Learning Forward

Episode #83: Sandeep Dutt, in conversation with Arundhati Shukla, currently working as a Senior Physics teacher and the Dean of Pastoral Care at Unison World School, Dehradun. With a rich experience of 29 years in boarding schools, she has evolved as a lifelong learner and trained herself and her students and colleagues in multiple aspects of pedagogy, public speaking, critical thinking, innovation, inquiry-based learning and pastoral care. Recipient of four government scholarships during her student life and an alumnus of Welham Girls' School, Arundhati began her teaching career at Mayo College Girls' School, Ajmer, where she taught for 7.5 years. She then moved on to teach at Rashtriya Indian Military College for 6 months before moving on to her alma mater, Welham Girls' School. She continued to teach there for the next twenty years. Arundhati loves to experiment and bring multiple learning dimensions inside and outside her classroom and believes that knowledge explored and shared grows exponentially. You do not know what is around you? How has your life gone? Such questions should form the cornerstone of learning. She has been literally been a school going learner all her life; having taught in prestigious residential schools in India; has lived her life with children, and is a great peer for the teachers and the students. Values like compassion, caring, friendship is all inbuilt into her and form the cornerstone of her mentorship style. Arundhati explains Hi-touch versus Hi-tech and wants to bring context to all the content she wants to deliver to her learners. Find out how she worked on a living pin-hole camera!

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Episode #82: Sandeep Dutt in conversation with Mukesh Shalet, an educator and a life long learner. A firm believer in Kaizen he evolved as a teacher by close observation of his peers, school visits and compiling best practices. Long before pedagogical practices like learning styles, Multiple Intelligence, theatre in education & cooperative learning gained currency he used them as a teacher & mentor. He believes that a superior force works through him to impact the lives of students & parents. His interests beyond education include ‘the why theatre’, psychology and the occult sciences. A life long learner Mukesh would like to be reborn as one foe there is so much to learn & a lifetime is not sufficient. He has been a school leader in boarding schools, day schools, coed schools and even today, as the principal of a school, he remains a teacher, as he loves to teach English. His passion for music and theatre offers us a glimpse of his sensitivity, the trust with his inner self and how, as a chief learning leader, he works to empower his teachers and students alike. As for most of us, his parents also played a key role in becoming a teacher; the compassion of his mother and the discipline of the father are both important traits of his character today—a family man who keeps up with the times and believes in values and traditions. In the podcast he shares how the year 2020 helped him and his team take learning forward, a major change from yesteryears, the teachers learnt as much from students who are more agile and savvy with technology. Finally coming to his belief: I believe that God continues to create children since he is not yet tired of the man. I also believe that man is yet to understand the mind of a child; I believe in striving for excellence in everything but also believe that excellence alone is not everything; I believe children must aim for high grades but I also believe that children who score low grades also succeed in life; I believe in grades that help children pass an exam but I also believe in values which see them through life; I believe parents when they tell me that children do not like to study but I also believe in children who tell me parents do not have time for them, and finally he states I believe in destiny but I also believe that we are makers of it.

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Episode #81: Sandeep Dutt, in conversation with Brinda Ghosh, an MA, BEd, CIDTT by qualification, started teaching 42 years ago at Vikaasa Madurai. Has taught at every level of school - English teacher - taught at ICSE, CBSE, & CIE Affiliated schools. From a newbie teacher to a House Mistress in a boarding school, head of the department for English, founder principal of two schools and one who is a great blend of pedagogy and pastoral care, has had the opportunity to teach at the Welham Girls' School Dehradun, JG International School Ahmedabad, Ecole Globale at Dehradun and Gyanshree School in Noida. She is a teacher trainer, a voracious reader and has authored two books and articles in education published by various journals. Believes in inclusive education, is a Gold Award holder of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award and is rooted in liberal arts education. For her, teaching was answering a calling; it touches the lives of many people who you help grow; in the process, you even grow yourself. A teacher must be a lifelong learner, and that is what Brinda is! She further believes that a teacher needs to be an influencer and experience the joy of being a practitioner.

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Episode #80: Sandeep Dutt in conversation with Jim McCue, who works with Partners in School Innovation, and his focus is renewing the promise of public education. An Education Policy Fellow; Leadership for Educational Equity; Independent Consultancy; Partnering with several nonprofit organizations and charter schools to conduct empathetic, student-led redesign of long-term, sustainable strategic planning and fundraising related to inclusive, equity-based ecosystems, social and emotional health for stakeholders, and improvements in mathematical agency and culture building. Professional Learning Community Leader; Teach For America; Cross Country & Long-Distance Track Coach. He has to his credit courses from Evans School of Public Policy & Governance, University of Washington Seattle, WA and Master of Public Administration. Cohosts a podcast ‘A Revolution in Education’ with Chris Unger, Teaching Professor of Northeastern University. In this show, he shares the role of community members in making education a priority with a focus on inequity. What it means to be a learner; how running and teaching are intervened, both need perseverance and accountability, with no real day off! The training process is continuous, on the so-called off-day you can sleep, hydrate, breathe, walk to the grocery store and do what rejuvenates you, thereby taking your learning forward. In todays' day, we need to think about why I am a teacher, what has changed and what is the role of each stakeholder. Above all, we need a growth mindset.

