Education is more than chalk and talk

Priya Krishnan, CEO of VBH Education Services, Sujaya, and Arundhati Ghosh, deputy director of India Foundation for the Arts, discuss the importance of using arts in education…

AG: Your institution Sujaya believes in integrating arts in classrooms. How did you come up this idea?
PK: I’ve always believed that arts make a classroom exciting. Arts is given a step-motherly treatment, I decided to change that by integrating arts in classrooms.

AG: It’s exciting to know that private institutions like yours are exploring a different curriculum. However today, I haven’t found many takers for arts. One must give intense training for teachers in arts and try to pass on that passion for arts to several other people. I find the humanities disappearing. Nevertheless, I am able to see a lot of people moving away from the corporate sector to do something they are passionate about. So, what are Sujaya’s philosophies?
PK: Apart from making the students’ literate and teaching them the languages, we also teach them how to be expressive in their own curriculum. For instance, if we are teaching about rain water harvesting, we don’t limit our teaching only to the technique but also teach the children to be more creative.

AG: That’s great to hear. Education shouldn’t be limited to only chalk and talk. One must experience a realm when we pass on the education to the students. The teachers must be trained effectively as they are the central point of contact in imparting important lessons to the students.
PK: That’s very true. For instance, when they teach a lesson like environmental studies, the students should be taught how to use trash, segregate waste apart from the text.

AG: True. IFA had tried an experiment by asking students to paint without colours and instead discover different kinds of soils in their neighbourhood that can be used as colours. And to our pleasant surprise, children came with seven to eight different shades of soils for the project. I am surprised by the way the generation thinks and works, which was not the case earlier.
PK: The generation today is more fearless and more decisive about their career. They measure success on the grounds of happiness from the job and not from the salary. Though this is noticed in a certain economic background, parents too are more adventurous and receptive to their kids’ choice. Hopefully, we find more institutions that incorporate arts through education.
   
Who’s talking
— Priya Krishnan is the CEO of VBHC Education Services, Sujaya.  She is a certified financial analyst and has worked with leading firms such as Andersen Consulting and Pricewaterhouse Coopers. She has also worked globally — across Singapore, New York and London. At VBHC, Priya will manage the education initiative in setting up a high quality K+12 school system that are contemporary in terms of school design, curriculum and teaching methodology.

— Arundhati Ghosh is the deputy director of India Foundation for the Arts. Arundhati joined IFA after several years of experience in advertising and marketing. She is also a recipient of the prestigious Chevening Gurukul Scholarship for Leadership and Excellence at the London School of Economics, London.