Bhavya
Freedom
to be, Freedom to grow
Bhavya
is an organization run by The Bhavya Trust, which is a charitable trust. We are
a group of individuals with a strong belief in the need for humanizing
childhood and education. We are deeply concerned about the serious threat posed
to the normal development of children by a stultifying and greatly limiting
view of childhood and education which is widely prevalent, today. We believe life is an education and that learning
is an essential outcome of living and growing.
We, therefore, work towards providing children with an open environment
where living, growing and learning are nurtured in a healthy manner.
We come with varied
experiences. Interestingly, each one of
us in our own personal journeys has been moving towards similar realizations.
We have come together as a group
with a common understanding that it takes courage to question ourselves, our
own motives, our thinking and everything we do. It is in this questioning, we
believe, that we really set ourselves free.
We feel strongly, that only when we, as adults, work towards freeing our selves,
are we able to give the space to every child to
develop spontaneously, at the pace dictated by her nature and with respect and
empathy for her position.
Our Program
The Bhavya program is based on
the belief that Nature has blessed each child with a unique plan for growth. At
Bhavya, we respect this uniqueness and provide the space that each child needs
to grow and achieve the inner balance she seeks.
.
Bhavya is, simply, an extension
of the home where the children, their parents and all adults present are free
of anxiety.
How is the Bhavya Program structured?
In Bhavya:
We Nurture Organic Learning
We have
observed that effective learning takes place only when the child is emotionally
settled, and when the child herself feels emotionally capable and inspired to
explore new challenges. We are careful
not to rush new children into adjusting to their new environment. Each child is provided adequate space to ease herself into the new setting. We
take care that no adult who is a stranger to the child overwhelms her with
unwanted attention. A child who is three
or four years old comes to Bhavya with her mother and is left to explore the
entire environment, material and human, in the security of her mother’s presence. As she gradually becomes more comfortable and
is ready to trust the other adults in the environment, she approaches them
herself.
We see
that our role as adults in 'teaching' academics is to ensure that each child
encounters learning experiences which are commensurate with her level of
maturity and understanding. These
experiences are challenging, yet, not frustrating. As the child does her own investigating
and makes her own discoveries, she finds that the sense of achievement and the
resulting satisfaction are rewarding enough in themselves. She is happy to have learned and eager to
learn more.
This inherent motivation to learn
(as opposed to learning for fear of disapproval or desire for praise) is, we
believe, the prerequisite for any real, significant and sustained learning to
happen. We have observed that when this
space and freedom is given to every child, her curiosity is retained and her
initiative is high. She has a high level of investment in, and enthusiasm for,
her work. Towards this end, we have a very well-planned, organic, and
material-rich, learning program at Bhavya which the child
may explore as and when she is ready.
We Encourage ‘Play’
We
perceive no distinction between ‘play’ and ‘work’ in childhood, and possibly,
throughout life. When we
refer to ‘play’ we mean the kind of self-determined and self-directed
exploration of material objects and relationships, which is often seen by the
adult mind as “messing around” or “wasting time”. During this process, the learner explores,
investigates and lives out her fantasies.
This is a prerequisite to real understanding and, therefore, to
learning. Hence, unstructured time in
the day is an essential requirement at Bhavya. The amount of unstructured time
decreases as the child grows older, but it is given due importance at all
stages of growth. This is the time when
children pursue their interests, and explore their environment alone or in
interaction with one another. In the
process of taking charge of their lives, the children become more
self-confident and responsible.
We Practise Unconditional Acceptance of Every Child
Bhavya is a place, where a child, no
matter what her difficulties, or 'problems', or moods, is accepted - not for
how well she pleases the adults around her, or for what she can do or achieve,
but simply for being herself.
Every child in Bhavya, is given all
the time she needs, by the adults around her, without judgment and with total
acceptance, to grow in accordance with her nature. The child is encouraged to express her
feelings freely and spontaneously at any time she feels the need during the day.
The calming and catharsis this produces in the child is immense.
For instance, when a child is angry
with an adult, or another child, or emotionally hurt in some way, we empathize
with the child. We give her enough space to verbalize her feelings freely. At
no stage is the child judged and made to feel guilty. As a result, she feels heard and accepted.
