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.
·
From 6-9
years, they begin to experience and learn, among other things, the basic skills
of reading, writing and mathematics.
·
From 9-13 years,
along with the continued strengthening of their language and mathematical
skills, they are introduced to the rudiments of research and reference skills
as an essential tool for lifelong learning.
·
From 13-16
years, children continue to expand their learning both in depth and extent
while they move, simultaneously, towards their first examination which is
conducted by the NIOS at the class 10 level.
·
One of the
main features of the Bhavya program is to involve children 14 years and above
in work situations. We are looking at apprenticeship opportunities like
accountancy, carpentry, gardening, landscaping, farming, photography, etc., as
the children’s interests guide us.
At every level, we ensure that the children have adequate
space to explore and develop their own learning agenda during the day.
Not being bound by
silence, through this freedom they are
able to explore their thoughts as they think them, express them, hear them,
and, moving on to the next stage of the thought, go through the process again…
Slowly, but surely, as they take each thought through to completion, they grow
in intelligence and self-confidence.
They are filled with a deep sense of satisfaction. Pure, intrinsic, instinctive and essential,
this naturally flowing process, unrestricted, leaves them with a feeling of
tremendous peace.
Using Bhavya as an Educational Resource Centre
Over the years, we hope to use Bhavya as a resource centre,
so that the understandings gained in our program are available not only to the children
and adults involved in Bhavya, but also to other interested people.
Parents
as a Resource
The Bhavya program derives its strength and sustenance from
the active support and involvement of the parents.
Two of the five staff are parents of children who come to
Bhavya every day.
Currently, Bhavya is built on land which has been leased
with the help of one of our parents who had also, voluntarily, taken charge of
the construction process.
Some of the parents have also contributed financially towards
the cost of construction, and towards meeting our running costs during the
first academic year.
Parents are involved in the Bhavya program in various
capacities on a day-to-day basis, as
well as in organizing specific events as the need arises.
We intend to have a committee of
parents and staff, which will take leadership in organizing community
activities, environment-awareness programs, fund-raising activities, etc.
Joining
Bhavya
The key determining factors, which would help us decide if
we can work together, when parents or other adults wish to join Bhavya, with or
without their children, are:
·
adult
acceptance of our philosophy
·
openness of
parents to bring about such changes in their approach towards child-rearing and
in their perception of education, which are in keeping with the working
philosophy at Bhavya.
This synchronicity is vital in helping to reduce or
eliminate the confusions in the child’s mind.
Help in this direction is provided to parents, at Bhavya.
The Need For Bhavya:
Our Rationale
A.
The Situation Today
The world-view that dominates today is intensely competitive,
materialistic, mechanistic and ecologically violent, based on an assumption
that the human power to know, manipulate and reconfigure is absolute and
infinite. This egocentric world-view is reflected in the schooling methods that
are popularly in practice, inculcating children into this doxa while still very
young. Through the ages, schools have been a reflection of the wider society, reinforcing these
dominant attitudes. While societal attitudes have
created the prevailing system of child-rearing and education, these, in turn,
reinforce those same attitudes. There is no escape. The vicious circle
continues.
Consequently, children are taught not to rock the
boat, to maintain the status quo at any cost, and they are rewarded when they
do so. They grow up convinced that they may
never question adult authority, or offer opinions of their own which might
challenge those in authority. Often, by the time they are adults, they have
been socialized so completely into these attitudes that they become those adults themselves. They have never known another way. Thus, a
whole society is created which will not question authority. There is grave
danger in creating masses of people who do not think for themselves, but are
quick to obey blindly. Adolf Hitler
once said, “What good fortune for those in power that people do not think.”
We are concerned that educated
adults, on an average, seem unable to live cooperatively with one another.
Attempts to resolve problems are often made through violent means, leading to
much destruction of life and property, creating more anger and distress. If after all the “education” that people
receive, society is left in such a state of confusion and destruction, what is
one to deduce? How many more Godhra-Gujarat or September
11-Afghanistan-Iraq disasters do we need to wake us up? From where did this violence really originate
and from where would sensitivity, love and empathy come? We feel that, as a society, we need to
reflect upon this, seriously, before considering any form of education for our
children. This widely prevalent system has undoubtedly failed.
