Innovations and Experiments in Schools

COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

Community school, by definition, is a school which deliberately tries to make the curriculum centre around the activities of the community which it serves. The relationship may be expressed in varying degrees-(i) the community's activities and occupations may constitute the chief, subject matter for study in the school, (ii) pupils may work in cooperation with adults in the community on problems of mutual concern, (iii) the school may be organized into a community exemplifying the best trends in the outside community, (iv) the work of the school may be extended into the outside community such that it becomes the initiator and planner of projects for 'community development.

In the U.S., community schools were started in the context of what has come to be known as "Free School Movement". In a way the, free schools signify a form of 'alternative' approach to schooling.

Free School Movement

Free schools, usually private, were started in the U.S. in 1960's chiefly with local initiatives. They were started invariably in store fronts, abandoned churches, homes etc. Greater freedom of learning was brought through humane principles in these schools. Often organized by students from middle class families, these schools are faced with financial problems

Radical School Reform

American Public School education has been under criticism for long, on the ground that is a disaster area, particularly for the poor. Critics suggested 'open classroom'. The suggestion was not found to succeed either. A few parents, teachers and students started their own schools where a "free" atmosphere of learning and growing unlike in public schools, could be created. It came to be known as free school movement; and the number of such schools when started around 1967 was about 20 which increased to over 500 by 1972. The schools are quite varied in the style of functioning and spirit, but by and large signify a critique of almost all the methods, forms, content and results of the public school system, particularly the regimentation and the element of compulsion: They are astonishingly small, ranging frosts only 6 to 10 students to around 250 (although community schools are usually much larger in student strength). Usually, the staff-student ratio is one-to-five, with many teachers serving either on voluntary basis or on low salary.

Being non-public in character, they get their revenue only, through gifts and donations. Often, therefore, many are short-lived glazing for about a couple of years. These problems notwithstanding the free schools, represent as exemplars of what good schools could be like particularly in helping children escape from the brain washing, of the public school system.

A close Scrutiny of the situation, however, world reveal that only a minority of people arc discontented, and the majority of Americans basically approve of the public school system, its methods, values and purpose. Its characteristics like authoritarian structure, discipline and punishment system, motivation through testing and grading are seen as not totally unwarranted. The schools seek to make the children into loyal, patriotic, obedient, literate and employable young men and women.

The discontented are those from a minority group whose children fail to fore better in the economic race. It is believed that the answer could not be 'free schools', but the schools that work for their children, the way they seem to have worked for the middle class white children Community control, if found necessary, could be secured.

There is a growing, professional and public opinion that the public schools should seek to adopt at least a few of the 'free school' reforms. Hence, it could be expected that along with free schools such a development may take place inside the public school system. Financial difficulties, it is seen, will force the enthusiasm for free schools to diminish.

Whatever its future, the free schools movement symbolizes the growing desire for extensive educational reforms in American public School system. 

PACE-SETTING SCHOOLS

The institutionalized approaches to formal education him come in, of late, for close and objective scrutiny and re-examination vis-a-vis the needs of the society and of the individual. The inadequacy, irrelevance and relative failure of the school system have led educational thinkers understandably to advocate a wide range of reforms and innovations. The suggestions and alternatives vary in terms of orientation, organizational details, curricular approaches; and so on.

The planners and organizers of schooling have thus necessarily begun to realize the relative urgency to try more promising experiments, and to introduce innovative models. Several such pace-setting schools attempted in different parts of the world, hold out promise of a better dispensation to the learners. We shall discuss below a few of these pace-setting ventures.

NAVODHAYA SCHOOLS (INDIA)

Navodhaya schools signify a promising innovation being attempted in India in the context of the National Policy on Education, 1986. The experiment is designed for a section of the bright children could consist of high achievers, particularly in areas hither to left uncovered, and the gifted. Navodhaya vidhyalays seek to cater to the needs of the category of high achievers, particularly in rural parts of the country.

The plain is to start one such school in each district during the VII Five year Plan. These schools will make available good quality education to deserving pupils irrespective of the parents' capacity to pay and their socio-economic back-ground. In these schools, there will be reservation for scheduled caste and scheduled tribe children as per their actual population in the district subject to minimum of the nationally prescribed figure of 15 and 7.5 percents for these two groups respectively.

Efforts will be tirade to cover girls to the extent of one third strength in each school. Free education, free boarding and free lodging will be provided in these schools will be affiliated the Central Board of Secondary Schools. The Schools will have freedom to adopt innovative methods and approaches. The teachers recruited from across the nation, will use interactive teaching methods, project activities etc.

Each school will have 39 acres of land, an inexpensive swimming poll beside other infrastructural facilities and teaching aids of modern version. The teachers whose training needs are specially taken care of, will be accountable, and will have non-monetary incentives too. Not more than 40 students will be there is class—classes VI to XII, each class having two sections.