She is now able to see the situation more clearly. The anger/pain has been expressed and she
is freed of the need to hurt the other person.
We help Children Develop Conflict-Resolution Skills
A concern often expressed by adults
is that children who are left to their own devices will fight and get into
‘mischief’. As in any other
life-situation, conflicts between children do arise during the course of their
interactions. When they do, we work with them to resolve the conflicts. Adults are always available to them, to hear
each one of them with empathy and help them find their own solutions to
problems. It is rare that when a problem
occurs, a child goes home feeling unheard, or powerless to do anything positive
to resolve it. Because the situation is
personal, the children involved internalize the experience well and in the
course of time they develop effective problem-solving skills.
We Invest in Forming A Strong Partnership with Parents to
Create an Empathic Environment at Home
We believe that emotional settlement
in a child and, consequently, her state of mind are, essentially, linked to the
environment available to her at home.
How much time are parents able to give to the child at home? How total and unconditional is both the
parents' acceptance of the child as she is?
We spend a considerable amount of
time interacting with parents in an
attempt to understand each child’s personal situation. We do not believe in
addressing behavioural issues such as aggression, violence,
lethargy/listlessness, restlessness, etc., cosmetically by penalising the child
for offences, when the source of the behaviour lies outside the child.
We expect all adults at Bhavya to
understand that the emotional well-being of a child must come first. When the
child is emotionally unsettled, her ability to concentrate, absorb, assimilate
and thus learn, are adversely affected.
Hence her true potential as a whole person is never achieved.
One of the major goals at Bhavya is
to help parents become aware of the ways in which they might help their
children become emotionally strong individuals.
We ask parents to respect their children’s natural needs. We encourage them to spend positive, constructive
time with their children. We ask them to
respect their children’s views and always give them a patient hearing.
We take a great deal of care to help
a child make a peaceful transition from home into the environment of
Bhavya. We have found that when there is
a forced separation of young children from their mothers for even a few hours
in a new or strange environment, it leads to considerable emotional distress. To avoid
this distress we insist that the mothers participate actively in this process
by coming to Bhavya with their children everyday. This continues until the
children are comfortable in the new environment and happy in their
independence. Often, even after the children have settled down completely at
Bhavya, some of the parents continue to come to Bhavya and participate in one
way or another.
Parents and other adults are
sincerely welcome at any time in Bhavya, to observe children/adults at work, be
with their children, or help at Bhavya, provided they follow a few basic
guidelines while interacting with the children. On any given day, one can observe at least 5
- 6 parents with their children at Bhavya.
We Emphasize Quality in Learning
By neither rushing the child nor
cluttering her mind with excessive, irrelevant content, we are able to ensure
quality and meaningfulness in everything that the child does.
We find that when they are not under
any compulsion, they are intrinsically driven to do, to the best of their
ability, whatever they might undertake. Hence,
naturally, they are quite focused and involved.
Having gone through the academic
program at Bhavya, the child would have learnt:
·
To
read different kinds of text with interest and understanding
·
To
write lucidly for specific purposes
·
To
explore quantities and their interrelationships, space and spatial concepts,
and apply mathematics to everyday life
·
To
ask relevant questions to satisfy her curiosity
·
To
explore the different dimensions of a subject/topic
·
To
identify and tap different resources to gather information
·
To
analyse and synthesize the information collected.
·
To
present the information collected – taking the work through the process of
revising, editing and finally, publishing.
We believe that once the child has
acquired these skills, she will be able to explore systematically any subject
which interests her. The content in terms of facts and figures in any
curriculum or text becomes very easy to access.
All academic learning is done in an
environment where genuine freedom and exploration is encouraged in the
child. In the process,
·
She
is driven by her own need to know and learn
·
The
learner’s interest and curiosity are kept alive
·
She
learns to develop her own understandings through exploration
·
She
begins to value her own perspective while accommodating the perspectives of
others
·
The
learner’s self-confidence increases
We Emphasize a Co-operative Approach to Life rather than a
Competitive Approach
At Bhavya we function under the
conviction that in a free and stimulating environment, unencumbered by anxiety,
every child strives to achieve her best
and, consequently, is able to realize her true potential. The emphasis is on the pursuit of one’s own
goals based on one’s natural interests rather than merely trying to do ”better
than the others”.