In our work with children, we did not feel justified in training them to adjust to the society
described above. We were convinced that
we may not teach our children, directly or indirectly, that to succeed they
have to be competitive, materialistic, and aggressive – to win at all
costs. A redefining of “success” in more
productive and positive terms had opened the door to a completely different set
of possibilities for us. We felt that the answer lay in a serious
consideration of these questions:
What
is the purpose of education?
What
is the relationship between our educational practices, learning, the growth of
the individual and the growth of society?
What
is the root cause of the extreme anger, violence and mindlessness we face in
today’s world?
What
would help us make this world a place which nurtures Life?
We recognize that our children are
growing into a world which is alarmingly complex and challenging. In order to be able to survive as well as to
halt, in a constructive way, the forces which are so steadily destroying the
thread of our society, our children are going to need to apply all their
creative abilities, their critical thinking skills and their problem-solving
skills. Our children need to grow up as kind, caring human beings, who can
co-exist in harmonious, productive relationships with one another. The
conventional educational process, unfortunately, does not provide any space to
develop these abilities.
B.
Our Search
As adults dissatisfied with the
conventional educational system, there were three issues which troubled
us. The questions which repeatedly hit
us were:
1.
Why
were children mostly so disinterested in learning?
2.
Why
was there so much noise everywhere – in classrooms, outside classrooms – just
about everywhere? Why was “discipline”
such a problem in most schools?
3.
Why
were teachers, generally, such an unhappy and frustrated community?
While we didn’t have any answers to
these questions then, one thing we knew for certain was that there was going to
be no meaningful learning as long as these problems persisted, and also that we
could never feel motivated to continue working in an environment which seemed
to bring nothing but frustration to all involved.
It became clear that the noise which
seemed to fill the schoolrooms and corridors and grounds was not coming from
outside. It was noise from the inside –
inside the children and the adults. It
was the noise which had just collected in all our heads from the millions of
unresolved issues from our very early days.
Hence we decided to let go. We relaxed the environment. We removed all ideas and practices which shackled the child or
instilled fear in her.
We observed that every child who
came to us came with her own learning agenda.
She could keep herself very busy through the day in her own work (what we call ‘play’). This free play was very essential to help her
to make sense of her world and all its complexities. With each new learning that her self-driven
exploration brought, she found a new equilibrium. As there was no external attempt to rush her
learnings, she found each new equilibrium in a state of peace and she found her
inner balance. There was no mounting
restlessness within her.
When free play was denied her or
even curbed to varying degrees, the child did not have the opportunity to find
her inner balance at her own pace. She
felt rushed and frustrated because the learnings did not come easily to
her. In this state she was a distracted
child, unable to focus her mind, intensely, on anything.
Striking of the inner balance
through self-directed exploration required a longer stretch of time than
children were usually given in the traditional system. As we incorporated into the child’s day,
changes which respected her position, we found that the noise inside her seemed
to come down and, in time, the noise outside grew less and less. In other words, the restlessness which
prevented each child from recognizing her own interests and drives and,
therefore, from pursuing them in a constructive way, decreased, gradually. All we needed to do was to try and develop
the environment to keep with the children’s interests to the best of our
ability. The children in the new set-up
continued to explore. We, the adults,
continued to interact with them - we listened
to them, talked with them, discussed with them, and empathized with them.
They continued to explore their
environment as freely and systematically as any scientist would, uninterrupted
by the adults around them. In time as
they were ready we began to read to them stories, and sometimes, we would read
to them about the very things they explored and investigated. We helped them
to learn how to read. They played with
numbers. They learned how to write. The development of thinking skills was a natural
component of the approach adopted in all these areas. In other words, we began to give to them some
of the tools they needed in order to become self-dependent learners driven by
an inner need to know, investigate and learn.
It seemed crucial that we did nothing to kill this drive. The children automatically began to take
responsibility for their own learning.
We then structured our program in such a way that we would take from
their real and significant learning experiences, as little time as was needed
for them to develop the basic tools to keep this learning process going for
life. It was very important that this
was accomplished without taking away from them the time they desperately needed
to keep their scientific minds alive.
For instance,
A child sees a butterfly sitting on
a leaf for the first time in her life.
Her own thinking powers are being exercised at a pace comfortable to
her. She is absorbing the shape, the
colours, the patterns on the wings and so many more things that we cannot even
imagine any more, as conditioned adults.
