – Sachin Pilot, Naveen Jindal, Rahul Gandhi, or others</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">78. A “Heal For India” – TFI type Fellowship to improve municipal hospitals. Or medical options for the under-resourced communities, there is a dire need for affordable health care.</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">79. “Traditional” Corporate options – Investment Banking, Consulting, Law, HR, Banking, Engineering, Sales and Marketing.</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">80. CSR groups in a corporate or foundations or charities. For engineers – Google, Microsoft, Intel, and many other big companies have “social” or “development” projects.</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">81. Pursue education in the field of your choice – education, medical, business, policy, law, design and engineering. If possible pursue cross-specializations.</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">82. Scholarships and Fellowships for Education Abroad – Fullbright Scholarship, Reliance Dhirubhai Fellowship for Stanford, Berkeley MBA Scholarships for Social/Development Sector, amongst many others.</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">83. Set up or grow philanthropic foundations in India – like Sloan Foundation, Gates Foundation, Dell Foundation</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">84. Make films and documentaries especially on education related topics in India – like Waiting For Superman, 21st Century Initiative by New Learning Institute</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">85. Build national institutes like NSF. Or setup an independent body that monitors R&D labs in all fields in India., publishes about them and gives them a rating.</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">86. The RTE mandates that every school should have 25% from under-resourced communities. Consult with good schools to help them setup this integration successfully.</span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p><p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">87. Set up an International Institute for Professional Teachers – a world-wide body of professional teachers with centers all around the world. The idea is to champion the cause of teachers and their issues by collaborating with people from round the world.</span></p>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-63653967030860732312010-07-30T14:15:00.000-07:002010-07-30T14:37:44.043-07:00Youth can change the future of education in India <meta name="Title" content=""> <meta name="Keywords" content=""> <meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"> <meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 2008"> <meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 2008"> <link rel="File-List" href="file://localhost/Users/madstheworld/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0/clip_filelist.xml"> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:documentproperties> <o:template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:revision>0</o:Revision> <o:totaltime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:pages>1</o:Pages> <o:words>1090</o:Words> <o:characters>6216</o:Characters> <o:company>Self</o:Company> <o:lines>51</o:Lines> <o:paragraphs>12</o:Paragraphs> <o:characterswithspaces>7633</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:drawinggridhorizontalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:drawinggridverticalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:displayhorizontaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:displayverticaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:dontautofitconstrainedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Verdana; panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:595.0pt 842.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >Aarti Mohan, the Chief Editor of "The Alternative" published some of my thoughts on ending education inequity in India - <a href="http://thealternative.in/articles/youth-can-change-the-future-of-education-in-india"><span style="color:#000000;">The Alternative - Read.Be.</span></a> </span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >With sincere thanks to "The Alternative" for publishing my interview, I am reproducing the text as is...<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >
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<br /></span><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:11pt;" >"Youth can change the future of education in India"</span></b><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" > </span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >Aarti Mohan, 29 Jul 2010</span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >Education in India has recently been a much discussed subject. RTE and related developments have only highlighted the lacunae and loopholes in the system. What are the core issues we are looking at?</span></b><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >So far we have only been focusing on inputs. The RTE Act itself is centered around inputs like infrastructure, number of teachers, mid-day meals and several other enablers to get children to come to school. Earlier, the biggest challenge was infrastructure. That has been addressed partially. Then enrollment became a huge matter of concern: schools were functioning, but the children were all outside. Giving due credit to schemes like SSA, enrollment is now more than 90%. </span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >It is hence time we started talking about </span><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >outcomes.</span></b><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" > Are the students learning well? Are we effectively assessing the impact of education? My belief is that if we focus on the outcomes, inputs have to and will follow.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >
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<br /></span><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >Do Government schools have the wherewithal to deliver quality education? </span></b><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >We will just have to force that. Though it is definitely not the same, I would take the example of DoorDarshan to illustrate my point. At one point of time, DoorDarshan ruled. With the entry of satellite television, they got relegated to the bottom rung. I know a lot of us don’t, but if you catch the occasional program on DD, you will notice that they have worked a lot on the viewer experience. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;">
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<br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >With the entry of high quality options and alternatives, they have been forced to look within and improve their programs.</span></b><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" > The same is starting to happen in Govt. schools. </span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >Govt. schools need a huge amount of qualitative input in order to get children to stay on in school, isn’t it?</span></b><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >I believe in the concept of building</span><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" > model classrooms</span></b><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" > as I have seen it happen. Put some of the country’s youngest and brightest minds to the task. Let them come up with ideas, test it out on the children, show results and identify best practices. Transformation has to occur inside the school with the change agent being the classroom itself. </span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >Second,</span><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" > focus on the Principals and the teachers</span></b><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >. We are a country where we invest poorly in the professional development of the teachers and school leaders. An education program to train school administrators doesn’t even exist. That’s where we need to start to build capacity. Transform a teacher, and you set up a model classroom. Transform the Principal, and you can set up a whole model school!
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<br /><!--[endif]--></span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >Next, </span><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >make education so interesting</span></b><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" > that the child would hate to leave the classroom. I have had what the authorities would call the “slowest learners” pick up and speak English in a matter of 1 year. Initially, children had to be dragged into classrooms. Today, my kids love to come to school, they all sit silently and listen in the classes. The process of change is painful and long drawn, but once it starts to happen, everybody transforms – from the Principal to the peon. </span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p>
<br /></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >A lot of models are very effective when applied to 100 children, but fail when applied to 100,000. How is this concept of model classrooms going to scale?</span></b><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p>
<br /></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >As we speak, “all” the NGOs working on education in Mumbai are partnering with the MGCM in order to improve the lot of Govt. schools. None of us in the development sector have the kind of finances or scale to make education happen for India, only the Govt. does. </span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >Youth across the country need to be involved in order to bring in long term change. Hold forums, galvanize people. We need to spend time empowering communities so that they can then become agents of change in their localities. This may sound idealistic, but so did people say of Gandhiji. We at TFI have aptly named our movement to end education inequity as India's second freedom struggle.
