Redbridge International Academy is one of the
top international IGCSE and IB day-cum-residential schools located near Electronic City
and off Bannerghatta Road in Bangalore,
India. It is one of the top ICSE School in Bangalore.
It is with a great sense of pride that I write
on the incredible thought and ingenuity that went into our student's exhibits
at the second RBIA, leading international school in Bangalore "Scifest —
Science Exhibition".
It was aptly called "Innovations in Science" for indeed it was.
From our Little ones ideas on novel ways of
recycling and the seniors' botanical tissue culture and composting to the
futuristic conceptual designs of an amphibian-car, magnetic field controlled
house Lighting system and the noise pollution free (horn —Less) warning signal
device between vehicles, our brilliant minds showcased them all.
My congratulations to the teachers and
particularly the parents for encouraging, guiding and motivating the children
to think not only "out of the box" but "beyond themselves!"
It was not just the displays that were fascinating but the fact that every one
of the students was so knowledgeable of the principles and Laws of science that
made each of their exhibits actually work!
The children so beautifully demonstrated to all
whom were fortunate to witness the event, how we at Redbridge go about
educating our students. It has been so rightly said that "Knowledge only
for the sake of knowledge is no knowledge at all!" It is the application
of one's knowledge and intellect for the benefit of mankind that is so
essential to our future well-being, comfort and happiness. We must always find
ways to encourage creative thinking and imagination. History is replete with
stories of dreams becoming reality.
Children should never be discouraged when they
question. I have always advised them that if no one can give you the answer
"Google It!"
How fortunate we are to have access to the world
at our fingertips. The classroom of today can so easily be converted into a
child's universe if only our teachers are devoted to the profession and the
children in their care, have the right skills, approach and dedication.
We at Redbrdige are committed to providing our
children with a learning environment where they will grow into wonderful,
Loving, caring and successful human beings and pray that with God's grace we
can realise our goal.
Innovation Needed Now -
Education
Innovation is a new idea, device or process. It
can be viewed as the application of better solutions that meet new
requirements, inarticulate needs, or existing market needs. There are
innovators in the fields of science, commerce and art.
It is in the field of education that the future
of countries is determined and forged. It is also one of the most diverse and
difficult fields in which change can be eventuated because of the complexity of
the problems and their connection to society and its problems, because the
changes usually take time and politicians detest investments in the long-term, and
because the field itself is changing so rapidly across a wide spectrum.
Whether for reasons of economic growth,
competitiveness, social justice or return on tax-payer investment, there is
little rational argument over the need for significant improvement in Indias'
educational outcomes. Further, it is irrefutable that the country has made
limited improvement on most educational outcomes over the last several decades,
especially when considered in the context of the increased investment over the
same period. In fact, the total cost of producing each successful high school
and college graduate has increased substantially over time instead of
decreasing - creating what some argue is an inverted Learning curve.
This analysis stands in stark contrast to the
many anecdotes of teachers, schools and occasionally whole systems
"beating the odds" by producing educational outcomes well beyond
"reasonable" expectations. And, therein lies the challenge and the
rationale for a very specific definition of educational innovation.
Education not only needs new ideas and
inventions that shatter the performance expectations of today's status quo; to
make a meaningful impact, these new solutions must also "scale", that
is grow large enough, to serve millions of students and teachers or large
portions of specific under-served populations. True educational innovations are
those products, processes, strategies and approaches that improve significantly
upon the status quo and reach scale.
The primary and secondary education system in
this country is based on learning models from the 19th century. While there has
been significant change in almost all aspects of life, a 2nd grade teacher
plucked from the late 19th century and returned to earth would be bewildered by
most of what he or she encountered, except the pedagogy within the average
classroom. Sure we don't emphasize rote memorization as much anymore, but short
of that the curriculum and teaching methods haven't changed. One could argue
that's because there's been so much success, but on any relative scale we can
demonstrate that the educational system is failing miserably. So we have a
rigid educational program steeped in tradition that is demonstrably failing.
The educational system must innovate in order to be relevant.