The child is thoroughly fascinated by the butterfly. The next time she sees another butterfly she
notices the same things and, perhaps, a few more new things. She might notice that this creature is so much
like the one she saw some days ago. She
might notice that this, too, has the same pattern on its two wings, yet it is a
different pattern to the one on her last
butterfly, and so on... Over time she
sees more of these creatures. She
continues to make her own observations, comparisons, and she begins to draw
certain conclusions.
This is a deeply satisfying
experience for every learner. We, as
adults, need to be careful that we do not deny children these very valuable
experiences and, thereby, limit their perspectives as our own have been limited
by teachers who taught us too many
facts too soon in our lives.
Science is best explored in this
manner because the child’s natural environment is packed with possibilities for
scientific experiences and our attempt to pick and choose for her at this stage
severely limits these possibilities and, worse still, it transfers the learning
responsibility onto the teaching adult.
When the children have absorbed
enough from the environment in this manner, they are better able to make sense
of what they encounter in these subjects later on in their lives.
We have observed that the children
who have experienced this program from the very outset for a minimum of 4-5
years exhibit a tremendous amount of inner settlement coupled with a deep
interest in learning. They are well able
to direct their own learning. The
natural learning abilities with which the children are born are strengthened
and they are able to engage positively with themselves and the world around
them.
We feel strongly that the child’s
growing environment must foster self-motivation, responsibility, inner strength
(coming from a clear understanding of one’s self) and a zest for life.
C. The Way Ahead
As a community of people who have
felt deeply, the connection between the problems that ail society today and the
emotional violence experienced by children in their homes and schools, we have
made a conscious decision to work towards bringing about the much-needed change. We believe that we can make a
change.
So how do we bring about this
change? How do we bring about the
much-needed improvements which will help us evolve into a mature, just, and
humane society, which reveres the way of peace?
We believe that for a person to
genuinely live a life of peace, she must first know peace. To know peace she must have experienced
unconditional acceptance from the earliest years of her life. Every time we impose ourselves upon
children, deny them the freedom to express their feelings, demand certain
behaviours from them against their natural inclinations, scold them, humiliate
or ridicule them, judge and label them, never give them a hearing, we abuse
them. We deny them peace.
All the punishments, moralizing
stories and sermons through which we try to teach children to be considerate,
unselfish, forgiving, sharing, loving, tolerant, patient… are really a wasted
exercise because these traits cannot be taught.
A child who has always been respected by her parents quite automatically
becomes considerate towards them and others, as she grows. On the other hand, all the moralizing in the
world will not make her considerate if her parents treat her thoughtlessly, without
respect.
At Bhavya we have
created a humane environment in which each child can learn and grow in
accordance with her nature. The environment here preserves the child’s dignity,
innate sensitivity, originality, initiative, problem-solving attitudes… and all
the qualities we would like to see in humanity.
It is of great importance to us that we sustain, at Bhavya, a program
which preserves the core of the humanity and the Life that exists in each one
of us. In this endeavour, we believe,
that all of us have a significant part to play.
Some Common Parental Concerns
Questions have often
been raised and concerns expressed about the rationale behind some of Bhavya’s
practices. How, for instance, can children learn discipline when there is so much
freedom and no punishment? How would
children ever be motivated to learn when there in neither competition nor
praise?
We, therefore, briefly
address the issues of discipline, freedom, competition, praise and punishment
here.
Our experience has clearly shown us
that there is a natural internal order in all of creation. The order that exists in nature seems to
indicate that nature loves order and thrives on it. Children, being part of Nature, also seek an
order - which must come from within. It
cannot be thrust on them from the outside. Freedom
is an essential condition which permits this journey towards establishing a perfect internal order at each stage of human development. In the absence
of freedom this journey simply cannot be made.
During the natural growth process children are moving, constantly, from
states of disequilibrium to states of equilibrium - this movement constitutes
growth in all human beings. When
children are allowed the freedom to experience this movement from within – a
movement which must necessarily occur at various stages in the growth process -
they are able to reach the state of balance and order comfortably. Because this happens from the inside, and is
not rushed from the outside, they experience a natural transition from stage to
stage. There is peace. Self-discipline
is this natural order which
occurs within us. It is prompted at each
point by our natural needs. It is there to stay.