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<br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >You talked about gathering some of the brightest minds. How? What will get them to believe in the vision and work for education in India?</span></b><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >2000 people applied to the Teach For India program in the first year - some of the best employees at corporates, investment bankers, top rankers at educational institutes – they all applied for an opportunity to teach in a low income school for 2 years, at a very modest salary. In a flourishing capitalist economy, that says a lot about how the youth of today think. </span><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >I believe that the yearning to bring in change has taken precedence over huge pay packets.</span></b><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" > Youth from all over the world are applying for intensive programs like the Gandhi Fellowships and Indicorps. </span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >
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<br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >How do you see this whole partnering with the Govt. machinery working out?</span></b><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >From my experience with TFI and how we are now working with the Corporation, I have a few suggestions. </span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >1. </span><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >Assessment</span></b><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >. We can train the teachers on assessment techniques. Today, the education system says “a child in 3rd Std should read this book”. What if the child cannot even read or write simple words? Give the teacher the freedom to teach 1st Std in 3rd Std. Measure progress regularly.</span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >2. </span><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >Incentives</span></b><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >. May sound controversial, but let us say the Govt. gave parents a voucher of Rs. 5000 for your school. It is now upto you to assess gaps and use the money to get people from outside your school to address it. People can help on various counts – from helping teachers prepare progress reports to recruiting teachers, even the Principal. The school is held accountable for the "right" results.</span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >3. </span><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >Kindergarten</span></b><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >. An important part that has been completely left out of the RTE. Help the Govt. start and support pre-schools.</span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >4. </span><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >Reflections.</span></b><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" > Train the teachers to be reflect in school – let them watch other teachers teach. Let them reflect on the problems at the end of every day. It’s a good way of identifying gaps and preventing “one size fits all” solutions.</span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >5. </span><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >Support.</span></b><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" > Phonics skills, building language acquisition, foundational mathematical content, making learning fun using art and drama, professional development for the teachers and quality feedback mechanisms can go a long way in developing teacher quality.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >
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<br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >Has this worked before?</span></b><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >Wendy Kopp, an International Affairs bachelor student from Princeton, proposed the idea of creating a national teachers corps in her thesis 20 years ago. Today, the organisation she created – Teach For America - attracts some of the brightest college graduates wishing to teach in the neediest communities. When Barrack Obama needed to revitalize public schools in America a few years ago, amidst all the education experts, he came to Wendy for help. </span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >TFI is a year old, and we are already collaborating with organisations like Mumbai's Sarva Shiksha Abhyan and the Mumbai Municipal Corporation. A movement of leaders from among young people who can work together to fight the education inequity is slowly getting built. </span><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >I think we are getting there, sooner than you think.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >
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<br /><!--[endif]--></span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" >Background : <i style="">Teach For India (TFI) is a movement to eliminate educational inequity and to provide an excellent education to all children. In the last year, TFI placed 87 of the best and brightest young people as full-time teachers in low-income municipal and private schools. For more details visit</i> : <i style=""><a href="http://www.teachforindia.org/"><span style="color:#000000;">http://www.teachforindia.org</span></a></i></span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-79634606281187662422010-06-27T03:33:00.000-07:002010-06-27T04:05:59.073-07:00One Goal....Waka Waka!<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">This FIFA world cup help score the biggest goal - Join the campaign for "Education For All". We are not asking for money, we just want you to add to the thousands from the world who demand that world leaders make "Education For All" a priority. Take a minute and sign up to join <a href="http://www.join1goal.org/home.php">1Goal</a> ! Waka Waka !! </span></span><br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Bk8k-Fv1ZiQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Bk8k-Fv1ZiQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-2229477753014128982010-06-15T11:27:00.000-07:002010-06-15T11:31:19.503-07:00Work hard, go far!<div id="id_4c17c5154bd9e742e90ed" class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />My dearest "Shahunagar Superstars" :: There are those who want to write you off, maybe because of assumptions they made about you or your school or your community. But every day we will prove them wrong. Together we will prove that it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about you or what you can achieve. The only thing that matter</span></span><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">s, rather, is what you think about yourself </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">and what you’re willing to do to achieve your goals. </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" >Tell me :: How hard are you willing to work, how big are you willing to dream?</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >Inspired by Michelle Obama's High School commencement address at Friendship Public Charter School, Washington DC. Read complete transcript </span><a style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;" href="http://www.examiner.com/x-19673-Michelle-Obama-Examiner%7Ey2010m6d13-Michelle-Obama--commencement-speech-at-Anacostia-Senior-High-Schools-graduation-in-Washington">here</a><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Worth a read!</span></span></span><br /></span></div>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-78757187906660162932010-06-06T20:35:00.000-07:002010-06-11T05:46:35.817-07:00Mumbai Transformation Project<span style="font-family: verdana;font-size:85%;" class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Today the dialog in India's focus on primary education has moved from enrollment to quality. The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai schools have close to 98% primary enrollment with an average student to teacher ratio of ~35. 85% of the classrooms are in "good condition" and the basic infrastructure is in place. There have been several initiatives including the Maharashtra Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and Mid-day meal program to improve the quality of school education and student experience.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div></span></span><div style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Yet, there are severe need to manage the several challenges -- at the core of all the challenges, there exists tremendous scope to improve student learning outcomes. The quality of education remains poor, substantiated by the fact that any family who can afford to pay for the child's education prefers to move the child out of the public schooling system. The foundational language and maths skills are found to be poor, which lead to high drop-out rates especially in higher classes. In-service training for teachers is limited and field coaching is non-existent.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">1400 schools. 14000 teachers. 450000 children. 8 mediums of education. The system is yearning for change! MCGM and Teach For India has launched an initiative to transform the student learning outcomes of our schools with a vision "One day all MCGM teachers will want to send their own kids to the schools they teach in".</span></span></div><div style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Teach For India will start by placing approximately 50 Fellows to teach in 15 Municipal Schools. These Fellows will work indefatigably to make their classes a "model" class in these schools. We hope to cause ripples of "change " by bringing their knowledge, skills and mindsets into the school staff rooms.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div></div><div style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span">You can stand on the side and watch us. Or you would much rather support us. Let the transformation begin. Now!</span></div></span></div>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-71794861765076332672010-04-13T22:29:00.000-07:002010-04-13T22:36:29.092-07:00An idea who's time has come....