ReTHINK INDIA INSTITUTE

Hemlata S. Mohan

WHAT MAKES ME A PROGRESSIVE PRINCIPAL

As far as my belief goes, being progressive means believing in oneself, believing in the cause and being resilient and open minded to embrace progressive changes spontaneously. During my career span of 35 years, my steadfast belief in my vision of directing all my initiatives towards championing the cause of children and their education, has enabled me to achieve what I am today.          

It has always been my mission to not just actualise my vision of offering the best quality education but also create global citizens with ethos and values that would foster the love of humanity. The extent of student achievement across the schooling years over multifarious activity holding prime position in today’s world across corporate, political and social empowerment is but a reflection of the ethos inculcated in the students by the school.  

MY MISSION AS A PROGRESSIVE PRINCIPAL

We are the architect of the world and education is the only hope and instrument to not only build the world but to bring order, peace and prosperity. On the verge of starting my second innings, being a progressive principal shall extend an important impetus for me to continue to pursue my efforts in motivating and creating more leaders in the field of education. It would enable me to orient current and future educators on the trodden path of success and also to find their own path forgetting all their limitations and spread their wings fearlessly to achieve their goals which have the interests of our children and society at large.  

LEARNING BY DOING

The School I lead, undertakes several hands on projects in all the subjects as learning by doing is a form of experiential learning.  We believe that children learn quickly when they actively engage in activities or experiences. This ignites their minds to know the content and beyond.  For example, A Geography Teacher assigns her students to create models of landforms, demonstrates disaster management after an earthquake etc. A Physics Teacher uses a simple teaching aid like bangles to educate the students on magnetic current. The School also provides ample resources to the students so that they can use them in furthering their creativity.  Experiential Learning in the form of national and international tours is also conducted. 

INTEGRATED CURRICULUM 

My school believes in the philosophy that irrespective of the vocation one may follow, inter-disciplinary knowledge is intertwined at grass root level. The design of curriculum is deeply rooted in this philosophy and is chalked out to extract and sort out the intricacies involved. As an obvious result, it implies giving requisite emphasis to Integrated Teaching Methodologies in which we conduct classes where an English teacher explains the poem ‘The Brook’ by Alfred Lord Tennyson, while a History teacher explains the literary culture prevailing in Great Britain in the 19th century and a Geography teacher could enlighten on different types of water bodies and how they are different from each other. Concepts of Maths Topics are integrated with Tabla, the sound of which is yet again taught as a part of Physics Learning.

INTEGRATION OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP INTO EDUCATION THROUGH FACULTY

Faculty is empowered with several responsibilities to work in silo but under a solid organisational structure with corporate-like designation nomenclature and managerial discipline.  The personnel holding various portfolios are known by Manager Discipline, Manager Relation, Manager Regularity etc based on their respective job profile. This exemplifies and perpetuates to the students and teachers, the idea of an effective work culture in a successful organisation.

PROBLEM SOLVING & CRITICAL THINKING AMIDST THE FACULTY 

Every faculty is strongly encouraged to compete with oneself. A student’s failure to perform is encouraged to be taken up as a challenge for innovative teaching and is associated as a performance factor for the faculty rather than focussing solely on the child’s shortcomings. An example of such innovative teaching strategy implemented is Differentiated Learning where the teacher identifies the varied learning needs and abilities of the students and plans varied assessment techniques accordingly to enhance not only their grades but also their confidence and interest.

GROUP WORK AND DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL SKILLS AMIDST THE FACULTY

Social responsibility is given great value and importance in the workplace. This mindset is best set by examples of successful programmes which I founded including    

• Deepansh – A fully functional Shiksha Kendra for the underprivileged children in the society, who use the same infrastructure as is used by the mainstream students
• Koshish – A vocational training centre for women of the marginalised section of society to learn skills that’ll help them earn a livelihood like designing, tailoring, embroidery  
• Kurra Village School – A village school adopted by DPS for its academic needs 
• SPICMACAY – A program for promoting Indian culture and classical music amongst the youth  
• Adoption of trees – A nuanced version of plant-a-tree campaign. Here the students & teachers are encouraged to adopt a specific plant.  They are required to wear a card carrying its identity and are called by that plant name on all Wednesdays. For instance, Amit would be called out by the name of NEEM on Wednesdays in case that is his adopted tree.  

UNDERSTANDING & ACTION BASED LEARNING

This is achieved by focusing on hands-on learning through a spectrum of initiatives like   

• Spandan – A live exhibition showcasing application and knowledge acquired focuses not just on science but on art and culture also.  
• Language Labs – An assessment and enhancement programme for listening and speaking skills in both vernacular and foreign languages.  
• Conventional Labs – Apart from Maths, Physics, Chemistry labs, lab facility is set up for modern technologies like Robotics. Students also undergo training of Photography, Sculpture Making and other Fine Arts.  
• Experiential Learning – Visits are conducted to countries like USA, China, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia. They visited globally renowned places like NASA, Great Wall of China, Shaolin International School, Chocolate Factory etc. apart from domestic study tours.  
• Open Classrooms – Parallel curriculum is introduced which are classes conducted to  simulate a reality-based learning environment. A lesson about the great escape of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was conducted in Gomoh railway station.  Students were also taken to Ambedkar Chowk and Buddha Vihar, where a Guest Faculty was called upon to enlighten them about the lives of these legends, to mark the  commemoration of their birth anniversaries.  

