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Why Do We Really Go to School?

4/8/2021

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Picture
Why do we really go to school? I've asked this question a million times to myself and to the children who come to Sparkling Mindz. As much as I like to ponder on this, they don't cease to amaze me with how they respond either. Not just to the question to the very act of thinking through and posing something existential like that.

Here's my latest brush with this question:
We had our school orientation with children today and it was so energizing to meet all of them (as it always is!). I like to keep something slightly above their grasp level in the session always. Something that they need to stretch to reach and do so by themselves. Sometimes it's an abstract thought, a moral dilemma and sometimes they are words (like pet peeve!).

Of course, children have their eyes light up when they come across a challenge and they go seeking the answers (one way or the other). Even if not immediately, it has shaken them out of the slumber of walking mindlessly through life (which is one of the reasons why one should choose to learn, and of course, the school can be a space where learning can be enabled).

We had a parent ask us in the recent past, "Shouldn't we simplify the words else they will not be able to understand, right?"

No, actually.

We should NOT simplify. 


​It's in the seeking and stretching that the learning happens.

We cannot deprive our children of that. I would rather challenge the child, stretch her imagination and then let her find a place to settle on a ground higher than she thought was ever possible. If we keep doing this on a regular basis we then have a learner in the making who enjoys taking on challenges.

So, coming back to the question, "Why should our children go to school?"

To Learn.

And, if our expectation is that our children should know and understand everything easily, that things should be a breeze or always accessible or that we'll do well if someone just explained everything to them step by step so that they will not have to struggle then we have got our fundamental understanding of education and learning all wrong.

Learning is messy, it involves getting frustrated, forgetting, wanting to run away and still staying the ground, feeling like you have seen the light and then hitting a dead end, finding your way out of the mess/the maze whatever you choose to see it as and gearing up to walk another joyfully enjoying the process of learning, unlearning, relearning. It is not a destination, it is not a goalpost, it is not a state, it is a journey.

When we talk about joyous learning at SM, we don't mean to create a utopia or create a space where anything goes in the name of 'we should not upset the kids'. We mean deep, connected, meaningful, purpose-driven, frustratingly beautiful, reflective, empathetic, process-driven student-owned, student-led, rigorous learning which children learn to embrace and enjoy.  This requires us to step back and reimagine continuously what we think of as limits of our children's abilities and imagination.

It may seem non-obvious to people but very young children are capable of very complex and abstract thought. A complicated vocabulary is merely the outer shell, merely the medium through which they can learn to express the rich complexity of their ideas. It is, in no way, a reflection of their ability itself which is infinite and unknowable. We are mere spaces that exist through which the child's potential can find its path and go on its learning journey - meandering, frustrated, overflowing with joy, passion, and finding its center in the process.

Let us create a journey of a lifetime for them, a journey that demands as much from them as they seek to give and of course, then some more.

Contributed by Sreeja Iyer, CEO & Co-founder, Sparkling Mindz Global School, Preschool & Afterschool

#sparklingmindzglobalschool
#sparklingmindzglobalpreschool
#youngachieversacademy
#neuroscience
#21stcenturylearning
#inspiringconfidentlearners
#socialemotionallearning
#reggioemiliainspired

​
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That Time When Our 2 Y/O Saw The Rain!

3/8/2021

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​A bunch of 2yr olds were on the school terrace when it started to rain. We all took cover and started singing a rain song. Just then-

A: Ma'am it's raining!
Me: How do you know that? Can you see it?
A (and others in chorus): We can hear it.
Me: Why can't you see it?
A: Is white, no color (perhaps indicating transparent)

Suddenly the rain pours

A: Is loud.
Me: What does that mean?
T: It means it is coming fast, fast
R: I can even see it now!

Suddenly it stops.

A: Ma'aaam, it stopped
Me: How do you know that?
T: No sound
Me: Do you think it will come back to play with all of you?

They all laugh and giggle and we continue our song.

Children feel closely connected with nature and puzzle over natural phenomena and try to make sense of it all! They feel joy in feeling like they have control over it and they can predict and understand it.

Do any of you have children's rain stories to share?

Written by Sreeja Iyer, CEO & Co-founder, Sparkling Mindz Global School & Preschool

#inspiringconfidentlearners
#sparklingmindzglobalpreschool
#natureplay
#reggioemiliaapproach
#playbasedlearning
#21stcenturylearning
#socialemotionallearning
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Becoming Changemakers - Step 1

2/8/2021

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Have you ever wondered how we can save the world from becoming a garbage pile?
Do you think there's something we can do about it? Any ideas? 
If so, how can you implement them? How can these ideas produce an output?

Well...that is what project T.R.U.I is for!


WHAT IS PROJECT T.R.U.I, you ask?
As sparkling Mindzians, we were troubled to know that the waste, whether we separate or not as dry and wet waste, usually end up in the landfills and all that talk about companies recycling are usually fake. Now knowing that the waste produced in our school will end up in landfills any way, we wanted to do something about it. And that was how the concept of T.R.U.I. emerged -Tinker, Reduce, Recycle, Reuse, Up-cycle and Innovate. A project that will help us to not only T.R.U.I. our waste but also even probably sell it. 


SO, WHAT DO WE PLAN TO DO ABOUT IT?
After the tool T.R.U.I. was given to us, we wanted to start the work right away, and so we did. As a class, we sat together and brought different ideas to the table. From coasters to lampshades, sound amplifiers to keychains, pencil holders to racks, our ideas were limitless. We then needed to pick a few from that big pile of ideas. To do this, we came up with a set of parameters that will give us an idea of how 'good' the idea is, what the product will and can be. The parameters we came up with were: effective, useful, abundantly sourceable, sturdy, and aesthetically pleasing. This came in handy as it helped us pick the most matched ideas from the lot. 


LET'S DELVE INTO OUR DISCUSSIONS FROM T.R.U.I. EMERGED FROM
Our discussions started off with the big question, 'Where does our waste go?' We wondered about it for days and days. We enquired about it to many - our maintenance heads, the people who take the garbage and many others. Even after all that the answers were either “It goes to Bannerghatta.”, or “Why do you want to know?!” None of us were satisfied with any of the answers that we received. So many of these discussions and so many questions later, we finally arrived at T.R.U.I and the ideas started pouring in.


MISSION T.R.U.I
Now that T.R.U.I has stepped in and taken a very important role in all of our lives, we were ready to start making the items we came up with. But the facilitators helped us realize that there were more learning and skill set we needed to bring to the table to make this process easier. This created the mission T.R.U.I where all our learnings were connected to T.R.U.I., along with us learning the skills that will help us to create T.R.U.I. Ied items. 



Contributed by Meenakshi, Falcons (Grade 8), Sparkling Mindz Global School.

#sparklingmindzglobalschool
#inspiringconfidentlearners
#21stcenturylearning
#socialemotionallearning
​#everychildcan
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The season 3 of our TED-Ed Clubs are open now! As we are waiting for talks to get published, you can see past videos here!
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Next Trinity Communication Skills exam will be held in Oct 2020 at Sparkling Mindz. Our students have achieved distinction across grade levels in the exam the past two consecutive years! Enroll in our Young Thinkers and Achievers Program here today to participate. 


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