Tag Archives: Education

We live in a terribly violent world characterized by hyper-nationalism, militarism, war, reckless social Darwinism and massive environmental disaster.  Yet, even amid the all-pervading darkness, some of us continue to strive for the lamp of truth. Possibly, Meenakshi Thapan’s book seeks to remind us that we should not give up but try our best to illumine the new generation through a practice of education that radiates the spirit of love, peace, dialogue and the ethic of care.

Abha Adams’s reputation as India’s preeminent educationist precedes her, and for good reason. As a pioneering force in education, amongst her many accomplishments, her instrumental contribution in the birth and setting-up of the country’s iconic institutions, widely regarded as schools that are centres of excellence—Shriram Schools & Step by Step, themselves speak volumes of her knowledge and insights.

Juvenile, not Delinquent is an elucidation of the author’s rendezvous with the innumerable children who find themselves on the other side of law; the legal quagmire children find themselves in, with little support to navigate the complexities of the juvenile justice system; and the unwavering commitment of those who never give up on them. It is an account of the countless ways the child ‘offenders’ challenge, inspire, and often transform the lives of professionals who work with them.

The title How to Break up with Your Phone reminded me of an essay I had read many decades ago while in school. On ‘Not Answering the Telephone’ was a witty essay by William Plomer in which he expresses his dislike of owning a phone and discusses the inconveniences in having a telephone of one’s own. But the likeness ends there.

Krishna Kumar’s deep and critical engagement with education and its impact on the child is clearly reflected in the slim volume of 18 collected essays, Smaller Citizens: Writings on the Making of Indian Citizens. Some of these essays have been published earlier, while others appeared in the form of lectures which the author had delivered at various fora. Bringing these essays together in a single volume signifies the common theme that binds all of them together.

Discussions on what is wrong in classrooms and institutions of education are part and parcel of staff-room conversations among teachers. Some reflective teachers take these discussions as trigger points for further exploration through reading and research. However, there are few spaces where books cover a range of issues in education, with a solution focused approach that is positive, but not prescriptive.

If the poor have to be schooled in struggles to reclaim their humanity, how can schooling help the privileged to reclaim theirs? The book under review, Classroom with a View: Notes from the Krishnamurti Schools seeks to provide a possible answer. The history of these schools spans nearly a century and we have a large corpus of literature on them.

In the period between 1850 and 1947, parallel to the slow expansion of a public education system set up by the colonial administration, the subcontinent witnessed several experiments in both school and higher education. Almost all of these experiments were in one way or another a response to the crises brought about by the colonial experience (including the colonial policies on education).

All three published by Eklavya and edited by Disha Nawani, Nandini Manjrekar, Rashmi Paliwal, Ruchi Shevade.. All three books published by Eklavya and edited by Disha Nawani, Nandini Manjrekar, Rashmi Paliwal, Ruchi Shevade, Noam Chomsky. while speaking on ‘values for a new world’, identify three major problems of the world today

The book Education in India: Policy and Practice is a collection of papers/articles on education written in the journal Social Change over a period of five decades. It was published in 2021, when Social Change celebrated its Golden Jubilee.In his introduction to the series, Manoranjan Mohanty writes about the major social and economic changes and mass movements in India in the post-Independence period. Specific theme based issues of the journal have captured these developments.

Bobo and the Worms is by Abokali Jimomi of Nagaland. Any book for early readers must be accompanied by illustrations that fire imagination. Canato Jimo’s illustrations perfectly accompany this simple but prettily told story. Which child does not like visiting her grandma? Grandparents are special people in any child’s life. There is a warmth to them that cannot be replicated. Grandparents are not difficult or demanding like parents. Neither are they rough and unruly like one’s own playmates. They can get down on their knees and play with you or open their knees wide and rock you when you need comforting…

This book is an effort in reading promotion among children that Pratham Books stands for. It is a ‘Learning to Read’ book or ‘Level 2’ book. The previous (Level 1) is ‘Beginning to Read/Read Aloud’. The next two levels (Levels 3 and 4) are ‘Reading Independently’ and ‘Reading Proficiently’.As the inside back cover tells us, author Anurupa Roy is a puppeteer, puppet theatre director and puppet designer. She is the founder-managing trustee of the Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust, Delhi. She has directed many puppet performances and undertaken international tours with her puppet group…

