 "Towards a new destination")
The Right to Education Act might have resulted in a significant drop in the number of children out of school, but a more significant issue needs to be addressed today. How can the quality of education imparted in schools be improved so that the gap between literacy and actual awareness levels may reduce? Manzil, a small after-school "learning community" in Delhi's upscale Khan Market, has some interesting insights to share.
"Schools today are churning out students who know the words, but don't quite understand what they mean. Saying 'thank you', for example, is very different from feeling genuine gratitude, as is saying 'sorry' from feeling actual repentance," says Ravi Gulati, co-founder of Manzil. Gulati's interest in mentoring young adults grew from the time when, 17 years ago, he met two schoolboys who should have but didn't understand the basic principles of mathematics. "I explained the rules of BODMAS to them and soon more students began coming to my home in Khan Market. The original two boys started getting bored as for them the class had become repetitive. So I asked them to teach the new students the BODMAS rule," he says. This sparked the beginning of a unique learning community in which students taught others what they knew and learnt from others what they didn't.
Gulati realised that the students were also quite deficient in English language skills. "Instead of a traditional class, I began to have conversations with the students on a variety of subjects," he says. Soon, Gulati had converted his Khan Market residence into a learning centre where students came to learn not only mathematics and English, but also computers and several creative arts such as music, dance, art and film making.
"Many practices we now follow at Manzil have grown organically, from just observing how our students have evolved," says Gulati. Early on, he realised that Indian schools rarely provided a safe, accepting environment in which the student could be unafraid of making mistakes. "In the maths and English classes at Manzil, we say that the best and quickest way to learn is by making mistakes and learning from them," says Gulati.
A significant takeaway from his years with young adults is that they benefit as much from teaching as they do from learning. Lalit Saini, a Manzil student, is an example. He learns English and computers at Manzil, and teaches maths, film making and dance. "I really like the fact that we are all treated equally here. If I'm a student in one class, I'm also a teacher in another," he says.
For students, teaching has an unintended benefit. "When students teach something they've recently learnt, their own understanding of it gets better," says Gulati. Another major departure from the conventional school paradigm is the English class at Manzil, in which students have often deep discussions about a wide range of subjects. "A conversation can be an effective teacher - as long as it isn't unilinear and every participant is treated with the utmost respect. When we discuss issues in Manzil, students are encouraged to arrive at their own conclusions and formulate their own perspective," says Gulati. Such a supportive learning community is, he has discovered, a far more fertile seedbed of ideas than a conventional classroom can ever be.
The results have been spectacular, at times exceeding even Gulati's expectations. Amongst the 10,000-odd students who have passed through Manzil's doors, there are scores of singers, film makers, artists, nurses, chefs and innumerable graduates. One such alumnus is Anish Singh, who came to Manzil as a young boy and developed an interest in theatre after a workshop. Today he successfully teaches theatre in a well-known Delhi school and runs a theatre company called Roleplay. "What's more, he has become one of Manzil's regular donors now!" says a proud Gulati. Manzil Mystics, one of the five bands to have been formed by its alumni, has quite the cult following today. "They've actually created a tune for the Preamble and it has been performed all over the country," says Gulati. Craftkaari, Manzil's creative arm, makes and sells beautiful upcycled stationery.
Gulati is now moving towards what he refers to as Manzil Plus, wherein he mentors social entrepreneurs under 30 to grow their businesses and make them more profitable. As Manzil continues to thrive in his home, teaching people how to learn and how to teach remain a central concern. Meanwhile his students have gone on to teach skills ranging from photography to art to anyone who is willing to learn. This makes Gulati happy. "I believe in a gift economy, so all I ask of my students is to pay it forward instead of trying to pay me back," says Gulati. "At the end of the day, the 'purpose' of education isn't merely to do more or get more. The true purpose of education, as I understand it, is to empower one to give back to others."