COLLABORATIVE & COOPERATIVE LEARNING PROJECTS FOR FACULTY DEVELOPMENT

Faculty development and continuous improvement is given a lot of weightage in the overall management strategy. As a winner of prestigious International School Award by British Council, faculty could attend workshops conducted by British Council which fosters team building, innovation and project management and are also members of associated online community to interact and exchange ideas. Inclusive teaching exposure is provided to faculty through a programme called Chalo Gao Ki Aur where teachers and students  visit and interact with villagers and impart knowledge  relevant to empowerment of villagers and also learn and understand the challenges of living in countryside.

EDUCATION ACCENTUATING SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND SAFEGUARDING DEMOCRACY 

I strongly believe in imbibing a sense of social responsibility in students and empowerment of them as citizens who are part of the nation building. The important aspect of this belief is reflected in the following initiatives:

• 360 Degree Assessment is founded on the principle that students are the direct beneficiaries of the service we offer and they are therefore the best judges of that service. They are hence given the opportunity and a platform to provide feedback on what is effective and how we can make it better.  
• Student Council Elections are conducted every year democratically that closely emulates the constitutional election and includes a nomination process, campaigning, declaration of manifesto and a digital voting process.  
• Theatre is conducted in school’s amphitheatre that underpin the freedom of expression and how to responsibly use it.  

DESIGN & DELIVERY OF A LEARNING ECOSYSTEM WHEREBY HIGHLY PERSONALIZED LEARNING ACCOUNTING IS DONE FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL’S PERSONAL GOALS

Personalised learning initiatives are very much an inevitable part of today’s schooling best practices. We strive to do this with the below endeavours   

• Learning Outcome Assessment – After completion of each topic or unit of a subject, learning outcome assessment is conducted where questions are based on assessing the child’s understanding of concepts of particular topic.  
• Grade Improvement Class – Special classes are conducted to improve grades of students who need a bit of handholding in academics.  
• Differentiated Learning – Assignments based on learning ability are provided within the classroom to bring out the best of their potential.  

INTEGRATION OF COMMUNITY SERVICE AND SERVICE LEARNING PROJECTS INTO THE DAILY CURRICULUM

DPS students act as mentors as and when required to children under Deepansh schooling initiative. Faculty also undertake pro-bono teaching service to them. Other than celebrating their birthdays with the Deepansh students, DPS students are also encouraged to  help women enlisted in the Koshish programme by way of buying finished output of these talented women’s craft. We also put up the Joy Of Wish tree to celebrate the Joy Of Giving, where students display their wishes to help.  

FUTURISTIC SELECTION OF SUBJECT CONTENT 

School staunchly believes in holistic education and Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. The students are groomed to be global leaders and citizens while being sensitive to local cultural variations. The extent of student achievement across the schooling years over multifarious activity holding prime position in today’s world across corporate, political and social empowerment is but a reflection of the ethos inculcated in the students by the school. Some such initiatives are:     

• Students are given a free hand to experiment on Science & Computer based projects and are also provided with Internet Access in Labs like Abdul Kalam Lab and WIZCOM respectively.  
• Life Skill Classes – Classes on Value based lessons, essential awareness of rights & responsibilities as a citizen and basic survival skills  
• Robotics Lab – Students are given a free hand at experimenting on Robotics taking into account the surge of Artificial Intelligence in global technology space  
• Club Activities
  • Leadership Club – Activity based interactive club provides the students a platform to discuss issues of national importance where teachers teach pro-bono.  
  • Healthcare Club – Essential awareness on healthcare and personal hygiene, prevention and basic treatment of contagious diseases  
  • Various clubs to provide skill based training on animation, graphics, global partnership, music, dance, sports, media & communications, movies & theatres, debates    
• Students are also encouraged to involve in Paper Recycling and Vermi-Composting within the school premises

LIFELONG LEARNING AND SOCIAL SKILLS OF  FACULTY MEMBERS

Regular workshops are conducted on various topics ranging from soft skill development, classroom management techniques, preparing for interviews to leadership skills development. Based on performance, faculty is charged with wider portfolios to take their career track a notch up. Consequently DPS Bokaro has produced more than 25 Principals, Vice Principals/Heads of Institution, under my leadership.

FACULTY ASSESSMENT & EVALUATION OF THEIR INNOVATIVE PROJECTS & PRODUCTIONS

Annual performance appraisal is conducted to evaluate the performance of faculties against core objectives laid down by the school every academic year. The process also allows for identifying and rewarding faculties who have gone the extra mile in innovative out of the box thinking and in delivering remarkable results.

PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY TO FACULTY EMPOWERMENT

According to me, faculty empowerment encompasses true empowerment in the following areas   

• Knowledge content  
• Life skills  
• Ethos and Spiritual values 
•  Financial Self reliance    

I constantly endeavour to equip every faculty member of mine to be the epitome of achievers in all the above areas. Some of the answers given above touch upon the various programmes that are driven with this philosophy in mind.