<span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><b><br />"There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come." – Victor Hugo. </b><br /><br /><br />Can you just imagine how much has changed in the education sector just in the period of one year? Let us start from a global picture and move local. </span> <span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /><br />Internationally, USA’s new progressive leadership has brought in a new renewed focus back on basic education and is bringing in sweeping policies to aid education innovation. Obama’s administration is openly addressing the needs of all sections of the education populace and focusing on bridging the apparent inequities, in a manner that none have done before.</span> <span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /><br />Globally on the Teach For All front, the network has already spread to 12 programs worldwide and there seem to be an avalanche effect since, there are already talks that we will be in 80 countries in next 5 years.</span> <span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /><br />Moving now to an India focus, there has been a spate of changes within a year. I clearly remember as the progressive Kapil Sibal was sworn in as the HRD Minister right in the middle of our Summer Institute. Kapil has kept up his word and to expectations to work incessantly for enabling a sea change in the education sector. The landmark “Right to Education” Bill brought in education as a fundamental right of every Indian. While a lot remains to be seen and done to make the bill an implementation reality, this has been a giant step in the right direction. </span> <span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /><br />Coming to our state, Maharastra has also not left itself behind. In a recent sweeping change, all the unit tests have been abolished for grades I to VIII. These tests have been replaced by inventive methods of testing student learning through regular essays, projects, quizzes and innovative methods like workshops and group activities.</span> <span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /><br />Locally, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has a new visionary leader in the Additional Municipal Commissioner, Ashish Kumar Singh. Ashish has a clear vision of transformed social change through the means of education and has thrown all is weight behind to making it a reality. He has formed a committee of diverse individuals and christened the project the “Mumbai Transformation Committee” with a vision to transform the entire 1400 municipal schools in Mumbai. And it is both a privilege and honor that Teach For India is a thought partner on this project.</span> <span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /><br />Lastly, at the start of the year, Teach For India had to encounter numerous unanswered questions – chief amongst them will this model work in India and will we be as successful in bringing our big ideas to fruition. The immensely visible success all the TFI Fellows have been able to bring about is testimonial to our commitment to change, one child at a time. The recognition we have received from all quarters of the press and media, and the amazing success we have had in recruiting and selecting the new cohort of 165 Fellows is paving a new pathway for the development sector in India. For once it seems that we may have a scalable, mass outreach education campaign with no compromises on quality.</span> <span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /><br />A lot has happened in just one year and to me it is not mere coincidence. When, so many hundreds of people are putting their positive focus and attention to a cause larger than themselves – the environment is getting motivated to support the manifestation of our thoughts and intentions. It definitely feels like the momentum is so powerful, that the idea’s time has come – education inequity needs to be addressed and the time is NOW.</span> <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSk_3yqkWvgCW9-nNP2JHansMFPDei4u2s2dqWGzxxC6uyUXE1g6G57Mb62UtRP6TXyUqGzucbaqize703MQCwnESrloA0wXU_-6BCa97LM5DKSSL1SPjH-3EAcafZnGaZ-55MTfW6wdv5/s1600/blog.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSk_3yqkWvgCW9-nNP2JHansMFPDei4u2s2dqWGzxxC6uyUXE1g6G57Mb62UtRP6TXyUqGzucbaqize703MQCwnESrloA0wXU_-6BCa97LM5DKSSL1SPjH-3EAcafZnGaZ-55MTfW6wdv5/s400/blog.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459862736559717938" /></a>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-73747772387832522552010-01-13T14:28:00.000-08:002010-01-13T20:55:16.005-08:00A message in my bottle...<span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /><a href="http://www.mid-day.com/news/2010/jan/130110-Milind-Nagda-Texas-Shindewadi-School-Nandita-Das.htm">"Swades gets real"</a></span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" > : A tag-line featured in today's "Mid-day", a daily newspaper and moreover, attributed to me. This is a surreal feeling - just a few years ago, I watched the movie "Swades" in a theatre in Texas with my mother who was visiting me then. I clearly remember being flooded with patriotism to make a difference to my country but, the idea that I would embark on a journey of service had never crossed my mind. The last few years have been a winding road outward as well as inward to live that streak of idealism - and this tag-line is the "message in a bottle" to continue making a difference, Always! </span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /></span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br />Swades Gets Real. </span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><strong>By:</strong></span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" > Alisha Coelho </span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><strong>Date:</strong></span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" > 2010-01-13 </span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /></span> <span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" > For most of us, Milind Nagda's current job would be pale in comparison to the six-figure cushy one he had with AMD.</span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /></span> <span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" > After spending six years in Texas with the processor giant, Nagda is today a full-time primary school teacher at Shindewadi Municipal School in Dadar. Nagda is just one of the fellows of NGO Teach For India's eponymous two-year fellowship programme.</span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /></span> <span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" > "The other day, a parent told me that their child was the only one who could string a sentence together in English in his housing society. I'm teaching them a life skill," said Nagda. When he started seven months ago, 72 per cent of Nagda's class couldn't pronounce three letter words, but now 93 per cent of them can read.</span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /></span> <span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" > The NGO's list of 87 fellows boasts of professionals from Godrej, Mahindra & Mahindra and ICICI. </span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /></span> <span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" > This year, they have received over 2,400 applications and expect to get over 3,000 by January 17 (last date for submission) for 150 positions.</span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /></span> <span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" > But there are challenges. "We have to train first-time teachers on dealing with regular teachers barging into their classroom or ensuring the children get enough sleep," said Shaheen Mistri, the organisation's CEO.</span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /></span> <span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" > Getting parents to let their children participate in the programme is another hurdle. Shveta Raina, who handles recruitment, said, "They're worried about what will happen to their children after the programme is over. </span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /></span> <span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" > My parents were worried too, when I left New York to join the programme, but now they see that this is opened many doors for me." </span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /></span> <span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" > The NGO hopes that its 16,400 fellows will impact 7 lakh students and 3000 schools by 2020.</span>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-2193178625082693792010-01-02T13:55:00.000-08:002010-01-02T14:06:13.166-08:00A Ray of Hope!<span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br />As we herald in a new decade, I wanted to share a fleeting moment from last year – a small fleeting moment in the history of India, but one that has the potential to be historic in its impact to the world.<br /><br /><br />To start of, I would like to go back in time to share a page from my blog from August 2009. As I was rushing through the halls of history in the "Discovery of India" exhibition, I had an epiphany -- I realized that India went through a renaissance period during the entire Independence struggle. And today there is a need for India's "second renaissance" -- a social renaissance.<br /><br /><br />There is a dire need for all the stakeholders in the country to reflect first and then act quickly. Education, employment, health and nutrition need immediate attention - through literacy, empowerment and a change in mindsets at a grassroots level. There is a need for the polity to shake off the corruption, false promises and the divisive politics and bring in fresh and new ideas as well as policies.<br /><br /><br />The statistics are alarming and the ground realities much worse. The need of the hour is to address the above issues through a change in people’s knowledge, skills and mindsets - that can be achieved through quality education for all. Only then after 10-20 years will we see a new renaissance bearing shape in India, when our children become educated citizens of tomorrow.