Learning Forward

Episode #39: Sandeep Dutt in conversation with Dr Kavita Bajpai, an educationist with an experience of more than 20 years. She has figured out the child-centric approach of building great minds with warm hearts. The desire to contribute to the ever-evolving education system motivated her to move out of limiting myself as a school principal and get associated with schools through training programs, workshops and professional development. Passionate about helping children with special needs, a cook, poet, artist, a lovely mom, good with community engagement, simply loves what she does, her passion and warmth enhance every community she connects with. Heritage conservation, education solutions and above all building her very own school, we may be tempted to call her a Woman Of Substance. She talks about the foundation years, how the generations have grown up with a great heart and mind, the environment alone makes the difference. You will discover the poet in Kavita and how she concurs with Robert Fulgham - All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten!

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Episode #38: Sandeep Dutt in conversation with Lt Col Atmaraman Sekhar, a result-oriented soldier educationist with over 30 years of holistic experience in the areas of education, skill development, administration, leadership and HR at the highest leadership levels. A post-graduate in Chemistry as well as in English, he has had a distinguished career in the Armed Forces, heading Sainik/Military Schools, Instructor in the Indian Military Academy, Registrar of autonomous Colleges. After taking premature retirement from the Army, Lt. Colonel Sekhar rolled up his sleeves and put in his heart and soul in education, with a focus on experiential learning and building great teams at educational institutions across the country.  He talks about climbing mountains, helping teachers stand tall and the need for a holistic approach to education. There is a great need to link jobs and education and above all help young people live their dreams. We are in the need of practitioners and not just preachers. The world today gives lip-service to championing a better world for the young generation and does little to help them be the leaders they should me. Remembering the role of Mahatama Gandhi as one of the finest role models the world has seen to the current self-driven and self-centred regimes, he is forthright and makes no bones about the fact that there is a terrible lack of mentorship for young people not just in our country but across the world.

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Episode #37: Sandeep Dutt in conversation with Steve Cardwell the President of Learning Forward. Steve values ethical leadership and responsibility, building and fostering strong working relationships, leading with technology, and demonstrating exemplary communication skills.  He holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Simon Frasier University (BC) and an MA and BSc from the University of British Columbia. Steve was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal in 2013 for his outstanding service to public education. In 2015, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the BCSSA and was selected as one of UBC Faculty of Education’s top 100 Alumni. He currently serves as the Vice President of Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Steve has had an exemplary career in education, in this podcast he shares the role of his family in his life, a teacher by choice, has a deep belief in the philosophy of Servant Leadership and champions professional learning. His Mother a Teacher has been a role model for him, as well as his father who served selflessly as a medical practitioner. A champion of student well-being, one who goes the extra mile to support teachers with their lives and careers. 

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Episode #36: Sandeep Dutt in conversation with Venus Upadhayaya, currently a reporter with the Epoch Times at New York. Venus reports on a wide range of issues. Her area of expertise is in Indian and South Asian geopolitics. She has reported from the very volatile India-Pakistan border and has contributed to mainstream print media in India for about a decade. Community media, sustainable development, and leadership remain her key areas of interest. She helped us give shape to Learning Forward India, she was one of the first few people who joined us for Brewing Knowledge, a little group for Coffee and Conversations in 2015. Together we built the Core-Values module for teachers and the heart tree for helping understand the role of the teacher in building the inner core of every child. She has travelled across the world, in her quest for knowledge and to build learning communities.

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Episode #35: Sandeep Dutt in conversation with Matthew Jonathan Raggett, an educationist, writer and the former headmaster of The Doon School, the all-boys boarding school in Dehradun. A philosopher mathematician committed to the well-being of students and a professional learning practitioner. Curious, collaborative and compassionate, above all, a family man loves coffee, books and delves deep into the subject he loves. It is wonderful to have him share experiences from across the world, about teaching, learning and human relations. Matthew is of the opinion growth in health, happiness and positive engagement can come about through all of the environmental factors in schools that principals, heads of departments and teachers have control over. He shares with us the chicken and egg syndrome, how education is the foundation for life, living and a better world, and the need to use technology for building a more equitable world.

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Veena's daughter studies at The Fabindia School, the nursery where My Good School took form. A school helps prepare us for life. Not only can we learn the basic skills to read, write, and do arithmetic but we can learn about peoples, places, and nature. My Good School empowers students by creating an environment for the personal and social development of an individual. Experiential learning is made possible through activities beyond just study, this brings to life learning that would otherwise be theoretical and uncoordinated. The idea of the children doing their own self-reflection, their being able to choose and work on what they love doing makes all the difference. My Good School helps build relationships and strengthens school culture, to further improve the learning outcomes and prepare children for life. Longingness for nature, helping attitude to her peers, excitement to look at the world with a new lens every day and head to school with a sense of belonging, all this has brought learning to real life.

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My Good School works for the personal and social development of an individual, by offering an environment where experiential learning is made possible through activities beyond just study; this brings to life learning that would otherwise be theoretical and uncoordinated. Encouraging students to become involved in activities in the community outside the confines of the school curriculum will help develop their confidence, knowledge and networks.  With teachers’ encouraging young people, they can benefit fully from what both the school and outside interests can offer, this can be a key factor in their progressing successfully through adolescence into a fulfilling and rewarding adult life.

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Episode #34: Sandeep Dutt in conversation with Kim Karr, she has taught Physical Education and Leadership at Excelsior Middle School in Byron, California, and was a very active member of the California Association of Directors of Activities. Her enthusiasm for life is infectious to students and adults alike. Kim has been recognized nationally for being an outstanding activities director. Having travelled to over 100 schools in the US and Canada in just the past year, she has inspired thousands of people to join the #ICANHELP movement in choosing to live a more positive life on and offline. As educators, we experience a rapid increase in social media use and the stress and anxiety that negative online behaviour puts on school cultures. She wanted to empower teens with a common-sense approach and not just protect them. Students have to be a part of the solution. When something happens on social media, students see it first. The more we can do to train, guide, and support students online, the more likely they are to take positive action. #ICANHELP’s mission is to empower students and support educators to create stronger school communities who know how to use #Digital4Good.

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Unni Kroth, Co-Founder and CEO of Foradian Technologies, speaking with Sandeep Dutt at the Better 2018 Fedena Virtual Summit. As School Improvement Coach, Sandeep focuses on school transformation with an emphasis on culture as a service. With over 30 years of experience as a trainer and mentor, Sandeep has travelled across the world to help teachers and students in their personal and development. What are the key challenges associated with the management of good school & strategies to make the school better? Find out how you can make your school better.

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Episode #33: Sandeep Dutt in conversation with Monica Kochar, she is a Mathe-magician! She has given numbers a heart and abstract concepts a ground to stand upon, has taken the sting out of the learning of Maths. A doctor who cures math-phobia, Monica’s approach makes Maths not only interesting but humane. Founder of Humane Maths, it is about humanising the maths curriculum. Making it human-friendly for all kinds of learners. The focus is to create an environment where all children ‘come to maths and then maths is taken’ to all of them. The environment is created by taking teaching strategies that make the classroom mentally stimulating, emotionally appealing and physically relaxing. This is done by integrating maths with art, poetry and much more. In the podcast, Monica talks about the unconditional love between the learner and the teacher, the joy of learning and how the day is the anchor to experience real exhilaration for an educator.

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