Ammu and the Sparrows is a sensitively written story dealing with the curiosity and questions and long wait of a child—for his parents. The book has been categorized in the green coloured Level 3 book—those books that are meant for children who are ready to read on their own.Ammu spends his days on his Ammamma’s terrace, looking out and waiting. Is he waiting for Amma and Accha sparrows to come or is he waiting for someone else? Is this wait going to get over any time soon? The open-ended story leaves the reader with many questions like these. And the best part is that the story does not give us ready-made answers, but allows the readers to imagine and construct the answers themselves…

Here is a bilingual book written by 16 children coming from different parts of India and different walks of life. They speak their heart out—they tell us in clear, bold, straightforward words what they wish for. Their dreams, wishes, aspirations, hopes—is what is the core of this book. And adults, elders, parents and teachers—may as well listen. As India inches towards the 75th anniversary of its hard-earned freedom in 2022—this illustrated book is a reminder to us adults as to what we have not been able to give to our children in so many years, and pay attention to what they yearn for…

A picture book with minimal text from Eklavya.This album-size book with large bold illustrations is perfect as a child’s FIRST book. Here, the element of story is irrelevant, almost redundant.It is all about familiar colourful images that inhabit a child’s universe—water, fish, frog, buffalo and so forth. It does not have to tell much beyond mundane things like a buffalo’s horns, its tail, and of course the delicious joys of hush-hush words like su-su and poo-poo, that are so much a part of the early years…

A little story book from the Muskaan Series of Eklavya. It tells a simple story that would appeal to a small child, who does not yet read by herself, but enjoys listening to a story.However, the text of this book does not lend itself to an interesting read-aloud experience. The sweet little story is actually written jointly by four Agariya kids, Sonam, Ritik, Vikram and Ajay, with some assistance from their school teacher. Although originally written in Hindi, the syntax and choice of words sound somewhat stilted, akin to a literal Hindi translation of an original English text…

Truly, an offering for a world increasingly dominated by the digital media. A short little story for kids as young as 3 years to as old. For, let us face it, whether we like it or not a mobile phone has become a favourite ‘toy’ for the young and old alike.To add to this bane of device obsession, we now have online classrooms! The die is cast. What began as a guilty diversion has now become a necessary evil.Richa Jha in her delightful book Ast-Vyast Mast addresses this issue without making it preachy for the young reader. In fact, she turns the tables, depicting a scenario where the internet is down and it is the child that pulls her parents away from their respective devices to enjoy a fun-filled family time outdoors. After an exhilarating time in the park the family returns home where we have a twist in the tail. Our online student is frustrated at not being able to access her school results as internet is still down. A reality check!…

Great nonfiction in Indian children’s literature is hard to come by, especially picture books for young children. I was pleasantly surprised to get a set of non-fiction books translated into Hindi by Eklavya. These have been translated from English by the eclectic Sushil Shukl. The first one, Ande Mein Kucch Kala Hai is about the life cycle of frogs. Nona aur Seb ka Ped is about the journey of an apple tree from a seed to a full grown tree. Both the books are written by Kanchan Sharma and illustrated by Radhika Tipnis. The rhythmic text brings in a fresh flavour to the stories and are unlike any non-fiction book I have read in Hindi…

These books are a fascinating example of the kind of good that a regional publisher publishing in a regional language can do for children to develop critical thinking skills, a scientific outlook, pique their curiosity about natural phenomena or sensitize them to the gradient of social difference and inequality that is often actively and conveniently ignored in school syllabi or made invisible in social discourse. Stories for children have been used to instruct and entertain, but these books are special not only because they take their inspiration from the world around them where the context, art and language are familiar and relatable, but also because their printing and pricing makes them attractive and accessible…

A simple story, whose title itself excites curiosity, and colourful eye-catching illustrations in an unusually large-sized picture-book—what more does a beginning reader need to get attracted?The very size of the book catches attention. The two little girls aged five and six years, whom I teach as they are homebound due to the Corona epidemic, fight to grab the book. It is spread out on the table and they both bend over it, the younger concentrating on the pictures while the elder tries to read the text. Big words, difficult for the under-privileged kid to read, and I have to help her at first. But as the words get repeated, slowly she is able to recognize them…