<br /><br /><br />The Independence struggle took us over 150+ years to bear fruit and our social struggle will be no different. We - the youth of today - have to sow the seeds <span style="font-weight: bold;">NOW</span> to start rewriting India's history tomorrow.<br /><br /><br />Fast-forward to 24 Oct 2009, and today I share a story of hope. As I sit in the courtyard of the <a href="http://www.schoolriverside.com/">Riverside school </a>in Ahmedabad, I have an overwhelming feeling of optimism.<br /><br /><br />I sit here amongst diverse youth from all corners of the world; this is a confluence of 3 movements - three powerful forces of change that represent hope. It is the first meeting of the <a href="http://gandhifellowship.blogspot.com/">Gandhi Fellows</a>, <a href="http://www.teachforindia.org">Teach For India Fellows</a> and <a href="http://www.indicorps.org/">Indicorp members</a>.<br /><br /><br />As this day comes to an end, I want to let all of you know, that the wheels of change have been set in motion – that the process of changing thoughts, minds and actions of India’s populace from a grassroots level has begun. And this will become a force to reckon with in the future – indeed the second renaissance has started. If I could draw a parallel from the movement for Independence, then the first informal meeting of the Indian National Congress has just been held.<br /><br /><br />These leaders, change makers and youth represent a new India – one of transformed social change. And with this it gives hope to the future of this world.<br /><br /><br />For I believe that when we will realize this social transformation, it may catapult India to a position of being a powerful superpower. And I have hope that this country will have empathy when it deals with issues from around the world as a superpower.<br /><br /><br />It will be interesting to see how the next 50 years unfold…for in it there may be a change in this entire world: may be India will learn from its rich heritage of thousands of years, from the huge diversity and inequity it has to confront from within itself and from the mistakes of other superpowers. I believe that India as a superpower will not be as “abusive” – for a want of a better word – towards the rest of the world, the environment and to universal good as others have been.<br /><br /><br />So, as I sit in this modern India’s “Nalanda University”, I feel a desire to take this moment of optimism and put it into a time capsule to be opened after 50 years. To sit back then, reflect and be able to say – a “dream” has come true!<br /><br />Happy 2010!</span>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-60983902419183452442009-11-18T17:38:00.000-08:002009-11-18T17:58:37.390-08:00Special Jury Mention....<span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" >My class' <a href="http://edoocation.blogspot.com/2009/09/design-for-giving-2009.html">entry</a> for the <a href="http://www.designforgivingcontest.com/">Design For Giving 2009</a> contest has won a <a href="http://www.designforgivingcontest.com/designweek/default.html">Special Jury</a> Mention. This means it is in the top 25 entries amongst the 1000+ entries received from all across India. The "Superstars" did random acts of kindness for 5 weeks helping everyone in their environment and collected Rs 1650 to help handicapped children.<br /><br /><br />On Oct 1, they visited a deaf school and got to interact with these children first hand. Just by observation they learnt how </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">many difficulties the deaf children overcome and still learn. This video captures scenes from the visit. </span></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/i73bo9Wwc6A&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/i73bo9Wwc6A&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="340"></embed></object>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-14478682157759531852009-11-09T08:34:00.000-08:002009-11-09T08:38:05.041-08:00Are you ready for the challenge?<object width="425" height="344"> Second Application Deadline : Nov 22, 2009. Apply Now!<param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7Oa_6Bwlvu0&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7Oa_6Bwlvu0&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-82399567828143449722009-11-07T06:31:00.000-08:002009-11-09T08:07:54.948-08:00Up, Down, Down, Up, Down, Up, Round about<span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><b><br /><br />Up, Down:</b> I had the pleasure of being placed in an <a href="http://www.akanksha.org">Akanksha</a> school – I was really looking at this a perfect platform to make a difference, as Akanksha and TFI had such close ties. As it turned out this was the first year of Akanksha in our school, and we were confronted with a host of issues between the building authorities and our school administration: frankly, it was an overwhelming feeling. To give you an idea to the extent to which the issues had escalated, the school administration had decided that if the non-cooperation from the authorities continues, we might exit from the school. But, instead of buckling under all the pressure we decided to persevere – and it paid off. The antagonistic nature of all the skeptics were slowly won over, one person at a time. The successes of the school are sweeter today, as they have in it the changed mindsets of many who questioned our very existence.<br /><br /><b><br />Down, Up:</b> When school started, the parents were questioning. What are they learning in school – you don’t make them write anything in their books, you don’t give loads of homework and you are not strict with the children since you don’t hit them? The parents of these very children are noticing the changes by the last PTA meeting. Other members of the community are recognizing that their children are speaking in English and their behavior has changed for the better. Now, these parents are coming in and sharing these stories of change with others.<br /><br />There is a student, who left our school to join another private school after paying a sizable donation. She has been forced into a second standard classroom though she was a bright third standard student and no one around in her new school converses in English. Now, she is repenting joining the other school and misses her superstar classroom. I hope to bring her back to the superstar classroom.<br /><br /><b><br />Down, Up:</b> The enormity of the task at hand was baffling me – my kids could not read simple three letter words in English and writing was a huge struggle. The phonics program I had put in place was having immediate effect but, the weaker students were lagging behind. I was finding it difficult to take my stronger kids to the next level, while giving differentiated phonic corrections, as it required near individual attention. I really wished I had a co-teacher and my cries for a volunteer had not yielded much result from Akanksha or TFI yet. Then, I put a plan in place which I shared with my PM – I needed an array of volunteers to give individual attention to my kids, I needed a library for my children to read books from and I needed money to equip my children with workbooks or other resources, as needs came along. This wasn’t going to be easy so I talked to everyone I know, posted on Facebook, sent emails, connected with friends and relatives – but most importantly I patiently persevered.<br /><br />Then magically as a perfect well-orchestrated Teacher’s Day gift, suddenly everything seemed to fall into place. I reached the critical mass of 8 volunteers to execute the remedial program I had planned. My friend Rutuja from the US called up and said she is bringing back 50 pounds worth of donated books and $200. My dad called saying he is going to raise Rs 15000 to help obtain resources for my class. This could be more than what I could ask for in a day.<br /><br />And slowly the wheels of change began to turn. Within 2 months my children registered phenomenal progress with just 2 hours of remedial classes a week. The small groups of just 6 students were working as intended. The weaker students were getting even more individual attention and were registering the most progress. By the end of the semester, all the students were reading and writing using phonics. While, we can quote many numbers to demonstrate growth, the results were phenomenal.<br /><br />The 50 pounds of books have arrived in the classroom and are opening a whole new world for these kids. The money collected has been spent on buying workbooks to give practice to the children in all subjects. Many of the students are using this as a useful tool to guide their studies. All of a sudden, this success story has made my optimism a pragmatic reality – so much has been possible in such a short time, I cannot wait to see what will unfold over the next 1.5 years.<br /><br /><b><br />Roundabout:</b> Once the wheels turned, they gathered speed quickly. One thing after next fell into place that exposed my kids to something new. The first amongst them was the “Design For Giving” project. We started a 5 weeklong project where the kids implemented random acts of kindness everyday. This was a fantastic project for children to imbibe human-values, while simultaneously developing their spoken English, communication and group-work skills.<br /><br />While my kids were learning in the classroom, I was learning by visiting their homes and communities. The home visits exposed me to realities of our city – ones I would just drive past nonchalantly. As I interacted with the family members of the kids, my respect for them and their challenges grew. I imbibed a sense of empathy of where they come from and what mindsets they have to overcome to succeed.<br /><br />Then, my kids were exposed to a world outside India as two foreigners – Clement and Kristin – came volunteered with us. My plans of taking the kids for a field trip finally got realized when we went to Nehru Planetarium and Nehru Center “Discovery of India” exhibition. This was fantastic experiential learning for these kids. On Gandhi Jayanti, we visited a School for the Deaf and interacted with the deaf children and saw them in action while they were learning. It sensitized the children to various issues in their surroundings. The kids celebrated Navratri and Diwali in the school along with all their peers and realized that school is not just a place you come to learn but also one where you rejoice and celebrate togetherness.