The effects of externally imposed
discipline, on the other hand, are clearly seen in our society, today. In spite
of the strict, “disciplined” upbringing most of us have been through in this
culture, self-discipline is sorely lacking in our adult community. The chaos in Parliament, university administration,
and so on, indicate that wherever external checks are minimal, accountability,
efficiency and even basic decency of behaviour are at their lowest levels. So what has our strict cultural upbringing
really achieved? Certainly not any self-discipline. And certainly not a sharing and peacefully
coexisting community of people.
Externally enforced discipline by
its very name, suggests violence. The
order created through external enforcement stays only as long as the enforcing
factor stays, whereas the humiliation and anger experienced repeatedly by the
child, stay for life. It destroys the naturally flowing growth process in the
human person, unless timely intervention occurs and releases her.
2. Freedom and Dignity
At Bhavya, we stress freedom, as we do,
because we believe that without freedom there is no dignity.
In any
environment, when the child is allowed to make her own decisions, it helps her
to test the strengths and limits of time, ability and relationships. Her
performance on any front becomes her own prerogative and not what is desired of
her by the others around her. This gives her the opportunity to give her best
to whatever she decides to do. We have found that when there is freedom,
children learn responsibility most effectively.
They are trusted and, hence, are able to take charge of their lives.
Thus their autonomy and dignity are preserved.
What happens to children who are
left to make their own decisions for a
large part of the day? How do they spend
their time? At the younger ages, most
are outdoors for long periods. As they
grow older and become more settled from within, their field of focus changes.
Much of the benefits of the Bhavya program depends on having adequate space for
the child to run, climb and explore nature and her own bodily needs and limits.
For instance, a child who comes to
us physically timid and closed usually prefers to watch others climb trees for
days on end before she decides to try it herself. For the rest of the term, her focus of
interest in a day and her excitement in life might, largely, be climbing
trees. The satisfaction she feels and
the strength which grows within her during this time is a wonder to be
experienced. At the end of the term, we
see a child whose body is relaxed, where it was tight earlier; a child who runs
with abandon, and climbs trees without fear.
Simultaneously, a growth in the general level of self-confidence and
courage to explore new challenges, fearlessly, is also observed.
3. Competition
or Co-operation?
At Bhavya we have chosen the way of
co-operation.
Contrary to the commonly accepted
belief that competition is necessary to “bring out the best,” we have found it
to be quite limiting and, even destructive, in its effects. We have found that
competition has a demoralizing effect on all but a few of the competitors. Often, when an individual is convinced that
she cannot be in the leading position, she decides to give up trying altogether
rather than try, and risk “failure”.
It is time to shatter the myth that
competition is necessary. Our work with children has shown that the
human being, by nature, strives for competence in everything she does. This natural drive for competence seeks
fulfillment all the time and it spurs
on learning at every stage. The learner
sets and pursues her own goals driven by her natural interests. When the
results are not satisfactory to her, she identifies the problem area and begins
to work to correct it. She feels
satisfied and confident in her power to rectify her own errors. She does not feel reduced or destroyed by her
mistakes. She merely learns from
them. No one “fails” in the conventional
sense, in such a system of growing.
The children in this environment
learn to work together and to help one another along.
4. Praise
Praise is
an external motivator and
the problem with external motivation, whether it be negative (threats,
punishments, scolding, or insults/abuse), or positive (gold stars, grades, or degree
certificates), is that it displaces or submerges internal motivation.[1] It cripples the individual by making her
approval-dependent. It ignores the sense of fulfillment and joy experienced
when the individual accomplishes a task successfully.
We have found that a successfully
accomplished task is a reward in itself.
It motivates the individual to go further and attempt still more
challenging tasks. Just the process of working through a difficult task,
watching the problem unfold before her, finding solutions as she goes along,
and bringing the situation to a satisfactory conclusion brings with it a joy,
indescribable. After all, babies learn to walk, talk, etc., not because
they want to earn our praise or please us - but because it is part of their
instinct and nature to want to explore and gain the competence, which gives
them increased control over their own lives and environment
At Bhavya, we recognize this very
special, intrinsic motivator as absolutely essential to healthy human
development.
