This post was published to PKR's notes on Knowledge Ma...

at 18:58:08 04-08-2009

To Sir, with Love

Account PKR's notes on Knowledge Ma...

What would it be like to become the Headmaster of one of Chennai’s most famous institutions at the
age of 27? An onerous responsibility for sure, but it would seem like an equally challenging opportunity
to carve the destiny of a school. And that was exactly what Mr. Kuruvila Jacob did. As this school turns
175 years old, all old boys of MCC School will definitely salute this man, who made this school one of
the most prestigious institutions in Tamil Nadu, probably even in India. For the students of MCC School
who studied from 1932 through 1962, he was a powerful force who influenced them, and to put it in the
words of more than one man of that time – “Made men out of boys”. And we are talking of people who
are doyens of Indian Politics and industry; but yet to hear them talking of their teacher is truly inspiring.

And so yet again, August 3rd was a day when people from different walks of life gathered to pay tribute
to one of India’s finest teachers. What makes this gathering so unique is the manner in which they
choose to pay tribute to someone who inspired them during their formative years. A group of students
belonging to this era have come together to create a trust that goes by the name “The Kuruvila Jacob
Initiative for Promoting Excellence in School Education”. This has been formed with the objective of
encouraging schools adopt a more holistic concept of education that allows students to develop a well-
rounded personality. One of the key objectives is to act as a catalyst in aiding schools adopts innovative
methods and techniques in the learning process. Towards this cause, they have launched an Education
Leadership Program that provides senior teachers of various schools to gain exposure in advanced
teaching methodology and training methods. One of these experiments is the Activity-based learning
project. With the support of The School – KFI which has been a pioneer of sorts in this area, they have
been taking these educational methods to Government-run schools and supporting the teachers create
a more effective mechanism for increasing attendance in schools and reducing drop-out rates.

The web-based learning project is yet another initiative that is set to transform the way teachers teach.
In a move to make education more student-centric, there has been a lot of emphasis on creating an
environment where the teacher is the facilitator and allows the student to explore and discover
knowledge. In the collaborative environment that is the classroom, this knowledge is shared and
discussed, thus creating new knowledge. Even in the days when the Guru was considered the sole
resource person, our ancient texts said the knowledge was the cumulative process of combining the
teaching of the guru with introspection, interaction and experience. Today’s challenge is to make
available the cumulative experience of the class so that the student’s learning goes beyond the
experience of just one individual. From that perspective, web-based education, rightly-harnessed will
allow for greater collaboration among schools and in the process greater sharing of knowledge. It is
hoped that this learning process will not duplicate a typical classroom learning experience, but harness
the power of the internet to make the resource available in a manner that facilitates and encourages the
student to explore and create his knowledge base.

“When I graduate, I’ll probably have a job that doesn’t exist today”. This quite aptly sums up the
challenges of the students of the Net generation. In his best-selling book “Grown up Digital”, Don
Tapscott talks about the this generation of learners thus: “They seek choice, customization,
collaboration, fun, speed and innovation in their learning… they expect to learn how to learn, not what
to learn.” Students will use technologies in collaborative inquiry-based learning environments with
teachers who are willing to assist them in transforming knowledge and skills into products, solutions,
and new information. How well will our schools be able to transform themselves and adapt to the new
pedagogy – the intersection of pedagogy, content, knowledge and technology?

As long as we have far-sighted teachers like Kuruvila Jacob, we can rest assured that schools will face up
to this new challenge too.