Experiences shared by Vipul Shaha
-What is
the role of education in turning around the mounting environmental crisis in
today's world?
-How
would the youth of today develop & express their deep care for nature?
-Can
they be active young citizens engaged in environmental action?
-What
would education look like when the world is our classroom and our life is the
curriculum?
-What if
learning is fun and not a drudgery?
These were some of
my motivating questions when I embraced an opportunity to teach environmental
science (EVS) at the Valley School in Bangalore (Krishnamurti Foundation of
India). Having had no formal academic training in this discipline was to be a
challenge and a great learning opportunity for me.
My only
qualification to take up EVS was my growing concern & interest around
environmental issues from my interactions with several karmayogis in the field. I had also been
spending time with tribal communities in various regions, which was really an eye-opening and humbling experience.
When I expressed my
interest and willingness to take up EVS, the school offered me much needed
trust, autonomy and support in shaping up an innovative EVS program. It was
really helpful to consult with my mentor-colleagues, Sudha aunty and Skanda,
who had been teaching EVS for many years at Valley. My background in curriculum
design, pedagogy and educational psychology proved useful as well.
A bit about the
context: all my student-friends at Valley (Grade 9 to 12) had opted into the
study of Environmental Science (EVS), which means that they chose to study EVS from
various other subject combinations/offerings.
Out of the total of
25 students who took EVS in my classes, there were 22 girls and only 3
boys. This skewed gender ratio may be
owing to the fact that EVS is offered as an option to what are generally perceived
to be more conventional career subjects such as physics, accounts or
psychology.
Recognizing the
gravity of the current environmental crisis however, we all strongly felt the
need for everyone--children and adults alike to get a comprehensive and rigorous
exposure to EVS. We also soon
realized that this cannot be treated as just another 'academic' subject to be
studied for exams and to be forgotten later, but something that we all need to
be deeply concerned about and actively engaged with in our daily lives.
Given that the
students themselves had chosen to study EVS ensured greater interest and
engagement and a much smaller student-teacher ratio--our class-size remained
very small--10 students at maximum. This definitely helped in holding more discussion-oriented
circles in our classes.
The Valley School
lends itself as an ideal setting for the study of environment--a beautiful
forest campus spanning over a hundred acres of wilderness and a living
laboratory for various green initiatives. Most of our classes were held
outdoors, under the trees (sometimes even on the trees!) Since EVS is offered by only a handful
schools, not much was found available in the market in terms of quality
resource material/textbooks aligned with the board curriculum. We turned this
into an opportunity to put together our own 'resource-kit' while adapting the
curriculum to suit our interests, needs and the context. We relied on some of the classic books from
acclaimed authors, such as 'Small Is Beautiful' by E.F. Schumacher &
Environmental Studies—From Crisis to Cure by R. Rajgoopalan. The Bhoomi &
Down-To-Earth Magazines and the State of the Environment Reports (Center for
Science & Environment) offered many insightful articles, adding much value
to our classes.
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| A class on the Banyan Tree! |
We also found great
benefit in referring to topic-specific case-studies, watching various
thought-provoking documentary films, reading up latest news articles &
research papers from around the world, holding interactions with experts in the
field, going on localized field-study visits, taking up hands-on projects and
carrying out online research etc.
Valley, in general,
is a community of environmentally conscious parents and ex-students who are
engaged in some really incredible work in environmental domain at the local,
national as well as at the international level. Many of them came
forward and very generously offered their time, skills, expertise and insights
in taking forward our collective learning. My role, therefore,
happily extended to being a connector, coordinator and facilitator in creating
learning opportunities for my students.
Shared below are
some of the highlights and key themes, which emerged from my teaching- learning
as a fledgling environmental educator. I hope that they
may be of some value to others in the field.
Under each theme, I have also shared some concrete examples of
activities we carried out.
Any ideas and
suggestions would be most welcome!
1. Love for Nature:
“Have you ever woken up in the morning
and looked out of the window, or gone out and looked at the trees and the
spring dawn? Live with it. Listen to all the sounds, to the whisper, the slight
breeze among the leaves. See the light on a leaf and watch the sun coming over
the hill, over the meadow; and the dry river, or sheep grazing across the hill.
Watch them; look at them with a sense of affection, care that you do not want
to hurt a thing...watch with all
your eyes and ears, your sense of smell. Watch. Look as though you are looking
for the first time...When you have such communion
with nature, then your relationship with another person becomes simple,
clear, without conflict…if you hurt nature, you’re hurting yourself.”--J.