5. Punishment
Punishment may or may not cause
physical pain, but the humiliation, the loneliness, the hate and rage felt by
the punished child are real enough, intense, and affect her emotional
development, adversely. Punishments and threats are insulting to the child’s
intelligence. They leave indelible scars
over a period of time. Studies show that most students who
rebel violently against authority and indulge in criminal activities are those
who have grown up in extremely strict and punitive environments
We believe that punishment destroys
the child’s capacity to overcome
obstacles and explore the unknown, which are essential qualities
for learning.[2]
It is commonly believed that
punishment is necessary for school discipline.
We are convinced that punishment, no matter how subtle, cannot resolve the problem of discipline
in schools. There are some simple, yet
significant, reasons for the breakdown of discipline in schools.
They are:
·
boring
and meaningless curricula
·
failure
·
endless rules, many of which are quite unnecessary
·
imposition
of a uniform style and pace of learning which disregards differences among individuals
·
adult
abuse of authority
·
competitive
approach rather than a cooperative approach
·
children
being forced to behave in a manner very contrary to their natural inclinations (for instance, neurologically,
physiologically and emotionally, a young child is not capable of sitting for
hours at a time. When forced to do this
against her nature, the final result is very damaging to the child.)
Punishment cannot, therefore, be the
answer to the problem of discipline.
We believe that the answer lies in addressing the above-listed
causes. We work, consistently, to ensure
that these causes do not exist in our environment. Thus, the individual, in
Bhavya, has no cause to rebel.
For further details, please
contact:
Ms. Sita Nayar: Landline: (080) 4110 2573
Ms. Vineeta
Sood: Tel.
(080) 65686168
Mob. 98454 04153
Or
write to us at: Email bhavyalearning@gmail.com or
Fax - 080-41758114 (available from 4:30 pm to 10:00 pm).
Also
see: http://bhavyalearning.org
Our Team
|
Founder/Trustee: Sita Nayar |
Work Experience:
She began her teaching experience at
In
From 1983 till 1987 she worked at the
Kodaikanal International school, Kodaikanal, where she co-ordinated the
Elementary Department during the last six months of her tenure there.
After fourteen years in the field of
education this was a period of reflection.
Her experiences until that time had led to a certain amount of
uneasiness about the educational system and what was happening to children in
the name of education. The cumulative impact of
these years led to the search for the meaning of “education” and,
finally, to the setting up of Bhavya, in
In 1994, she set up Bhavya, in
Worked as a consultant to the TVS
schools in Aviyur, Tumkur and Hosur.
Set up and ran for three years, the
Early Learning Program for children between the ages of 3 and 9 at Poorna
Learning Centre in
Publications:
·
Whoever
Said Childhood is Carefree?
The Hindu, November 24, 1991
·
A
Second Look at Discipline, The Hindu, June 2, 2000
·
Lessons
Through Play, The Hindu, November 12, 2000
Educational Qualifications:
·
B.A. (Hons) in Economics (
·
MST (Master of Science in Teaching) –
Elementary Education (
|
Founder/Trustee: Vineeta
Sood |
Work Experience:
·
Worked
for a brief spell (against a leave vacancy) at
M.M. Modi College,
·
She
worked with a special educator to set up a learning program for a group of
mentally and physically challenged children and their families (1991-1993).
·
Worked
as a volunteer in Bhavya,
·
Holding
the firm conviction that every child is beautiful and sensitive, and that the
responsibility of the parents and teachers is to preserve that beauty and
sensitivity, while helping the child to grow and learn, she home-schooled her
children for a period of four years (1997-2000) while in
·
In
·
Spent
one year with Scholastic Publications as an educational co-ordinator, helping
establish reading programmes in the schools of
·
Spent
six months working with Katha, an NGO involved in educating the “under-
privileged” children.
·
Associated
with Shikshantar,
·
Worked from 2002-2003 with Prof. Poonam
Batra from Central Institute of Education, Delhi University, on a project,
“Teaching English as a Second Language to Hindi Speaking Children.”
·
Worked during the year 2003-2004 with
Shikshantar, an upcoming alternative school in Gurgaon,
·
Worked as a volunteer at Poorna
Learning Centre,
Publications:
·
The
Journey Named Hope.
Published in the journal, Vimukta Shiksha – Paths of Unlearning, a
bulletin of Shikshantar,
·
Mcdonaldization
versus Humanization – Resisting the Culture of Schooling,
series 5. Published in the Journal,
McEducation For All? Opening a Dialogue
Around UNESCO’S Vision For Commoditizing Learning, Published by Shikshantar,
·
Aasman
Se Gire, Khajoor Me Atke – Schooli Mansikta Ka Pratirodh.
