Progressive Principals: The Vocabulary of Learning

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Progressive Principals: The Vocabulary of Learning

The Discover Tomorrow Progressive Principals Workshop conducted on 13-Oct-2014 at Global Public School, Thiruvaniyoor, was a fruitful meeting of Progressive Principals across Kochi schools.
Keynote Speaker social Mr. Sandeep Srivastav, Social Entrepreneur speaking on the theme of Emerging needs of a 2st Century Learner, talked  expansively on the need for a paradigm shift in the way education takes place in schools. He expressed a hope that there soon would be a day when the phrase “City of Good Schools “will also be a defining point for a city.


The need for Student Centered Planning while teaching was emphasized on where facilitation of the learning occurs. He was of the opinion that today’s child must be taught Thinking Skills and Creative skills and a shift from grade level assessments to conceptual level. Globally it has been noticed that interest in Math and Science has dipped to alarming levels. The question is why does a student who enjoys all subjects in junior school suddenly lose interest? The reason according to him was that students are not able to verbalise their thoughts effectively. For this the focus must shift to increasing the level of Language skills from Communicative to academic levels. Each child must have a recommended reading plan for at least 52 books each year according to the grade level and must have a minimum vocabulary of at least 22000 words for him to be able to effectively think out solutions at the application level.

Ms Maya Mohan, Principal, Chinmaya Vaduthala expressed the need for value-based teaching to be inculcated amongst students and that just like parents have responsibilities towards their child the child must also be taught about his/her responsibility towards the family.  Ms Saroja Muralikrishna , Principal, Delta Study, sharing her life experiences said that a passionate  teacher can single handedly prove to be a turning point in a child’s life and urged all to relook at the objective of learning .Mr. Asok P, Principal, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Palakkad, enunciated the and objectives of Central schools and explained the focused learning that happens thereMr. Vijay Menon, Chief Mentor-Aswamedha-IIM, opined that for the future of learning to be redefined it is important to look at the ancient teaching systems of the East and incorporate these into learning modules.  He argued that the ethos of India must find its way into learning and that schools must emphasize on nation building, real life experiences in order to have a well rounded student.

Ms Indu Panicker, Principal Global Public School, spoke on the need to shift from educational framework designed in the 18th Century to those apt for the 21st Century. She spoke of how the 3 Rs of Reading, (W) riting and (A) rithmetic have to be added to with the 4Cs of Communication, Creativity, Collaboration and Critical thinking