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The Foundation is an affiliate of Learning Forward and works for school transformation with an emphasis on culture as a service. We focus on governance, training and learning; work on stakeholder engagement and help with the personal and social development of every individual. We'll design a plan that meets your unique needs and improves teaching and learning in your system. The message from the founder Sandeep Dutt for the members of the Association in India, on the eve of the general meeting on 3rd June 2021. Find out more visit www.SchoolEducation.com. #HappyTeachers

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Episode #79: Sandeep Dutt, in conversation with Deepak Ramola, founder of Project FUEL, is transforming education through storytelling. The documented life stories are made into lessons helping students develop a wide range of skills, drawing meaning from real-life experiences of people from various backgrounds and age. Deepak uses his multi-faceted experiences and multidimensional talents towards channelling everyday wisdom and experiences into easy to imbibe and apply life lessons. His extensive work of teaching and conducting workshops. From victims of human trafficking in Nepal to middle school children in Afghanistan to refugees in Europe, he has uncovered life lessons. He has been teaching age groups 4-96 for the past 10 years. A featured United Nations speaker, a Merit 360 Action Plan Executor, a TED speaker, an educator, a writer, actor, lyricist and a gold medalist in Mass Media studies from the University of Mumbai. Deepak has just launched a book with plans to increase his global reach. He talks about how information creates bias and is a hindrance to learning; he believes we need to bake our own take and eat; humans live and tell stories, which is the best way to take learning forward. In the factual news-oriented raconteur, we lose the real story; how do we transcend the stereotypes and become a story!

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Episode #78: Sandeep Dutt, in conversation with Alka Verma, alumni of the Lawrence School Sanawar and Lady Irwin College, Alka also pursued her pre-doctoral studies in Mass Communication at the Jamia Milia University, Expertise in Educational Sales, Marketing, Communication and System implementation with a special ability for start-up ventures, both national and global A multifaceted personality, has worked successfully over several functional areas and industries both in India and overseas. In-depth knowledge of educational systems, both Indian & International. Resourceful and skilled at networking. Energetic person with excellent communication skills. Adaptable to varied work environments. High-level systems orientation. Excellent counselling and Team building skills. All her work in the past 15 years has been in the education vertical. She talks about her experience in the education sector, what she received and how she is keen to give back to nurture it. Having experience of 13 schools and working with teachers of myriad background and cultures, she has built on her communication skills and feels even more passionate about being a teacher. Her career from an executive search firm to working for nearly 10 years with a school gave her the need to focus on teachers' recognition, help them work on their strengths, and use resources better.

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Episode #77: Sandeep Dutt in conversation with Raquel Fernandez from Barcelona. She is a Hundred Ambassador, a passionate teacher for English and Science at Escola Sant Gervasi Cooperativa, always seeking innovation in the education field. She has been an active leading member of Fundació Tr@ms for more than fifteen years. Nowadays, Raquel is Head of International Projects at the foundation. She has a widen experience designing, organizing, and participating in international activities and events. Her passion for different cultures has influenced her in her professional development and career. Raquel has a long expertise in managing innovative and transformation projects within educators from other schools. For more than ten years, she has been coordinating Collaborative Departments of teachers at Fundació Tr@ms. She is a speaker at various national and international events since 2001, helping spread the Fundació Tr@ms vision and looking for collaboration partners around the world. She talks about the influence of parents in our lives, how we are the company to children in their growing up years and what we can do to help them connect with their feelings. 

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Episode #76: Sandeep Dutt in conversation with Kunal Sandhu, Founder CEO at Talentel & CogitoHub. We live in a world of constant disruption. Technology has revolutionized the way we view and interact with each other and has dramatically changed the way we think about our Careers. 7 Years of building & scaling 2 Digital Platforms for Faculty & Students to 'Perform Better' - Talentel ('Talent Intelligence' for Educational Institutes) and CogitoHub (Career Testing & Profiling for Students). Both are powered by relevant Frameworks & Predictive Algorithms. A decade of previous experience at Unilever, Accenture & PepsiCo includes working with and advising Organisations from over 5 Countries primarily within the Consumer Goods Sector in Market Entry, Growth Strategy, Marketing, Brand Management & Sales Transformation. Kunal shares the story of his life spanning 18 years of quality education through school and college, where he had the best of mentors and teachers to shape his life. He understands that a great teacher has the ability to translate knowledge into practical learning. Having travelled across the world, he has found his calling in predictive analytics and has successfully set up a framework for careers and talent management. He talks about using algorithms, testing and working on scalable solutions, with empathy and focus on human capital; he is now working with schools on large scale solutions to transform lives of young people across the world, by offering them a platform of learning and forecasting their future.

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Joy Of Learning (JOL) comes alive with heartwarming stories from educators at school. Flyers DGS's proudly created this episode @ The Doon Girls' School, Dehradun - Vijaya Jugran, Urvashi Uniyal, Vandana Goel, Bhumika Vyas & Ritika Tyagi. Learning Forward India Academy Cohort of 2020-21 is exploring the future of education, built on immutable values alone: Appreciation, Caring, Co-operation, Courage, Freedom, Friendship, Happiness, Honesty, Hope, Humility, Love, Patience, Peace, Quality, Respect, Responsibility, Simplicity, Thoughtfulness, Tolerance, Trust, Understanding & Unity. 

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