Krishnamurti
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| A group hug to Banyan Tree on campus |
I have come to
believe that for anyone even remotely concerned about environmental issues or
wishing to get involved, the fundamental requisite is to restore our lost
connection with nature. I say 'lost' because it really is innate to all of us
and comes so naturally to little children. Somewhere in the process of growing
up and academic/career pressures taking over, we tend to lose that
connect, leading to what is now being called in the West as 'Nature Deficit Disorder'. Our patterns of consumption,
strategies for reform and approaches to environmental action would be
drastically different if we shared deep love and a sense of oneness with
nature. This calls for a direct contact
with nature infused with silence, contemplation, leisure and constructive action.
As a class, we
enjoyed ample nature walks in the Valley forest, wrote poems, engaged with some
nature-inspired art-work, talked with nature, climbed trees, sat by the lake,
cooked on a Chullah gathering firewood in the forest. Some of the students voluntarily looked after
two injured dogs residing in the community.
It was
heart-warming to be part of a special burial the students of class 9 offered to
a little bird they found dead during one of our nature walks. Another set of kids
were quick in trying to rescue an injured bird on a different occasion.
Students
appreciated the depth and calm they experienced during 'Shin-Drin-Yo-Ko'
(Japanese method of 'Forest Bath') facilitated by a friend of Valley--Pradeep.
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| A Forest Walk with students |
As and when time
permitted during our classes, we found great joy in experimenting
with some of the nature games & activities compiled on http://www.healingforest.org
A group of us spent
2 immersive weeks at Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary in Wayanad, Kerala with
Suprabha Seshan--an ex-student of Valley. It's an incredibly inspiring
rainforest conservation initiative. Students described it as a life-changing
experience in their study & understanding of the environment.
A couple of classes
were held during which the Class 11 students paired up with Class 1 students
and went on independent nature walks in the Valley forest. The idea was to
immerse ourselves in nature with a sense of wonder and curiosity that our
little friends always seemed to be bubbling with. It was a mutual
learning experience that everyone seemed to have really enjoyed.
2. Optimistic / Hope-giving:
As we begin to
touch into the study of environment, it becomes inevitable to recognize the
alarming ecological crisis the world is currently finding itself in. It can be hard-hitting to face the sheer
facts about mass species extinction, the dangers looming over from climate
change, the continued degradation of soil, water & air, the loss of
biodiversity, the threat to the survival of forests, the wildlife and the
indigenous communities and the various resultant conflicts arising from the
'development’ paradigm. It can be overwhelming to grapple with the complexity
of these seemingly intractable issues. One could easily fall into despair.
I had to exercise
caution while conveying many of these 'inconvenient truths' to young minds that
were always full of energy and idealism.
I certainly did not wish to paint too grim a picture of reality. For no
fault of theirs, the youth of today are inheriting a world fraught with so many
problems (albeit with many possibilities indeed)!
While a clearer
understanding of the current scenario is important, my constant intent and
endeavor was to balance it by highlighting the various counter-currents of
people's movements rising around the world, the bright-spots of communities
taking charge of their livelihoods in sustainable ways, the positive stories of
citizens' initiatives, the success stories of revival, restoration and
conservation, the innovative localized techno-socio solutions gaining momentum
etc.
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| A field-visit to Puttanahalli Lake Conservation Initiative |
As they prepare to
enter adult life and the world of work, I found it important to instill in
young minds the optimism and the confidence that they have an important role to
play in making this world a greener, kinder and a just place to live in for
ALL.
Many of the
students are already amazing artists, musicians, poets, writers, designers,
outdoor and animal enthusiasts etc. How
do we encourage them to hone in on their natural talents & channelize their
innate potential (Swadharma) towards greater good is the real task of education.
Listed below are
some of the activities we carried out:
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--Kalyan
from Proto Village shared his journey of living without money with the tribal
communities and now restoring a barren piece of land in one of the driest
regions of India. His Proto-Village is
highly inspiring!
--Ranna
uncle (another parent) hosted a very informative presentation on solar-power
at his completely off-grid farmhouse.
--We
visited the Puttanahalli Lake and learnt about how it was revived through
citizen initiative.
--We
were kindly hosted by Anvaitha at 'Go Native' who shared her green business
model and offered us some delicious vegan-organic snacks! A class was dedicated to vegan/organic
cooking. One of the students created a booklet on sustainable and vegan food.
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| A visit to Go Native |
--Renu,
one of the Valley parents, shared her journey into the alternative medicine
and traditional healthcare practices in India whereas another parent--Smitha
had a session with us on 'Spiritual Ecology'.