"Schools today are churning out students who know the words, but don't quite understand what they mean. Saying 'thank you', for example, is very different from feeling genuine gratitude, as is saying 'sorry' from feeling actual repentance," says Ravi Gulati, co-founder of Manzil. Gulati's interest in mentoring young adults grew from the time when, 17 years ago, he met two schoolboys who should have but didn't understand the basic principles of mathematics. "I explained the rules of BODMAS to them and soon more students began coming to my home in Khan Market. The original two boys started getting bored as for them the class had become repetitive. So I asked them to teach the new students the BODMAS rule," he says. This sparked the beginning of a unique learning community in which students taught others what they knew and learnt from others what they didn't.
Gulati realised that the students were also quite deficient in English language skills. "Instead of a traditional class, I began to have conversations with the students on a variety of subjects," he says. Soon, Gulati had converted his Khan Market residence into a learning centre where students came to learn not only mathematics and English, but also computers and several creative arts such as music, dance, art and film making.
"Many practices we now follow at Manzil have grown organically, from just observing how our students have evolved," says Gulati. Early on, he realised that Indian schools rarely provided a safe, accepting environment in which the student could be unafraid of making mistakes. "In the maths and English classes at Manzil, we say that the best and quickest way to learn is by making mistakes and learning from them," says Gulati.
A significant takeaway from his years with young adults is that they benefit as much from teaching as they do from learning. Lalit Saini, a Manzil student, is an example. He learns English and computers at Manzil, and teaches maths, film making and dance. "I really like the fact that we are all treated equally here. If I'm a student in one class, I'm also a teacher in another," he says.
For students, teaching has an unintended benefit. "When students teach something they've recently learnt, their own understanding of it gets better," says Gulati. Another major departure from the conventional school paradigm is the English class at Manzil, in which students have often deep discussions about a wide range of subjects. "A conversation can be an effective teacher - as long as it isn't unilinear and every participant is treated with the utmost respect. When we discuss issues in Manzil, students are encouraged to arrive at their own conclusions and formulate their own perspective," says Gulati. Such a supportive learning community is, he has discovered, a far more fertile seedbed of ideas than a conventional classroom can ever be.
The results have been spectacular, at times exceeding even Gulati's expectations. Amongst the 10,000-odd students who have passed through Manzil's doors, there are scores of singers, film makers, artists, nurses, chefs and innumerable graduates. One such alumnus is Anish Singh, who came to Manzil as a young boy and developed an interest in theatre after a workshop. Today he successfully teaches theatre in a well-known Delhi school and runs a theatre company called Roleplay. "What's more, he has become one of Manzil's regular donors now!" says a proud Gulati. Manzil Mystics, one of the five bands to have been formed by its alumni, has quite the cult following today. "They've actually created a tune for the Preamble and it has been performed all over the country," says Gulati. Craftkaari, Manzil's creative arm, makes and sells beautiful upcycled stationery.
Gulati is now moving towards what he refers to as Manzil Plus, wherein he mentors social entrepreneurs under 30 to grow their businesses and make them more profitable. As Manzil continues to thrive in his home, teaching people how to learn and how to teach remain a central concern. Meanwhile his students have gone on to teach skills ranging from photography to art to anyone who is willing to learn. This makes Gulati happy. "I believe in a gift economy, so all I ask of my students is to pay it forward instead of trying to pay me back," says Gulati. "At the end of the day, the 'purpose' of education isn't merely to do more or get more. The true purpose of education, as I understand it, is to empower one to give back to others."
Visit Manzil.in or its Facebook page. Watch a short film on Manzil at youtube.com/watch?v=E94FhhNbRaI;
Next fortnight, the urban renewal of a historic neighbourhood that has not just provided local residents with new livelihoods, but also given them a renewed sense of pride in their history
Next fortnight, the urban renewal of a historic neighbourhood that has not just provided local residents with new livelihoods, but also given them a renewed sense of pride in their history