Philosophy

Learning Is all about “Meeting” a concept, a fact, or a skill  and making friends with it

There are essentially two ways of knowing something - one is by a directed, repetitive method.

But thats not how we naturally know people or even things. We just meet them. As we meet them often, we get to know them and as we get to know them we become friends with them.

For example one way to learn multiplication tables is by rote memorization.

The other is just to go about solving real life math problems and look up in a chart the multiplication figures, as we need them. Over a period of time we just remember these multiplication facts! (Just like how in pre mobile phone days we used to remember phone numbers which we used to call frequently).

Learning:  exploration Meet in different ways, places, mediums, forms etc.

When we meet something, not just in the same way - but in multiple contexts, we get multiple perspectives into it - widening our knowledge and deepening our understanding.

So, for example - how all can we meet MULTIPLICATION - we can meet in shopping, planning for parties, in cricket, finding areas (of room, field, hand), in games, and in so many other calculations that we need to do as part of things that we do in our life.

Another example - how all can we meet TIME - we can meet Time in doing an activity, in daily routines, in cooking, in a game, in a dance or song, in travel, etc.

Learning: experiencing Meet ~ Many Times - Intensely

Obviously we cannot really know somebody by reading somebody's bio data.We got to meet the person personally. In the same way we need to meet the concept personally, interact with it, play with it, experience it, enjoy it.

Thats how we all learn at-the-job. So the idea is not to end up learning things with "academic interest" rather dive fully into them experiencing with all senses.

 Just the way a child learns his mother tongue.

 Learning:   expressing Meeting Again, Specifically

We also get to know the other person more if we talk to them, talk about them, write to them, think about them, remember the times we had with them and so on.
Spending specifically some time on a concept - in the way that i want - makes my learning concrete, clearer and consummate.

The idea here is to, while exploring and experiencing, make our notes, put down our thoughts, share these with each other, read any background information - spend time reflecting and knowing the concept more intimately.

Nothing is fixed here, no right answers are sought - but the process is more like ruminating - we use writing, speaking, reading, presenting, discussing, debating, drawing, making collage, specific experiments and so on.

Learning:  Differently Each child

•         learns in a different way

•         learns at a different pace

•         learns different stuff

•         learns different amounts

Hence we do not compare children - neither amongst themselves, nor with any benchmark - children assess themselves, each other and us as facilitators observe the children and document observations.

We normally go by the goals the child wants to pursue. If we have any concern areas, we discuss with the child and the parents and work out a mutually agreeable plan.

The key obviously is - not assessing at the end rather empowering the child all along. We have learned that the less we push the children to learn, they kind of push themselves more to learn :-)

I construct learning

1. Use my Intelligence
2. Through my Interest
3. With my Emotions
4. Using my Thinking
5. Develop my Understanding

Multiplication of learning – when we all share

Since every learning is either constructed by the child or even better by the group collectively – there is an innate ownership, understanding and robustness of the learning.
This is what makes the whole process so much wholesome, meaningful and fun.

Consciousness of

•         Myself

•         Others

•         Things

At Aarohi, the working principle is awareness. 

If I am conscious of my needs, wants, feelings and also of others - then I work in harmony and get maximum out of myself and my group.

Also, If I realize that just as I am dependent on material and resources, they are in turn dependent on me. Through consciousness I need to develop sensitivity, responsiveness towards all beings, all things.

The key we believe, is to realize our relationships with others and things.

  Education is not preparation for life;  Education is life itself