--Prajna
from Anaadi Foundation conducted a very interactive class on United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
--Deepak,
a professor from IIM Bangalore held a thought provoking class on the 'Paradox
of Efficiency' with a critical analysis of technology, energy and
consumption.
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3. Project-Based and Hands-On:
Our constant
endeavor was to bridge the gap between theory and practice to the extent
possible. Towards this end, my classes
involved several student-led projects on topics that interested them and were
found relevant to our coursework.
Students came up with some really interesting projects ranging from
topics such as eco-architecture, eco-tourism, music & nature, sustainable
menstruation, urban wilderness, plant phenology, animal rehabilitation etc.
While looking into
our role in causing water pollution, we had a class on making our own natural
bio-enzyme. We used discarded lemon peels from school kitchen.
A class on making natural bio-enzyme and natural cosmetics with Swetha
Murali
Krishna--another parent, helped us to assemble a solar cooker on the terrace of
the school dining-hall. It was followed by an engaging discussion on benefits
of solar cooked food and solar energy. He also offered us a session on
up-cycling coconut shells.
A class on Solar Cooking on school roof-top!
Eight girls of EVS
Class 11 carried out a yearlong project on the theme of 'Waste'. This involved
weighing the total waste generated on campus in a month's time (nearly 500
kgs!). They also designed a survey to capture data on waste generation &
disposal habits within the Valley community. Awareness posters were created and
workshops were held in junior classes in order to create more awareness and
share our learning with the wider school community.
We later went on a
daylong field-study tour around Bangalore city to understand various challenges
and grass-root solutions about solid-waste. A similar
field-tour was taken up to understand the water and sanitation situation in the
city. Both were found to be quite an
eye-opening experience by the students.
Getting our hands
dirty, so to say, was really important for original insights to emerge and
learning to be internalized. I remember some of the students reacting with
displeasure after being invited to put their hands in the compost pit. They
slowly got comfortable in carrying the compost across campus and spreading it
around in a vegetable garden.
Getting our hands into school compost-pit!
In one of our
classes, students were given a design challenge--to gather any items from the
'waste-room' and create something meaningful/useful within an hours' time. Two
teams set about the task in full zest and came back with very creative outputs.
"If we start thinking out-of-the-box, there is nothing called waste",
remarked one of them at the end of the activity.
4. Relevant and Relatable:
Our attempt was to
make learning as relevant and as relatable as possible for all the students.
This was important in order to grow and sustain their interest in topics being
covered.
Nothing could be
more effective than finding a personal connection with the subject matter. It wasn't too difficult to draw from our
collective exposure and experiences given that environmental issues are all
pervasive now.
I encouraged them
to connect with local NGOs and initiatives, take interviews with people engaged
with socio-environmental causes, share personal stories of their experiments
and challenges in leading eco-friendly lifestyle etc. Students of Class 11 enjoyed creating a
scrapbook of weekly news articles focused on environmental topics of their
interest. They had to write and share
their reflections based on what they were reading in the article.
We often took up
local issues for our discussion based on the topic at hand. For example, when studying Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA), students analyzed, discussed and debated the pros and
cons of a new hostel building being constructed on campus and a new flyover
coming up in Bangalore city.
Our class once had
a video-call interaction with their counterparts at Sahyadri (another
Krishnamurti School in Pune). The purpose was to exchange ideas and share
learning.
During another
class, the students could instantly relate with the urge and angst expressed by
Greta Thunberg--a 15 year old Swedish girl. In her speech at the United Nations
she appeals school students around the world to go on a school strike and has
launched a youth campaign on climate change (Fridays for Future).
5. Inter-Disciplinary Learning:
As I began to
familiarize myself with Environmental Science, what I really appreciated about
the subject is that it stands at the cross-roads of various fields--biology,
chemistry, economics, politics, law, business, psychology, geography, history, culture,
sociology and spirituality etc. As we looked more closely into some of the
intractable environmental problems such as climate change, it became evident
that the study of EVS calls for an expansive and holistic understanding of our
world.
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| A poster on climate change by Aarti and Sunayana |
More than ever
before, we need to break the artificial walls of academic & professional
disciplines and be able to engage together in solving them as one global
community. Within the microcosm of our Valley community, their friends were
often poking at the EVS students ‘to take care of the environment’--as if it
were a job to be outsourced to a handful few. It is this sense of division and
topic specialization that we need to transcend when it comes to environmental
action. I was keen that young minds in my EVS classes engage with diverse
points of views, to act upon their understanding and to learn to be patient
with the results, to share their learning and create wider awareness and to
appreciate the underlying tensions arising from various interest groups when
addressing a problem.