<br /><br /><br /><b>Up, Down, Down, Up, Down, Up, Round about. </b>The roller coaster ride that has offered much to learn from. While, we learned much from the successes, it was really the failures that taught us the most. And through this I effectively learnt to celebrate both highs and lows.</span>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-12097694676264741562009-11-05T11:33:00.000-08:002009-11-09T08:19:49.171-08:00Change is inevitable<span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br />“<b>Change is inevitable</b>” they say – but changes and so many of them, at such an outstanding pace and at such a deep-rooted level: is rather refreshing, I must say.<br /><br /><br />I remember listening to TFI Staff Member, Sandeep Rai, during Assessment day where he mentioned that the two years of the Fellowship were some of the most important years of his life. When, I joined in I remember thinking if my Fellowship would shape me in a similar manner. Here I stand just six months from the first day – vindicated from that thought!<br /><br /><br />My concepts and priorities in life have changed. Frankly, I was never overly attached to teaching, especially primary children – I was passionate about enabling change and hence, I came to Teach For India. Even just a month ago, I hoped that I could become TFI staff soon and contribute to the overall movement in “more” meaningful ways. But, today I am committed to my children. I realize they are “my” children – not because I want them, but because they want me.<br /><br /><br />My ambitions in life, all seem materialistic (and almost unnecessary) suddenly. My deep desire to climb up through the corporate ladder or to have my own startup, seem replaced with loftier, more meaningful targets. Teach For India experiences has helped solidify some of my long-term visions - working on public policy in India and to work relentlessly to setup a inter-disciplinary university of excellence in India, aka top US Universities.<br /><br /><br />I have made new goals that have an element of social enterprise in it stemming from the deep connections to my life as a teacher– taking up the <a href="http://www.indicorps.org/">Indicorps </a>or <a href="http://us.artofliving.org/content-video-yltp-introductory-video">Art of Living Rural Leadership program </a>to make a difference in Indian villages, developing the <a href="http://www.akanksha.org/socialleadershipprogram.html">social leadership program</a> to empower kids at Akanksha, setting up the first “<a href="http://www.africanleadershipacademy.org/">Indian Leadership Academy</a>” as a junior college with a focus on leadership excellence, working on strategy for “<a href="http://www.teachforindia.org">Teach For India</a>”, working to contribute to the “<a href="http://teachforallnetwork.org/">Teach For All</a>” program, working to set up a training institute through an Indian version of the “<a href="http://www.tntp.org">New Teacher’s Initiative</a>”, working to setup a collaborative platform for NGOs, Corporates and Institutions to synergize on development work or working to establish a Fellowship for people above 35 years of age.<br /><br /><br />I am also thinking of using my ancestral properties in meaningful ways – redo my home aka the <a href="http://www.theurbanashram.org">Urban Ashram</a> in Pune and setup a rural school in Botad, Gujarat where there existed a boarding school setup by my grandfather.<br /><br /><br />Above and over mere visions and goals, there is something that has stirred deep down inside. I have begun to question who I really am, what is meaningful to me and what do I stand up for. I have started washing my hands thoroughly to model it for my kids, I consciously stop myself from uttering bad words because a kid in my class thinks it is a problem for our community, I somehow can relate better with the rag picker on the road or the maid in my home or just feel blessed to have everyone and everything that I do in my life – may be I have evolved to a “better” human being in numerous immeasurable ways.</span>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-21728859542479051292009-11-01T22:24:00.000-08:002009-11-01T22:29:22.863-08:00A whole new world<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />A whole new world opened up for my kids when my friend Rutuja and her husband Vipul brought 50 pounds of books and $200 donation all the way from the US. Rutuja shares her experience....</span></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxILY8go65vjYGp_NXoSEKALeMDaHnlCxwuZUwdeIQ7gARw6CJwQ73bpoljMFYDj3RCp6nRGhJ5yE0nY1yYyWrTPmUkR0Tq2u4AfikFbOAGVMsyyE-hFHNVa0nKU5ftTq4_S8idA5vEY2m/s1600-h/Akanksha.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 114px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxILY8go65vjYGp_NXoSEKALeMDaHnlCxwuZUwdeIQ7gARw6CJwQ73bpoljMFYDj3RCp6nRGhJ5yE0nY1yYyWrTPmUkR0Tq2u4AfikFbOAGVMsyyE-hFHNVa0nKU5ftTq4_S8idA5vEY2m/s320/Akanksha.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399388794183675506" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />Nanhe Munhe bacche teri mutthi mein kya hai</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"> Mutthi mein hai takadir hamari. -An old Hindi song</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />Little kid whats in your fist?</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"> Closed fist contains my destiny.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />And the destiny for the 40 little sweethearts in Milinds class at AkanshaShindewadi municipal class is looking bright! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />It was a regular Municipal school, where the government provided aid doesn’t necessarily reach, teachers don’t care if kids show up or not, parents are too busy to earn a living and no positive role model to make a difference– not an atmosphere of love, care or hope. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"> That’s when Teach for India stepped in, adopting the school and turning it around. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />As I walked up the stairs, with my husband and cousin in tow, and waited outside Milind’s class; I could see smiling faces calling out “BhaiyyaBhaiyaa”.My first brush with TFI teaching was right then – Where are RutuDidi and VipulBhaiyya from? Darlings, do you know where USA is? And, how do you think they came here? Walk..naah, bus…maybe plane or rocket? There was excitement in the air as the class had visitors.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />The class is divided into several teams – Respect, teamwork, etc. The goal every day is to get most points for the team and get accolades from the class. These are not empty words. When a kid pushes another, the team’s points are deducted. The other kids in the team ensure that it doesn’t happen again…well, almost. And one emotion was strongly missing – Fear. They didn’t do this out of fear of getting beat up, but out of respect and love for what they are learning.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />For the hour we were there, we participated in their ‘morning meeting’ where one team presents their ‘random act of kindness’ (from helping mother to cook to helping a stray dog), heard their goal to get 80/100, to become super stars (and how they would do it by learning English and Maths), ‘rounds of applause’ when a group activity was completed successfully, collecting batteries for the deaf school kids hearing aids (its OK if they didn’t have any)…simple little tasks that build character – not a small feat considering the kids background and lack of positive influence. Are these really the same kids prattling in English when a mere 4 months ago, their teachers spoke to them only in Marathi or Hindi?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />When we finally opened the big bag of books, the kids couldn’t restrain themselves. But they waited for their team to be called out. They dug into the bag and were fascinated by the little books, books that have soft toy puppets, books that were bigger than they could hold. When their time was up, Milind asked them to go back to their desk and they did with the same child like reluctance I had when my mom asked me to keep half of that chocolate bar away …only after a Thank You hug to all of us!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />I started taking pictures and they boldly came forward with their drawing and collages and maths and writing so I could take their pictures. There were lots of “Didi, see this” and I had a hard time leaving them to meet the principal and visit other classrooms- where the same story resounds! And it was even harder when we left for the day.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />On the way back, I started reflecting on how this started for me. Vipul and I have always donated for educational causes- but our contributions were always monetary. We wanted to do more but other things in life were more interesting and this was always on a back burner. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />When I read about Milind moving back to India to teach in a school, I was impressed! Along with many others, I followed his blog and regular class updates on Facebook. Inspired by him and his class’s progress I thought the time was right to do something – I just didn’t know what or how. We exchanged several emails on how I could help – collect money, kids books, visit local schools, spread awareness, review variety of teaching aids.I could see how much TFI is vested in this – from the hours spent on Internet researching best ways to teach basic concepts to kids, hours spent on talking to the kid’s parents, hours discussing various strategies with principals and fellow TFI-ers!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />Realizing my busy work schedule, I started with small goals- collect $200 for work books and collect as many books as I can carry to India with me on the upcoming trip. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />Logos were designed, a few posted printed and put up, emails circulated. A dear friend looped in Boy Scouts for book donation drive and even volunteered to carry books to India on her visit. Other friends poured in with monetary aid. Slowly, friends and colleagues collected books from their social circle and carried bags of books to be taken back. They were used but in great condition. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />I was in my thoughts when Vipul, best summed up the experience- “They don’t just provide education, they are building character. That’s much more than one can ever ask for from their school”. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />We can stand on the side lines and watch them change one child at a time, or join them.</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> There ain’t a better time to join. Yes indeed! -</span><b style="font-family: verdana;"> Rutuja Khanzode </b></span> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></span>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-63322219818521846082009-09-20T09:36:00.000-07:002009-09-20T09:38:35.167-07:00Design For Giving 2009<span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">My 3rd standard kids from <span style="font-weight: bold;">Akanksha Shindewadi Municipal School</span> saw a video on physically handicapped children and were inspired by the fact that their challenges did not restrict them in achieving their dreams. Hence, they felt a need to help these children. We have a school for the deaf in our own building so we decided to talk to them --- the deaf school has regular donors who gives hearing aids for the children, but they don't support batteries. These are crucial for the continuous use of the hearing aids by these children; but they cannot afford the batteries so we decided to raise funds for it. My school principal liked the idea, and now the whole school is doing this from KG to 3rd.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">The way the kids raise money is the interesting part. The kids have to do a random act of kindness everyday -- they help their parents, brothers, sisters or anyone they know / don't know. The kids improve their english speaking and group interaction skills by discussing these acts of kindess in groups everyday. One of the groups get to present in front of the class. These morning meetings are the highlight of my teaching day! :)<br /><br /><br /></span></span><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZNDQT90aIus&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZNDQT90aIus&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-30337802178128551652009-09-17T09:59:00.000-07:002009-09-17T10:04:35.843-07:00Joy of Giving<span style="font-family: verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br />This note goes out to all my friends and family from around the world. India is celebrating the first ever <a href="http://www.facebook.com/note_redirect.php?note_id=134717106649&h=06519edccd288c7d54dee1a138b77d56&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.joyofgivingweek.org" target="_blank" title="http://www.joyofgivingweek.org">Joy of Giving</a> week from Sep 27 - Oct 3 2009.<br /><br /><br />Take a small step towards giving -- <span style="font-weight: bold;">support </span>me in my classroom. Hold a book donation drive for my kids and help me build a library. Else collect only $10 from 20 friends and help my kids buy workbooks. These are two easy steps but can make a world of difference to the 40 kids in my 3rd standard classroom situated in Shindewadi Municipal School, Dadar - a public school serving under-resourced communities.<br /><br /><br />If you are interested or would like more details drop me a message. Get inspired and Inspire...GIVE! :)<br /><br />Cheers!<br />A TFI Fellow 2009<br /><br /><br />From the pen of TFI CEO, Shaheen Mistry. Something she pulled together inspired by the Joy of Giving week. Its about two characters - Give and Get.<br /><br /><br /><b> What Get Said to Give and What Give Taught Get </b><br /><br /><br />So Get said to Give<br /><br />In order to live<br /><br />Just take what you can<br /><br />Be rich, dearest man.<br /><br />Learn to grab and to claw<br /><br />Always want more, more, more<br /><br />And don’t stop to think<br /><br />What your wanting is for.<br /><br />Be rich man<br /><br />Be cool<br /><br />Send your kid to a school<br /><br />Where he’ll grow up to be<br /><br />A rich Get just like me<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Then Give interrupted<br /><br />Get stop! Get please stop!<br /><br />All this talk of just making<br /><br />It up to the top<br /><br />Makes me giddy and dizzy<br /><br />And fizzy and sick<br /><br />You’re up to no good Get<br /><br />I know all your tricks<br /><br />You’re making these people<br /><br />Think love can be bought<br /><br />That happiness tickets<br /><br />With money are brought<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I know your type Get<br /><br />I used to be you<br /><br />Till I stumbled on giving<br /><br />And what it can do<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And that is the thing<br /><br />I must share here with you<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I used to feel good, Get<br /><br />Just giving away<br /><br />Some old clothes, the torn ones<br /><br />The jeans that were frayed<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Then one day, a child said<br /><br />He dreamed he could play<br /><br />With a new toy, a new toy<br /><br />Not my give-away<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />So I went out and bought, Get<br /><br />A shirt that was cool<br /><br />Thinking about<br /><br />What he’d wear after school<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And a toy car, I bought him<br /><br />Of shiny, bright blue<br /><br />I thought of what six year old<br /><br />Boys like to do<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And the smile that he gave, Get<br /><br />That smile it was real<br /><br />So real that my heart<br /><br />Didn’t know how to feel<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And the next day, while walking<br /><br />I saw a small child<br /><br />She asked for some money<br /><br />Her hair was quite wild<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And when I said no<br /><br />She pointed afar<br /><br />To a coconut vendor<br /><br />Behind all the cars<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I followed her, zig-zag<br /><br />‘Cross Mumbai’s loud street<br /><br />We sat down with coconuts<br /><br />On dusty, tar seats<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Just me and the ‘lil girl<br /><br />Sip-sipping away<br /><br />A sliver of joy<br /><br />Had slipped in my day<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And as we were chatting<br /><br />About things that she chose<br /><br />A man not too far<br /><br />Watched, then quietly rose<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And then, came towards us<br /><br />And – almost ashamed<br /><br />Gave a bright, shiny apple<br /><br />Then left as he came<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And you see, Get<br /><br />You see, Get<br /><br />When you start to give<br /><br />You pave roads for the Others<br /><br />To change how they live<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />When you first start to look, Get<br /><br />It maybe a haze<br /><br />But many are giving<br /><br />You will be amazed<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The tree, how it gives<br /><br />Of its fruit and its shade<br /><br />The carpenter gives<br /><br />Of the wood that he’s made<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The teacher, she gives<br /><br />Every student her right<br /><br />The puppy he fills<br /><br />Every heart with delight<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The farmer he gives<br /><br />Of his hard-earned new crop<br /><br />The sun gives us light<br /><br />Til the moon says to stop<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The temple and mosque<br /><br />Really say we are one<br /><br />The swing takes us high<br /><br />Up-and- down kind of fun<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And music, she gives us<br /><br />A world that is free<br /><br />And dreams, how they teach us<br /><br />Just what we can be<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />So I watched, Get, I watched<br /><br />And I learned how to give<br /><br />How to always have hope<br /><br />How to love and forgive<br /><br />To compare myself down<br /><br />To feel thanks, to want less<br /><br />Get, I learned to share more<br /><br />Get, I learned to feel blessed!<br /><br /><br /><br />My class....<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy0cLJ6YH1RPFxo39gsxC-vlrp8A8wsenOPlQWilR40gWFZeKSHHhOq6yH2A7HlqQ0y_u3rRT2duXFjTtp-MjE-7BCK9a6lfQLs4JoGMw-y9SDdo_U3trsJo2g_0CDPEKv16I5DXk3yEtm/s1600-h/picasabackground.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy0cLJ6YH1RPFxo39gsxC-vlrp8A8wsenOPlQWilR40gWFZeKSHHhOq6yH2A7HlqQ0y_u3rRT2duXFjTtp-MjE-7BCK9a6lfQLs4JoGMw-y9SDdo_U3trsJo2g_0CDPEKv16I5DXk3yEtm/s320/picasabackground.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382482570249861858" border="0" /></a>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-41197645109785799592009-09-03T10:25:00.000-07:002009-09-17T10:05:19.694-07:00Teach For India 2009<span style="font-size:100%;">Visit www.teachforindia.org to apply for 2010. </span>First deadline : Oct 11, 2009<br /><p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ></span></span></p><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eAujZ4PoFFM&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eAujZ4PoFFM&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-40712843942352189622009-08-30T01:04:00.001-07:002009-08-30T01:29:50.798-07:00A Second Renaissance<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />29 Aug 2009. I was rushing through the "Discovery of India" Exhibition at the Nehru Center, Worli, Mumbai in preparation for a field trip of my 3rd grade kids to be held next week. While walking down the halls of history in the exhibition I had an epiphany -- I realized that India went through a renaissance period during the entire Independence struggle. And today there is a need for India's "second renaissance" -- <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">a social renaissance</span>. Please don't mistake this to be a promotion of any socialistic or communistic tendencies.