We Train on the Job
All adults who work at
Bhavya are selected with care on the basis of their willingness and ability to
be patient, sensitive, respectful, and gentle, and in their ability to grow with
the children.
We have found that
some people are naturally drawn to Bhavya as a result of their own search and
life-experiences. This enables them to
accept the philosophy with ease and, thus, become more effective in practice.
As
trainees we go through a training period of one year when a considerable amount
of time is spent with the 3-9 year old group. During the training process, we
learn how to:
·
create
an environment which allows the child to be herself without any anxiety
·
facilitate
learning, while following the child’s natural inclinations
·
come
into contact with ourselves. The process
of attempting to work with children and adults with genuine acceptance often
reveals to us, our own limitations, personal histories and blocks in accepting our selves. Bhavya provides a nurturing space for us to
introspect and explore our own confusions in the process of knowing our own
inner beings. This makes it possible for
us to understand our children.
We are free to raise questions when
we encounter situations which might conflict with our own perceptions of
children or education. Through the
ensuing discussions, coupled with our experiences in the environment, our own
understanding deepens.
How Does Bhavya Help the Child?
Through an enriched, empathic and reality-centred learning
program we help our children to develop:
·
The ability to
express thoughts and feelings without fear.
·
The ability to
listen to others attentively and with empathy.
·
The ability to
think independently and find solutions.
·
The ability to
recognize and speak about their problems and work towards finding solutions in
a peaceable manner.
·
A sense of
responsibility towards themselves and their environment.
·
Self-respect
and dignity.
·
The ability to
observe, experiment, think things through, and draw their own conclusions.
·
The ability to
use, effectively, in their lives, all the basic tools of learning including
reading, writing and mathematics.
·
The ability to direct their own learning through
life.
The environment at Bhavya is tailored in such a manner that
it fosters the development of the above skills and qualities in the child.
Our
Strategy
The Bhavya program has been in existence for the past eleven
years. Till date, Bhavya has been functioning, largely, within other
institutional settings.
Bhavya, in
In the first year, we expect an intake of twenty-five
children. Keeping the child:adult ratio at 6:1 at the very early levels and
increasing to 8:1 as the children grow older; we shall accommodate a maximum
number of sixty children within a period of 6-7 years.
We have decided to keep our
community small with reference to the number of children in the program. This enables
us:
·
To
reach each individual child at both the emotional and academic levels so that
every child grows into a well-balanced person, with clarity of thought and
purpose
·
To
interact closely with parents and thus appreciate their position more deeply
·
As
adults working with children, to take our own understandings to a greater depth
and extent as we evolve together with our children.
·
To
devote time and energy towards providing intensive and effective on-the-job
training to the adults working with the children.
Infrastructure
We have leased a plot of land in Kodigehalli,
Academic Program
We have a practical,
down-to-earth approach to education, which originates in common sense. Our
educational program is not examination-focused at all. It is as deep and as extensive as the learner
is capable of and willing to make it.
With the
exception of conventional educational set-ups, there is no situation in life
where a child would find herself in the society of thirty or more children of
the same age. This, in our perception,
is a very unnatural setting. We are also aware of the fact that chronological
age is not a reliable or accurate indicator of a child’s total development -
psychological, cognitive, or social. Hence, at
Bhavya we have a non-graded program which permits a multi-age organization of
learning groups. This makes it possible
for us to personalize education in a natural setting and
children are not forced to take on learning tasks for which they are not
ready.
We design our own
curriculum basing it on children’s needs and interests:
·
In the
earliest years from 3-6, children are in a completely free-flowing
environment. They move from one activity to
another without any interference from the adult. Adults intervene only when the
children need some material, or help to resolve a conflict. Children are,
generally, left alone to form their own ideas, and to pursue their goals
individually, or in groups of their choice. They communicate freely with one
another while being respectful of the needs of others using the same space.
·