Regardless of the tradition, we aren't teaching
kids how to learn, or teaching them relevant skills, and are often channeling
all of the kids in an educational system into a collegiate experience. This one
size fits all educational outcome, where in some schools over 90% of students
have college aspirations, neglects the fact that many won't complete college
and will require other skills to generate income. Why do we continue to prepare
the students for "knowledge worker" jobs when clearly there are many
demands and opportunities, and proclivities for other skills? We need to
resurrect the concept of apprenticeship and place more emphasis and value on
Learning skills beyond the classroom. We need better definitions about what
kids need to know, and more importantly, we need to teach them how to learn and
how to teach themselves and others.
The educational system
in India is clearly failing - failing the students, failing the teachers and
failing to create people who can join the workforce or create their own
companies. Only greater demand and political pressure will encourage more
experimentation and more innovation. At this point we need disruptive innovation
- a complete rethinking of the pedagogy, curriculum, technology and intent of
education, followed by a restructuring of how education is offered and
consumed. With the right focus we can rework the educational system and create
a more powerful, relevant educational experience for our children and
grandchildren. The disrupters are out in force. Since most educational
systems are government monopolies rather than private enterprises, there's
little innovation and little incentive for new entrants.
As it is, many states
have begun to experiment with private schools, for-profit schools and some
parents are turning £0 home / alternate schooling. Given the difficulty of
starting alternative educational programs, and the rigidity of the existing
educational bureaucracy, these experiments are too Little and mag be too late.
We are at risk of losing a generation of students who have been taught
inadequately and are unprepared for many of the roles and responsibilities they
must take on. The state governments and localities must act to allow much more
experimentation, and universities must require more from people who want to
teach, and must create new teaching and educational paradigms. If we aren't
careful, businesses will go back to the beginning and create their own schools,
to ensure a consistent flow of knowledgeable students with excellent
experience. If you can't get the right raw materials, you create or purchase
your own sources. In the advanced western countries, at one point it was argued
that home schoolers were the nut cases who for behavior or religious reasons
kept their kids at home. Since home schooled kids have proven very adept at
getting entry to prestigious colleges, more and more people are pulling their
kids out of primary and secondary programs and teaching them at home. This runs
the risk of weakening the social fabric, if we don't have shared educational
experiences, but these home schoolers are merely demonstrating that they
believe they can innovate the educational model. Our new Prime Minister
gas brought the issue to the fore by arguing for skill development and
improvement of quality of teachers. In this age of digital impatience, we need
to do this NOW.
The Call of Science
No matter what we do ,
from the time we wake up in the morning to the time we go to bed at night,
every little thing that we come across, every movement that we experience and
even our feelings and emotions are linked to simple or complex scientific
phenomenon. Wonders of Science are omnipresent and the impact is all
encompassing. Human beings according to the National Geography researchers are
only living organisms that can trace and understand their own evolution. And
this is probably what makes us the greatest of God's creations.
It is quite amazing to
think that a few years ago what was considered to be Science fiction is slowly
becoming reality. Human brain is continuously undergoing evolution, thus making
us more and more scientifically inclined and technology savvy. The fact is
proven: we are better than our ancestors, and so will be our children, who are
and definitely will be more intelligent than us. Mag be this is what God wants.
What takes us hours to understand and operate becomes a child's play in
minutes. The best example is our smart phones. Children just love them and use
them with more dexterity than adults.
With the belief in the
notion that any child is a storehouse of imagination and immense capability, we
at Redbridge gave them an opportunity to ideate and experiment in the field of
Science and the result was an outstanding SCI-FEST 2014 which showcased their
talent and ideas. Both parents and teachers were very happy to see young minds
working at their best. From demonstration of lime water generated electricity
and magnet generated electricity, effective waste management ideas to amphibian
rovers and honk free traffic management skills; the children exhibited their
talent with unending enthusiasm. 'Innovations in Science', the tag line of the
exhibition was in vogue in every display and presentation of children.
Kudos to all RBIANS,
they had proved the saying, 'Child is the father of man'