In order to serve
this purpose we once held a whole class (40 students) debate on 'whether
Bangalore should have Metro rail or not'? Dividing themselves in smaller
groups, students assumed various roles and presented their case as politicians,
investors/businessmen, ordinary citizens, Environmental NGOs, lawyers etc. It
turned out to be a serious and sincere debate bringing to surface finer aspects
and complexities of the issue.
A senior corporate
lawyer (and an ex-parent from Valley) Mr. Vishwanath, shared his views and
experiences about how political & public interest negotiate with each other
in trying to abide by environmental regulation. He presented us with case
studies on buffer zones around lakes and forestlands in Bangalore.
On another
occasion, we hosted former secretary, Ministry of Forests and Environment, who
offered us a big-picture view on how environmental laws have evolved and are
being implemented in our country with a particular focus on Forest Rights Act.
We sometimes held
combined class with students of Sociology. It was helpful to exchange
perspectives on some of the issues of our common interest.
When studying
'pollution', some of the students expressed a concern about the light pollution
at night on school campus. Their concerns and ideas were welcomed by the school
administration.
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| An outdoor cookout with our 'Eco-Warriors' class |
One more aspect
around inter-disciplinary learning needs a mention here--that of striking a
balance between structure and fluidity during our classes. My colleague Skanda and I would walk into the
class with a broad plan about what needs to be covered in terms of
content. We would ensure that ample
space was available for students to share what may be predominantly occupying
their mind-space at any point of time. It wasn't too difficult for us to build
off of whatever was emerging through such open discussions and link it with
environmental studies. Our starting
point could be food security for example, leading us to critically analyze
McDonalds or Monsanto and their impact on agriculture, the latest TV ads from
food industry, a local millets food festival in the city or an eco-resort a
student may have just visited etc. Such
flexibility helped us co-construct our learning as a more organic process.
Rather than mere
transmission of information, it allowed us to broaden the scope of our
understanding beyond what was prescribed in the curriculum.
6. Inside-Out Change:
As part of the
coursework we studied various theories, scientific/technical tools, frameworks
and concepts in order to get a sound intellectual understanding about the
environment. At the same time, it was important for us to be constantly
checking-in with ourselves on how we are applying what we are learning in our
day-to-day lives. In other words, are we
being the change or are we falling into the trap of becoming armchair
environmental activists?
On this front, my
young friends were my greatest inspiration--they really seemed to 'get it' and
were enthusiastically willing to make the necessary changes in their own
lifestyle. It reinforced my belief that only a rise in human consciousness,
particularly from a young age, would be a significant necessity if we were to
meet the incredible environmental challenges being posed to us in the coming
decade(s).
When we watched
'Earthlings'-a documentary on animal cruelty for example, many of the students
decided to go vegetarian/vegan at least for some time.
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| "Be A Radical Alternative" a poster by Shanaia |
With help from
Shriram & Sowmya, Valley parents, we carried out a carbon-footprint study
(self-assessment). We also ran an energy and water audit for our families. It was revealing to
experience how, by simply bringing more awareness towards our consumption
habits, our relationship with it can undergo a sea change.
Dr. Kulkarni (a
parent from Dharwad) conducted a session on 'Sustainable Menstruation' for
senior students, which received a very positive response.
As a teacher, I had to be extra conscious as to whether I was practicing what I was teaching. Students would instantly catch me if there was even tiny bit of food-waste on my plate after meals or if I used a vehicle to get around on Valley campus (instead of walking). In other words, I really had to 'walk the talk'!
In conclusion, I can say that, within the constraints
of a school system, class-structure (approx. 2.5 hours contact time per week), board syllabus and exam pattern, multiple academic & non-academic demands placed
upon each student, we were able to bring alive the study of environment in a
fun-filled and practical manner. The two
years that I engaged in teaching-learning & co-exploring EVS with my
students turned out to be a fulfilling and transformative experience indeed,
somewhat reminiscent of my earlier teaching experience as a Teach for IndiaFellow.
At the end of my
two-year stint, I decided to move on with the intention of expanding the frontiers
of teaching-learning for myself and other young folks.
Even as I continue
to explore what it means to 'educate for life and from life', I am more than
hopeful that the many seeds & saplings we planted together at Valley (literally
and figuratively) would gradually grow into large trees and provide nurturance
to many more in the years to come!
Documentary Films
for reference:
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- Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain
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Our Land Our Life: https://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/ourland-ourlife.pdf
