23 August, 2024

Dear Parents,

Oh, how much I hope someone else wrote the newsletter today…:) Too bad…kids have put me out of the habit!!

It’s not because nobody got consequence this week. (Wishful thinking, he he!) It's because they moved on to different categories of consequences or contributions as we call it. This week onwards they will contribute by taking sessions. Erhm…erhm! Preparing for sessions is one of the major time guzzling activities we go through and we proposed that they have a go at it. Some kids expressed their skepticism, questioning the quality of these sessions but we wanted to try and see how it goes.

Today’s newsletter is about visitors, guests, well wishers and fans of LC. Why do they like LC, why do they keep coming back, why do they leave with a smile, a warm handshake and a few hugs?

I had a bizarre thought yesterday. I wanted to rewind 5.5 years back and stand in front of the gates of LC and walk in to see how this whole trip feels. Are we really democratic, self led and open like we mention on our website or are we on a spectrum? Unfortunately, I can’t erase the memories, the blood, sweat and joy like I once emotionally mentioned to the kids. I am biased. I can now see it only through the eyes of the visitors who come to LC. A pair of fresh eyes!

So, I observe these visitors closely to see how they feel and what they talk. We have had all kinds of visitors, some who are in awe, some who don’t say much, some who are our relatives and express their concerns about this experiment. But we have never had anyone who left with negative feelings.

There was a gentleman who was part of the Satsangam yatra and he sat through the Finance/Entrepreneurship session and misconstrued my dialogue with children as teaching altruism. He spoke to me later stating that there should not be any shame associated with earning money and one should not shy away from it if that’s what the child would want. I didn’t disagree. He seemed concerned and went about saying that the real world is not like your school and it's a dog eat dog world. He later sent us a book to read, Psychology of money…:) I felt humbled by his gesture.

Our parent Shubhada was also part of this same yatra, who silently observed everything that was going around and later found confidence in putting her daughter, Abbhidnya at LC.

Beginning of this academic year we had an elderly couple who came all the way from Thane on a rainy afternoon. They brought with them lots of fruits. They were friends of Poorva through her FFD acquaintances. He wanted to know if we were ready to take CSR funds and how he could connect us with some of the corporates. They left us with lots of wishes and blessings.

Early in the month of June, Kamalakarji from Samvardhan Gyankul had come to visit us. His main reason to visit was to exchange ideas with us and learn from each other. He told me that his plan is to visit many such places and compile a list of common mistakes. Certainly I was in defence mode but our kids took over. He interacted with them and was given a tour of LC. He also sat through our sessions. After all that when he spoke to me, he said, “Hmm…for your centre, everything revolves around democracy”. I said, “It is a lot of hard work and it's still a work in progress”. He must have somewhat understood the cue, because then he later told me the perils of self indulgence. He explained about gurukul shiksha. He talked about his experience of past 20 years. He spoke about his parent community and how sometimes they can’t trust the concept fully. Obviously, lots to learn from him.

Limangi’s school's founder and principal had come to visit us. She was delighted to see our space and the freedom it offers. She shared her experiences of starting an alternative school in a non cosmopolitan city during those times when no one had heard of alternative education. Her grit and determination is reflected from her words and expressions. This gave us confidence to march ahead.

On friday, Nandini’s friend, Tamara and her son Carter came to visit us from the USA. They are here visiting Mumbai as part of their year long travel. Their travel itinerary is to envy for. Carter is an unschooler/homeschooler and used to go to a place like Sudbury valley in Philadelphia. They have travelled to Europe, Africa so far and from here they are going to Vietnam, Thailand and Australia. They were impressed by the LC tour and were able to relate to so many things that kids spoke about like restorative practices, self led, judiciary, etc.

One of our other frequent visitor is a person who lives next door. She saw our children doing activities outside and was curious to understand what we do, so she stopped by one day. Now, she frequently donates to LC. She gave us her son’s bay blade set which she had very carefully preserved all these years. She donated a sofa set which we use in the hobby zone. She has also donated a few board games. Once she saw me with blossoms and warned me to keep vigilance in and around our gates.

Recently, one of our previous school’s parent called us to ask if we needed some cupboards for our library. We have been out of touch for the past 5 years but felt glad that they thought of us.

Once a gentleman came to visit us and spoke to us at length about how he too wants to start a school. He took our information and bank details. After a year or so when we were doing our accounts, we figured that he had donated some money to our account.

Once a parent couple walked in, but their child was very small. We told them to come to us after a few years. They wanted some kind of guarantee for admission and we assured them that we aren’t going anywhere. They also left us with a smile and a cheque.

Sometimes I think the “idea” of LC is a crowd puller. There are many who come to LC and they look at kids all wide eyed. Everyone is roaming around loud and free. They observe them. Some just leave after taking a peek, like after visiting the zoo…:) Many want to contribute by helping teach something or donating books and games. I don’t think any one of them understand what happens here fully, but they somehow trust the “idea”. No one has ever questioned, saying that this is bizarre or painted a gruesome picture of the future. Maybe they trust the innate ability of children or reflect back on their experiences of childhood. Whatever it is, it’s been a pleasant experience for us. And lots to learn!

That's all for now,

Until next time!