An article in Hindi published in the Journal, Shram ke Bina, Shiksha
Kaisi? Published by Shikshantar,
Educational Qualifications:
·
B.Sc. (Medical),
·
M.Sc. in Zoology at Punjab Agricultural
University,
·
M.Phil. in Zoology at
·
B.Ed,
·
M.Ed, Annamalai University, Tamil
Nadu
·
Two-month Volunteer Training course at
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, during which time she was placed at
the Child Guidance Clinic at
|
Trustee: Asha Joseph |
Experience:
Was one of the first parents of Bhavya. She has two children, Amit, aged 14 and Ajay,
aged 12. It was when she was seeking
admission for her sons to pre-school, that she first happened upon Bhavya and
met Sita Nayar. She feels that being a
part of Bhavya,
Educational Qualifications:
·
B.Sc. in Mathematics
from
|
Sunitha M.R. |
Work Experience:
·
Has
a Masters’ Degree in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
·
Worked
with the Akshara Foundation as a program co-ordinator in 2000. Was in charge of reworking and running a
program that would encourage young dropouts to go back to school.
·
Joined
·
Has
a background in dance, music and theatre and continues to pursue these
interests actively, today.
Educational Qualifications:
·
Bachelor of Arts from
·
Masters in Social work at Tata
Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
|
Mamatha S. |
Work Experience:
·
Worked in Rohit Computer Industry,
·
Worked in Bharath Electronics,
·
Came to Poorna Learning Centre seeking
admission for her son. Intrigued by
the Bhavya program and the principle behind
it, she decided to explore it as a volunteer for a period of 2 months before
joining as a full-time staff member. She
worked in the Bhavya Program at Poorna Learning Centre,
Educational Qualifications:
·
B.E. in Electronics and Communication.
K. Mamata Krishna |
Work Experience:
·
Spent two years in rural Jharkhand,
organising rural women’s micro-credit groups as a member of PRADAN. Wrote a manual on promoting rural women’s self-help
groups for PRADAN’s resource centre. (The Manual has, since, been translated
into Hindi.)
·
Worked for three years as an
independent consultant to MYRADA (Mysore Rehabilitation and Development Agency)
in
·
Worked as a Mathematics and English
teacher at the Poorna Learning Centre,
Publications:
·
·
Datta, Sankar; Fisher, Thomas; and
Educational Qualifications:
·
B.Sc Hons, Mathematics (
·
Post Graduate Diploma in Rural
Management (Institute of Rural
Management, Anand,
Selena George |
Work Experience:
·
Worked
as Copy Editor for Femina (a women’s magazine) for two-and-a-half years. Her work
involved writing, editing, sourcing
material and writers, and assisting in production.
·
Worked
with Shikshantar,
·
Worked
with village women as part of Prakriti, Mussoorie. Her work included exploring livelihood
options with a Mahila Sanghatan of women from 20 villages, advocacy for
environment sustainability by networking, writing papers and working with
children from
·
Did
a three-month orientation course in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry as part of
the Psychiatric Social Work Department of NIMHANS. This was followed by
voluntary work as part of a team conceptualising a curriculum for intervention
in schools in an organisation called Urban India Ministries.
·
Underwent
a six-month orientation-cum-training experience with the Bhavya program at
Poorna Learning Centre. Officially joined the Bhavya team in October 2005 and
worked there for the rest of the academic year. In Bhavya, she has found, “…a
programme that nurtures every individual that comes in contact with it, be it
adult or child... An environment rooted in intimate, trusting and secure
relationships between adults and children, that provides a space of
unconditional acceptance.”
Educational Qualifications:
·
B.A.
from
·
Post-Graduate
Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication (Symbiosis, Pune)
·
Masters’
Degree in Social Work (Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai)
[1] Alfie
Kohn says in Educational Leadership, 1965:
“One of
the most thoroughly researched findings in social psychology is that the more
you reward someone for doing something the less interest that person will tend
to have in whatever he or she was rewarded to do.”
[2]Joseph
Chilton Pearce in Evolution’s End discusses how punishment and the accompanying rage:
“leave the child with no self-confidence, no
faith in himself and he will fumble or retreat at every little difficulty or
challenge.”