<br /><br /><br /></span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"> There is a dire need for all the stakeholders in the country to reflect first and then act quickly. The thoughts and minds of the majority of India's populace needs an awakening. Education, employment and health & nutrition needs immediate attention - not just by the government but through literacy, empowerment and a change in mindsets at a grassroots level. There is a need for the polity to shake off the corruption, false promises and the divisive politics and bring in fresh and new ideas as well as policies.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />The statistics are alarming and the ground realities much worse. The need of the hour is to address the above issues through a change in knowledge, skills and mindsets - which can only be achieved through quality education for all. Only then after 10-20 years will we see a new renaissance bearing shape, when our children become educated citizens of tomorrow. The Independence struggle took us over 150+ years to bear fruit and our social struggle will be no different. We - the youth of today - have to sow the seeds <span style="font-weight: bold;">NOW</span> to start rewriting India's history tomorrow.<br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Teach For India is a cohesive movement that is enabling such a change by attracting the brightest minds and equipping them to serve under-resourced communities with the best possible education. We at TFI don't believe that we have answers to all of the country's problems, but we know that we are heralding in a permanent season of social change by focusing on children's education. We aim to make a difference - <span style="font-style: italic;">one child</span> at a time, <span style="font-style: italic;">one concept</span> at a time. You can stand on the sides and watch us; but you would much rather join us. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Are you ready for the challenge?</span></span></span>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-61172865305858036562009-06-02T04:52:00.000-07:002009-06-02T05:55:16.937-07:00Jolly Good....Fellows!<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Teach For India was featured in the Times of India daily today in an artcile titled "<strong><a href="http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDA5LzA2LzAyI0FyMDA3MDA%3D">Jolly Good Fellows</a></strong>" that profiled a few Fellows and talked about our training. The journalist Pronoti Datta picked up a Fellow Madhumita's fantastic quote "<em>The power to change is so immense it gives me goosebumps</em>". </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">This quote captures the moment quite well - now we feel equipped with some strategies for teaching sucess after 4 weeks of training and there is an optimistic enthusisam that emanates from the knowledge that we will do much more in 2 years. Yet, we are so overwhelmed by quantum of change that stares straight into our face.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Ideally, I would have liked to blog my experiences everday, each experience at a time. I have been trying hard to find time between my training to blog about my experiences right from Day 0 but, a hectic schedule and multiple laptop failures has meant I have been unable to achieve that goal. I hope to do a better job in the future. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">I am savoring the moment of being featured in a national daily, so till my next post please then read the article and post comments.</span>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-65749456826199597442009-04-26T18:13:00.000-07:002009-04-26T18:21:52.661-07:00E-nterview<span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" >My answers to questions that Teach For India posed to all Fellows through an email interview recently.<br /><br /><br />a. What has inspired you to join Teach For India?<br /><br />My education has provided me the platform for the successes in my life -- by championing education, we are directly participating in a socio-economic cause that leads to the strengthening of our individuals, nation and society. Additionally, the mission, vision and rubric of the TFI movement resonate with who I am. While there are many inspirations, the key has been <span style="font-style: italic;">a desire to make a small but meaningful difference</span>.<br /><br /><br />b. How would you define the power of the Teach For India movement?<br /><br />Teach For India is a structured program that revolves around the vision of transformed social change. The power of the Teach For India movement is that it aims to brings about a lasting <span style="font-style: italic;">systemic </span>and <span style="font-style: italic;">programmatic </span>difference -- and this is very achievable as TFI puts to use our collective strengths <span style="font-weight: bold;">together </span>while maximizing the change we lead.<br /><br /><br />c. What do you hope to achieve for yourself in the next two years?<br /><br />A deep sense of satisfaction tops the list -- the heartwarming respect and thank you that you receive by working with small children puts a smile on your face which brightens up your entire day like nothing else can. Additionally, TFI is a huge opportunity to learn along the way and I hope to build on my confidence, leadership and inter-personal skills. Moreover, I will gain essential grassroot-level inputs to realize my long term career goal of being a social entrepreneur.</span>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-77413960828471556712009-04-21T02:12:00.000-07:002009-04-21T02:17:52.749-07:00TFI Intro Video<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/k7HM0LnW9pU&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/k7HM0LnW9pU&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-78786592367822498952009-04-20T19:12:00.000-07:002009-04-20T23:39:37.782-07:00Ponder along...<span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" >What? Where? Who? Which? Whom? How? When? Why?</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">....I have had to answer a flurry of questions on TFI. Let us look at some of these in brief.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >What?</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> The </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" >Teach For India</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> (TFI) Fellowship is a 2 year full-time commitment during which you will be placed in a low-income municipal or private school to Teach. You just don't go and teach - you go above and beyond by taking complete ownership of the academic achievement of all the kids in your class. For example, you taking additional sessions for those children who are facing challenges to keep up; or you visit the parents in these low-income communities and "educate" them to provide a conducive environment for their child's education. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Additionally, in the second year you need to implement a community project that uplifts the entire community from where these kids come to school. For this, you would need to partner with all the stake holders - Community leaders, Municipality, Corporates, Non-profits, NGOs, Parents, School Administration and others. We will need to put all our skills to use to bring about a change in such challenging enviornments!</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >Where?</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> As this is the inception year for the Teach For India movement, the schools are restricted to the areas of Bombay and Pune. We plan to expand to Delhi next year and then slowly grow our presence in all major cities in India. In the future, there is a definite plan to spread the outreach to rural areas in India, where the need is the most. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Personally, I have taken the option of Bombay - getting back to being home and close to family is truly the icing on the cake!</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >Who?</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> TFI is an independent non-profit organization which will be running the Fellowship program. The team is lead by Shaheen Mistry, a well-known social enterpreneur and a champion of education equity in India. TFI has strong connections to the Teach For America and Teach First (England) programs through the Teach For All association. They raise their funds from philantropic organizations, corporates, government and donations.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">In this foundation year, a 100 Fellows between the age 19 to 35 will be placed. Each of these folks are diverse and eclectic youth leaders, selectively chosen by TFI through a rigorous screening process - the acceptance ratio is around 5% (100 Acceptances : 2000 Applicants). All 100 Fellows from all across India, factually the world, will be placed in Mumbai and Pune this year.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >Which?</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> The medium of instruction is going be in English. There are plans to expand to regional language education in the future but for this pilot year, all instruction will be in English. Actually, trends show that low-income families are gravitating towards English medium public and private schools as they see it as a panacea to give their children golden opportunities.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >Whom?</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> The program will be implemented in low-income communities across Bombay and Pune. Specifically, we will be teaching standards (grades) </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >Ist</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> to the </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >Vth, this year</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">. Research shows that we can have maximum impact with younger children and hence, this choice. The plan is that TFI will grow to cover classes from </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >1st</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> to </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >10th</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> standard in the future.