We organized our eighth consecutive, in-house developed, Teacher Learning and Creativity Program (TLCP) in October, just before the second academic term began. Staff members were together for about a week to learn from one another by sharing experiences and ideas. The content of the program was simple and is evolving naturally over the last few academic sessions, organically and need-based. The TLCP dovetails with the overall development plan of the school and is serving the cause of our school well. There were moments in the program when one felt that our school community is rising to new possibilities.

One of the questions we took up in one of the sessions was the relationship between living and learning. What is it to live? What is it to learn? Is learning synonymous to living? We were not sure, given our levels of understanding, if we should take up such questions at all in a non-KFI setting. However, we pursued with it to raise our awareness of such questions and bring about a reflective ability. How is it possible to bring about a good learning centre with teachers who are experts in their subject matter but who learn it again as if they did not know it! This will at least fill in their gaps of subject knowledge accumulated over the school and college days. What is the right state of mind and attitude required for the process of learning to remain alive? What does an attitude of learning imply? When one does not know the answers to such eternal questions, it is easy to ask many questions!

Why is the learning quality, underlined by humility, emphasised for a good school to come about? Is it possible for subject “experts” to remain learners? If the quality of learning is essential in adults, to bring about the proper learning environment for students, should not an institution attempt to “simplify” its experts. Is it not necessary for an institution to “disturb” and “provoke” the experts to remain learners? Contrarily, should it continue with its emphasis on building the skills, concepts, and expertise of students? Should we not educate them about what it is to live beyond earning a livelihood?

For the first few years, our school focussed upon building the base for efficient and effective communication, in a career-oriented manner, with focus on development of knowledge, concepts, and skills. From the fourth academic year, we raised the more essential and basic questions about education.

It was necessary for us to understand what the word education meant to us. This understanding might influence what kind of school we wanted to be. The management and educational processes would have to emerge from this understanding. These strategic needs led naturally to the conception of our Teacher Learning Programs (TLP,) which aim to bring about the staff and teacher culture, which can aspire to work for the educational objectives of the school. The program kept evolving in scope, content, and subtlety over the last seven occasions. We called the eighth program as Teacher Learning and Creativity Program (TLCP) based on a suggestion of one of our mentors.

Presently, we are attempting to re-orient our educational approach towards developing conceptual understanding rather than being examination oriented. We had to shift the focus because for many teachers there is a dichotomy between the two. An increasing number of faculty members are trying out the more progressive methods of learning and teaching on more occasions than earlier. Our students have begun to ask interesting questions. The need to explore deeper aspects of education influences the contribution of more number of our teachers these days.

The TLCP is over more than eight weeks behind and we will solemnise the sixth Orchid Fest this evening!

Orchid fest is the cultural festival of our school, in which students present to their parents, what they have learnt during that period in school. Many of the items come up from the regular assemblies and fortnightly cultural programs called Kalaprakash. Kalaprakash is the forum where children share, present, and express their talents in the informal fortnightly weekends. Orchid fest represents and reflects the cultural state and content of the community. Most of the items presented emerge from the routine processes of the school. A few may require more rehearsals than others may. Hence, such programs may not represent the cultural index of the school. What we practise to present or show is obviously not ours! What we present by our being, without rehearsal, is natural, and that is what we are.

One can understand the major cultural characteristics and features of a community by observing the conduct of the members living in it. These observations might lead one to find ways to improve the culture. One might start thinking about the kind of inputs necessary for “fine-tuning” the nature of organisational development. In the absence of deliberate inputs, what happens to the state of the organisation? The present institutional state determines its future but is it possible to intervene and change the course towards the future? It may be necessary for any school leadership to consider such a question to infuse elements or tendencies in an institution, which can foster growth of the kind intended.

Orchid Fest, dinner, an examination or a match on the games field have something in common. They have a component of being the end of a process. However, is it necessary to measure the outcome of such beautiful processes! It is a difficult question. Our society generally believes that the approach of judging even the cultural programs improves the content and quality of presentations. Is this so? Does evaluating or judging improve affairs? Alternatively, does an evaluation free context bring about better involvement from the participants and thereby improve their performance? Why do schools of KFI, which are par excellence, avoid evaluation and judgment? Does this prevent proper learning? Our limited experience confirms that children are happily involved when the environment is free from fear and evaluation. We learn from the teachings of KFI schools.

We had not done even a proper run through of our program, let alone the dress rehearsal. We had not done even one full rehearsal of the program with the planned light and sound arrangements. Some children and staff may have been anxious about the outcome and concerned about how the guests will receive it. We were asking some basic questions about the entire process culminating in the Orchid Fest, and hence could not consider how parents would view it.

The processes leading to outcomes like cultural programs, other educational programs and Teacher Learning Programs are gradual and evolutionary in nature. It is worth the while to recall a few features of our festival. Orchid fest is a content oriented, non-ostentatious, simple, and colourful festival in which most children enjoy and celebrate their childhood, while learning to express their capacities. Children who are relatively “tight” at the time of joining the school, due to their home environment or the culture of their previous school, also learn to “open up”. Our school emphasizes on natural and simple expressions rather than competition oriented “performance”. There is no ranking of the programs. We do not present any awards or rewards of any kind to the participants. These are features of KFI schools, which we attempted to implant in the best possible manner, intending to shift of paradigm in the process. We can try such ideas; it seems, in any school context, as long as the same approach is visible in other domains of the school too. For example, if a school emphasises the comparative approach in academic outcome we do not know how far downplaying competition in cultural activities will be meaningful.

Much of the program content emerges from the items presented by children in the Kalaprakash sessions held on alternate Saturday evenings. Kalaprakash is a non-judgemental platform of errors where children express and present their talents without fear of making a “mistake”. It is an opportunity for exploratory expression! The other major feed for the Orchid Fest is the assemblies, which a different class arranges every week, for one week at a time. We repeat a few of the interesting assembly presentations during the Orchid Fest, maybe with a little improvisation.

With the cultural program over and children away for a short break, the campus is quieter this morning. Staff members will use the day to keep back the articles used in the festival back in their respective places. We want to bring back the school to “working order” for the next academic session after the short break! We will also review how we can improve Orchid Fest.

The cultural program reflected that our children are learning to express individually and collectively to a much better extent. Most of the children were involved in the role they took up and enjoyed it. It seemed that they were not depending on feedback from the audience. This observation applies to teachers as well. Of course, there was the glee of satisfaction in teachers when the expression of “their children” was expressive enough!

We, the staff and students of the school, are learning in this beautiful ambiance. Our children and teachers are engrossed in many little activities around the campus. Children and teachers use the wide learning contexts provided, including classrooms, hostels, arts room, music room, and many others more intensively. In most of these contexts involvement and engagement of engagement of students seems to be improving. Community members seem to be happy. Is happiness the springboard for learning and harmony? On the other hand, is it the other way round? This may be a difficult question to answer. However, it surely is an interesting question to explore for oneself!