F inding Ecstasyin Learning

presents a seminar on

Education in India faces several challenges, ranging from addressing huge numbers of learners, to making do with limited infrastructure, to staffing classrooms with only moderately skilled teachers. In many places, the process of education has become routine, and has led to educators, learners, and parents focused on terms like “results”, “assessment”, and “accountability”. Rarely, however, do we focus on enjoyment.

As toddlers, learning was an exhilarating story. It was a story we listened to. It was a story we observed from a distance.It was a story we were intensely involved in. It was a story we made up. It was a period embracing continuous discovery, countless epiphanies, and a craving for learning.

Do children crave learning in school? Do they have the same ecstasy for learning they had in their formative years?Can that craving and delight be nurtured and supported?

Explore these questions with other leading educators at the seminar on Finding Ecstasy in Learning.

The seminar is meant for Principals and the Management of schools.

F inding Ecstasy in Learningpresents a seminar on

Friday, 24th November, 2017at

The Grand Sheraton,Raja Bahadur Mill Road, Pune, India - 411001

A G E N D A9.45 am Registration and Refreshments

10.15 amWelcome Address

10.25 am School Leadership Ahead of the CurveKeynote Address by Dr.A.Senthil Kumaran

12.00 pm Q & A

11.05 am The Challenges of the English Classroom

A Panel Discussion Panelists: Dr. Ashwini Kulkarni

Ms. Sudha SharanMs. Malati S. Kalmadi

Ms. Jayshree VenkatramanModerator: Mr. Ananda Mahto

12.40pm From Empathy to Ecstasy: Paving the Way

Closing Remarks by Mr. C.P. Viswanath1.10 pm Vote of Thanks

1.15 pmLunch

For any queries contact Mr. Uday Dhanraj Sonawane: +91 81490 81000

Twenty-first century schools need leaders who are at the cutting-edge of education, and are knowledge-seekers and facilitators. There’s a growing body of research that shows school leaders need to transcend the confines of management and administrative roles to become active decision-makers in the choice of instructional design. Drawing upon these themes, eminent educationist, Dr. A. Senthil Kumaran, will talk about how leaders shape a school’s learning climate impacting student performance.

Some of the questions discussed will be: How is the management or Principal or the Senior Leadership Team the most critical school variable in determining the learning environment of an institution? How does a leader help close the performance gap between the advantaged and less advantaged learners? How will the right choice of learning practices and materials make a school an educational tour de force?

School Leadership Ahead of the Curve

Dr.A. Senthil KumaranDr. A. Senthil Kumaran is the Chief Confluencer of Learners Confluence, a knowledge-sharing technology platform for teachers, and advisor to school managements on accelerating academic growth to meet with accreditation standards. He was Principal Counsellor and Head, Education Excellence Initiatives – CII Institute of Quality, and a faculty member of the Strategic Core Group of Christ University. While at CII, Mr. Senthil Kumaran had initiated the School Excellence Clusters and Conclaves, and International Learning Missions. With an experience of over 30 years, he conducts capacity-building workshops for school-managements, has assessed about 100 institutions on Excellence Frameworks, and has made presentations in the USA, Singapore, China, Finland and Saudi Arabia.

The Challenges of the English ClassroomPanel DiscussionFor many children, English is a foreign language or just another subject. Yet, as educators and parents, we have chosen English as the foundation of our teaching processes, and as the repository of knowledge. Such a contradiction in perspectives of the stakeholders of learning would naturally lead to a range of challenges.

It is important for us to identify the lacunae in learning scenarios to even begin to address deficits in outcomes, as the gaps could range from the inability of a child to think and communicate in English to uninspiring learning materials to mediocrity in learning experience due to a lack of skilled teachers to a failed education system piggybacking on methodologies from the West.

With senior educationists who will whet the extant processes in learning vis-à-vis English medium schooling, the panel discussion will make us all ask some incisive and pertinent questions on the current state of education.

Founder Director, City Pride School, PuneDr. Ashwini Kulkarni holds a doctorate in Educational Management, and has served as Founder Director of schools and PhD research centres. Under her leadership, City Pride School has been recognized as an International School by the British Council, a Creative School by CCE Finland, the Best IT Enabled School by the Government of Maharashtra, and an ATL Innovation school by NITI Aayog, Government of India, and has received the Quality Accreditation Award from NABET. Dr. Kulkarni is the recipient of the Rotary Vocational Excellence Award, and the Remarkable Contribution to the Field of Education Award instituted by PCMC.