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >How? </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">The concept of TFI is based on "</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" >Teaching as Leadership</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">". The premise is that if you take bright, driven and proven-leaders from all spheres of life, and put them into the toughest and most-challenging teaching environments; they excel. The TFI staff works incredibly hard to provide the conducive environment to teach and bring-in change at the grassroots level. They identify the school administrations who are willing to take on a program, provide training in Teaching, provide mentors - experienced teachers - who will monitor progress/feedback and pretty much everything that goes into having a solid foundation to enable fellows to focus on enhancing the classroom experience.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >When?</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> Now! :) The first batch of TFI Fellows - the class of 2009 - starts training on 3rd May. All 100 of us will be in residential training in Pune for 5 weeks before we start our assignments around June </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >15th</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">. </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >Why? </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">In brief - a desire to make a small but meaningful difference. </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;">There are many reasons for this and there are many implications of this program - professionally, financially, emotionally and otherwise; I prefer to cover these in detail as a seperate post.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">As one of the Fellows aptly put it - "</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >Ofcourse change is good! We just don't talk about it but, we make it happen</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">." We definitely hope to make it happen...<br /></span></span>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-44865447149749152192009-04-04T10:17:00.000-07:002009-04-21T07:53:54.752-07:00One Day, All Children....<span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" class="text" >"<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come</span>." - Victor Hugo.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">The power of an idea is truly the biggest force for change. Such an idea occurred to Wendy Kopp, an undergraduate student in Princeton University. In the Spring of 1989, Wendy proposed the creation of a national teaching corps that puts the brightest graduates and young professionals in the United States and get them to teach in low-income public schools across the country.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">The goal is to leverage the altruism of the best and the brightest, putting them to work on the toughest jobs in the toughest neighborhoods of the country—and, in the process, tackle the problem of education inequity as well as help create a new generation of leaders, imbued with the spirit of sacrifice.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Over the next 19 years, Wendy has served as the CEO and has been tremendously successful in creating an exemplary organization called </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.teachforamerica.org/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Teach For America</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> (TFA). She has maneuvered the organization through extremely difficult times and has learnt a lot along the way, while perfecting the art of running an efficacious non-profit. This has earned her a lot of </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Kopp">awards</a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> and </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1733748_1733754_1736227,00.html">recognition</a><span style="font-family:verdana;">.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">By 2007, TFA was recruiting around 3500 leaders from an application pool of 45000 applicants. Their sucess was also being duplicated in United Kingdom by a similar program called </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.teachfirst.org.uk/">Teach First</a><span style="font-family:verdana;">. At the same time, a group of leaders working for education reform in India were seeking innovation solutions for our problems in education. Guided by Shaheen Mistry, CEO of </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.akanksha.org/">Akanksha Foundation</a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> this group met Wendy and were inspired to bring the Teach For program to India.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Hence in 2007, realizing that the TFA model can be extended to other countries outside of the United States, an organization called </span><a style="font-weight: bold; font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.teachforallnetwork.org/">Teach For All</a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> was formed to bring this idea and its successes to </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.teachforallnetwork.org/network_locations.html">different parts of the world</a><span style="font-family:verdana;">. In a short time, the Teach For programs are being implemented in 10 countries in the world from Lebanon to Australia.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Thanks to the vision and tenacity of leaders like Wendy and Shaheen, a new force of youth leaders are reaching out to millions of children around the world and bringing about a real change in their lives.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">One day ALL children will attain an excellent education. This is the true power of 'just' another idea...</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">PS:<br /><br />If you get a chance read Wendy Kopp's book </span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" >One Day All Children - The unlikely triump of Teach For America and what I learnt along the way</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">. She describes the tumultous journey through the first 10 years of the TFA program. It is an inspirational read!</span></span>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738113821996240541.post-46051153211290195712009-04-03T08:57:00.000-07:002009-04-03T10:01:02.949-07:00The Universe Conspires...<span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br />Someone has said "<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">When you really want something, the whole universe conspires in helping you achieve it"</span></span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" >. I do not know how much <span style="font-style: italic;">faith</span> to put into this, but it seems like it is coming true for my situation.<br /><br /><br />Just around two years ago, I was an industrious engineer working in the United States for Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), as part of one of the most talented technical teams in the world designing a next-generation microprocessor. When free, I used to volunteer my time and money to an eclectic group of international and local area non-profits</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">. </span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /><br />If you asked me what I would do in the future - I would clearly outline a well-charted plan to grow in my career within the United States, with a long-term desire to move back to my roots in India. Inspite of that, </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">I happen to move back to India very soon and quickly joined the Bangalore Design team. </span><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">As my responsibilities grew in AMD Bangalore, I took on a role to lead a small team. But, I stuck to my commitment to the community by volunteering in local-area charities in the area of education. Additionally, I took on the task of managing the employee-driven Community Affairs team in my company and </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">partnering with various non-profits.</span><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />While my head was wrapped around growing in my job levels, my heart was in my engagement with the community and education. </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Nonetheless, if I envisaged my next step even six months ago, teaching children full-time would definitely not even figure in the list of wild possibilities.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Someone close to my heart told me "<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">If you have a conflict between your heart and your head then bring them both to a negotiating table</span>". And boom, it seems like my prayers were answered....<span style="font-weight: bold;">Teach For India</span> (TFI) came into my life through an article in a Sunday Daily. </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Today, I stand committed strongly to the cause of education inequity in India through a 2-year </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >sabbatical</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> in my successful career. During these two years as a TFI Fellow, I will be leading the education of around 40 kids in low-income municipal schools in Mumbai and managing service projects to uplift the entire community from where these kids come to school. </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">In retrospect when I look back in time, just the sheer number of probabilities that have fallen into place to bring me to this juncture : all I can say is, the universe has truly conspired.....:-)</span></span>Milind Nagdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740523158819292956noreply@blogger.com2