A refreshing change ! A
reassuring experience ! A promising possibility! That's what I would call my
visit to Sweden.
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| The dynamic and cheerful Professor Helene Elvestrand |
And thanks to dear Helene Elvestrand whose affection and efforts took me there.
An invitation from Linkoping University to visit and interact
with University faculty and schools took me on a 10 day tour of Norkkoping,
Linkoping and Stokholm.
For the last 3 years, B Ed
students of Linkoping University have been interning in our School. I always
used to wonder why teacher trainees from Europe are coming all the way to India
and that too, to our school.
Although their Professors said that there are many
takeaways from Silver Oaks, I was still looking for more answers. I got
them when I interacted with people and faculty.
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| An evening with the lovely people of Linkoping University |
With all the technological innovation
& advancement, governance based on welfare, sustainable infrastructure,
idyllic landscapes, interesting history, present & future, Sweden still
believes that they want to learn from different continents, cultures and
people. Their culture of sharing is evident in their hospitality. And more heartwarming
is in the way they accommodate immigrants and refugees.
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| Presentations & Discussions with the Faculty |
Competition is a consciously avoided word and ranks and scores are not considered as the only essentials for education. Schooling is for raising happy children with emotional intelligence.
I remember Howard Gardner’s
statement, ‘the quality of education can be seen in the way people behave in
public places’. And I could see it not just in public places but in their homes
too.
Temperature may be -30° or +
20°, rain
or snow, children have to play outdoor everyday. And children wear
appropriate clothing to play. Growing up in the natural environment is the most
important part of learning.
They have exams but not hyper
schools or parents creating paranoia around them. What is worth exploring in
their system is how they focus on individualistic education.
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| beautiful children in the woods |
To each, their own! Students are not expected to compete with others nor are they expected to do the same things as others.
Schools are ecosystems for children to explore themselves and their role in the society. Intense focus on child welfare measures is to enable and support them.
So, with all this ‘let
children be’ approach, what did you gain?, was my repeated my question to all
those I met.
And I would get the same
reply- ‘it's a developed country with happy people, what else does one want
from its education system?’
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| The most idyllic Norkopping city |
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| Green meadows of Linkoping University |
This single word encapsulates the entire Swedish socially democratic philosophy on life: that everyone should have enough but not too much.
With a healthy
work-life balance and high standards of living, Swedes certainly found the
secret to happy life.
Sweden is a welfare state and
this is a collective choice of its people. People respect the high taxes
because they know how the taxes are spent for the welfare of people.
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| The two lovely ladies Helene Helvestrand & Kajsa Andersson Lundblad |
Culturally and emotionally, they are far more evolved as a society. I may have personally found answers in ‘lagom’ but returned with some thoughts in my mind.
When we go visiting
other countries to understand their education system, we cannot possibly ignore
their culture, societal structure and past.
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| Beautiful Lady- Katarina Sperling |
Their lack of fussiness and pretentiousness, plenty of contentment and quiet confidence, functional architecture, modesty and wholesomeness and an emphasis on the communal over the individual, everything is different from the way we Indians are as a society.
They say, there is virtue in moderation. Their schools reflect their culture.
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| The vibrant team of Faculty & Students at Linkoping University |
When Finland started topping in PISA, there is a new kind of tourism. Just like the gold rush of 19th century, there is a rank rush to Finland.
Particularly from India, where the words like toppers, first rank and
high scores are national obsessions. In spite of the thriving coaching
factories and the churning of assembly line products, groups of educators from
India too, rushed to Finland and went to the extent of calling it ‘Mecca of
learning’.
Two years ago, the
Head of curriculum development in Finland was visiting India and I happened to
spend some quality time with her. The
most obvious points are the way they give emotional comfort and space to their
learners and their focus on approaches to learning.
When all the factors
come together to make something right, its called ‘Goldilocks conditions’. For an education system to be right, many
factors have to come together to make it right.
Once again I
remember Gandhiji’s term ‘beautiful trees’ which he used to refer to the schools,
which existed in every village in pre-colonial India. Village elders would
appoint the wise man of the village to teach their children to sustain, promote
and preserve the local ecology, agriculture, culture and traditions. And the
children of the village knew the goals of their schooling.
As opposed to the
current trend where one thinks that education is about high scores in
examinations, great job and buy a big house and live a luxurious life. Needless
to say that as a society we created these ideas of materialistic race.
In the land of
Budhha, Gandhi and Swamy Vivekananda we are yet to make peace, truth and wisdom
as the main goals of education.
While working in
that direction of reinventing and reimagining schools, we also need goldilocks
conditions.
Where parents,
students, teachers, society, policy makers, employers and the country as a
whole have to debate on what is education, what is worth teaching and learning
and what is worth testing !
Meanwhile, the well-meaning schools can continue to create ‘beautiful trees’.
Meanwhile, the well-meaning schools can continue to create ‘beautiful trees’.