PanelistsDr. Ashwini Kulkarni

Hon. Secretary, Kaveri Group of Institutes, PuneMs. Malati Kalmadi is Hon. Secretary of Kannada Sangha’s Kaveri Group of Institutes that runs Kannada and English medium schools, and Colleges. She has initiated the Kaveri Gifted Education Centre and the Kaveri Kalakshetra for the holistic development of children. A Masters in English Literature, Ms. Kalmadi holds diplomas in Communication Media for Children and School Psychology. She is one of the Directors of Dr. Anjali Morris Education and Health Foundation that seeks to help students with learning disorders, and has worked with 2morrow 2gether, and Indian Federation of University Women’s Association for the development of women and youth.

Ms. Malati S. Kalmadi

Ms. Jayshree VenkatramanPrincipal, SNBP International School, RahataniMs. Jayshree Venkatraman is a core-member of the CBSE agency for accreditation of schools. Formerly Founder Secretary of the Sahodaya-Pune Chapter, Founder Principal of DAV Public School – Pune, and Director and Principal of Indus World schools, she holds a Masters in English Literature and Business Administration, and is qualified in Hindustani music. She is a resource-person for QCI school accreditation, textbook development, and teacher’s training conducted by the Maharashtra State Education Board. She works with Dyslexic and Autistic children, and was awarded a Gratis Visa twice by the British Council to visit schools in England. Ms. Venkatraman has received the Best Principal Award from the Unified Council, and the Dr. Radhakrishnan Award for her contribution to education.

Principal, Gopal Sharma Memorial School, MumbaiMs. Sudha Sharan has 20 years of teaching experience, and 15 years of experience as an administrator. Formerly a journalist and editor, she holds a Masters in History and a degree in School Leadership Management. She has assisted the State Government of Maharashtra in the field of education as a co-convener in organizing activities for over 60 schools. She is now involved in the implementation of Inclusive Education in her school, has conducted CCE training for teachers, and has designed an integrated curriculum. Ms. Sharan is the recipient of the Dronacharya Award for Excellence in Teaching instituted by Yuvak Pratishthan.

Ms. Sudha Sharan

Educator and Head, Product and Training, Karadi Path, ChennaiMr. Mahto heads training and product development at Karadi Path. He holds a Master’s in Education in Curriculum Development and Instructional Design, and has worked in China, the USA, and India with various educational organisations. With about 20 years of experience in the education field, Mr. Mahto conducts workshops on research, participatory communication, early grade reading, professional writing, and ICT.

From Empathy to Ecstasy: Paving the WayClosing Remarks In order to bring about a change in education, a complete overhaul in thinking about schooling is required rather than adding changes to the scaffolding that is already giving way. To empathise with our children is a good place to start. To see humanities education as what nurtures the scientific temperament will be an ideal place to get to. Some of the questions to be addressed in the closing speech by Mr. C.P. Viswanath will include:

How do we help a child form a bond with English? Can we facilitate English literacy as a critical thinking skill? How can we make listening and reading exciting processes of

language discovery leaving cues and trails in the languagecontexts we create for children?

How do we approach all learning as a theatre of the mind?

Mr. C.P. Viswanath is the Co-founder and CEO of Karadi Path Education Company, Co-founder of Karadi Tales, India’s pioneering children’s audio-book venture, and Director of Pedagogy, Isha Vidhya Rural Schools. He has an international business experience of over 25 years, and is a classical vocalist and mridangist. As a main proponent of alternative and creative education in India, he has been rethinking entrenched systems and faulty pedagogies. Mr. Viswanath has spoken on education and music at TEDx, CII conferences, ICSE National Meet for Principals, CBSE Schools Management Associations, and at the Royal Institution of Great Britain.

Mr. C.P. Viswanath

Mr. Ananda Mahto

www.karadipath.com

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Adyar, Chennai 600020. Tel: 044 - 4205 4243

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Karadi Path has been identified by Project Literacy Lab, San Francisco, USA, as one of the top 16 educational

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