Curricular and co-curricular programmes

Four streams are offered-humanities, science, commerce, and vocational courses. Instruction is in the mother tongue or regional language up to class VII, VIII, when intensive teaching of Hindi/ English, both as language subjects and co-media are introduced. Thereafter, Hindi or English will be the common media. Thus, they will follow the three language formula-region language, Hindi and English.

Migration of about 20 percent of pupils from one school to another in a different linguistic region it envisaged, particularly between the Hindi and non Hindi speaking regions. In the Hindi region, 'third', language taught will be the language of the 20 percent in-coming students from the other region. There are time-bound courses in languages.

Admission is based on tests. All the V class passed students from the district are eligible to take the test, designed by the NCERT. The medium of the test in mother tongue of regional language; and the tests are chiefly non-verbal, and class-neutral.

The Novadhaya schools are administered by an autonomous society formed in the Union Human Resources Development Ministry. The schools are expected to develop close rapport with the neighboring school; and share facilities with them. In the Seventh Plan, there is provision of a sure of RS 500 crores for the programme.

Although the scheme is a centrally sponsored project, in effect it is joint venture because it is the States which are required to provide free ‘land’ for these schools. The project is just taking off, and is being watched with interest and hope across the country.

SAINIK SCHOOLS

Sainik schools are schools of a special kind we may classify them in a way under public schools, run on the lines of thee, is European countries. Public schools were started in our country during the British rule, for the wards of the princely families, or the aristocrats. The schools provided programmes beginning from the nursery put the secondary, leading to the Senior Cambridge Certificate. Later, these came to be accessible to the rich public.

In fact, military schools meant for imparting training le military personnel are a kind of public schools. All the King George Schools which came to be designated as sainik school, and Lawrence Schools at Sanawar and Lovedale come under this category. A large number of Sainik Schools have been opened more recently in various States, in order to provide education of a specialised nature, to the age-group 11-19, both on academic and military lines which would further lead to courses at the military colleges.

Thus, these Sainik Schools prepare trainees for Military Colleges where they receive further education in order to serve the three wings of our Defense Forces namely, the army, the navy and the air force. The Sainik Schools are organized on the lines of the European Public Schools, with the special feature therein being training for defense of the country. The need to recruit more raid more students in these schools has been felt on account of the nearly constant situation of tension on our borders, and also the need for a greater defense consciousness and defense preparedness

MOBILE SCHOOLS AND FLOATING UNIVERSITY

Efforts to improve the spread and reach of educational opportunities, as part of making the enterprise more democratic, have led to some very innovative approaches on the organizational front. Mobile schools and Floating University are instances of such attempts, broadly termed as 'schools without wall and 'Experience Curriculum' etc.

Mobile Schools

It was Frederick J.Mc, Donald., a learning theorist, who proposed the concept of 'mobile education’ in which the student is taken out of the classroom for ‘observation of and participation’ in community activities.

`Life-long education' concept, it should be noted, does not full-time schooling approach. Part time schooling and part time work at low-skill, paid or unpaid community service tasks, are indeed useful.

In the 'mobile school' concept parents too can take on 'teaching responsibility' (De-schooling idea). Schools in this model are meant more for promoting social and athletic activities and for some difficult subject areas. Besides home, 'community' is also viewed as another area for providing education. 'Mentors' drawn from adult population (planners, builders, carpenters/accountants, doctors, engineers, businessmen etc) could provide, monitor and sustain earning activities of students, in the community setting.

Floating University

The need to provide the learners, particularly in higher education which richer and more 'true-to-idea' experiences has resulted in the novel experiment, 'Floating University'.

The encouraging example of the world's only major shipboard University, `S.S. Universe' is worth noting. Students from different colleges and universities in the U. S. are on board, in the Floating University, visiting and calling at different parts across the world.

When the S.S. Universe 'visited' in 1978, Madras, there were on board a group of 461 such students; and they were on an educational voyage to 13 ports its 10 different countries in the world, in the course of their 100-day long 'semester at sea'. About 70 faculty members with their families were also on board the S.S., Universe an 18,000 ton ocean liner. And from Madras, it sailed to Colombo. The Travel Corporation of India (TCI) arranged the tours for the different groups when in Madras.

The U. S. Institute for Shipboard Education and the Colorado University co-sponsored the venture. The 'Floating University" its teachers and students all jointly 'plan' their visits to places, a historical and cultural importance. Regular classes are held for six days a week while at sea. As many as 50 undergraduate course ranging from cultural studies to history and journalism are offered in the Floating University. Theirs is, in fact, an international studies programme.

It would be certainly an experiment worth trying on larger scale too, by other countries as well; and although a costly venture, it is a promising alternative to the ‘stationary, universities that our conventional institutions of higher learning are. In any case, they should be a useful adjunct to our existing universities.