13 January 2023

Dear Parents,

If you were expecting great things to happen this week, then let me tell you that nothing of that sort happened. We are where we were, maybe there is a sliver of hope…:)

So come monday, facilitators maintained a very strict demeanour. Demanding only to speak when spoken to. Converse only in english. No cross talking during sessions. No unnecessary questions. Time outs if you disturb others. Eating snacks only during breaks, etc. Yes, we all know the school routine. We knew how long this would work, nevertheless, we gave it a try.

Few Observations:

Our week started with discussions with respective Mentors about the goals. When kids treated this exercise casually, the facilitator said strictly, “I mean business here, show me your work.” We had asked them to write 5 things that they would like to achieve by the end of this week. This was checked every day. Some have adhered to it, some wavered but continued.

Everyone knew that if you don’t reach LC on time this week then there will be some consequnces. Majority of them came on time, some even before time. Barring the usual two or three, everyone turned up on time within a tolerance of +/- 15mins. The ones who came in late had to sit in squatting position for as much time as they came late.

Sevas were done on time with some sincerity, but things were back to square one by friday. At least now we have a seva minister whose job it is to make sure that everyone is doing their seva and not shying away from it.

There were almost no incidents of hitting, pushing or using bad words this week.

Through the week, facilitators were keeping a count of all offences kids were doing and demanded that they do burpees or push ups for every offence. The account was getting settled every day.

Everyone attended all the sessions, they were engaged and seemed to enjoy too. You may ask, “Why don’t they attend regularly then?” Who knows why? Maybe play is more fun.

All the clubs ran nicely with full attendance. During reading club we read and discussed few pages of AS Neill’s Freedom -  not Licence. In the debate club kids were divided into three groups vouching for schools with strict orders, one with complete freedom, another with freedom along side responsibility. It was interesting to hear their perspectives. It made me realise that they know the value of freedom and what it is to be responsible. During the drama club we did plays from hindi textbooks.

Friday food managers did their work with some reminders and help.

All of them did their homework.

During the circle time we discussed about the sanctity of judiciary. If all are equal and democracy has to prevail then there has to be a system of justice that can keep the wrong doers at bay. After a lot of discussions, kids suggested that the consequences have to be finished in the first two days of issuance. If it’s not done then that child will have to stay away from LC for a week. This has been voted with a clear majority.

On Wednesday at the garden, few kids came late and were asked to squat as consequence. At that time a complete random person came upto us and said, “Please madam, spare them, forgive them. They are just kids. गलती तो करेंगे, माफ कर दो” It was quite heartening.

We are going to have 1st graders from Little Angels International School, who plan to spend some time with us on Monday. So we were trying to prepare our kids, saying that the LAIS kids are only 6-7 years old and they will get scandalised if we use words like, stupid and idiot in front of them. So a warning to mind our language. At that moment one of our 5 yr olds reminded that the facilitator has forgotten to include “saala”.

Friday Food

On the occasion of Sankranti, the food managers made Sevai Sheera. We also made a cake out of this sheera and decorated for one of our guests to cut as her birthday cake.

Dance Club

The dance club is fully unstructured. Some times kids are seen dancing to their favourite songs. Sometimes they are doing fugdi or they are just enjoying the music, playing and swaying.

Guest

Nandini Deo with her husband, Tim and kids, Asha, Kavi and Gyan visited us this week. They live in Philadelphia and are currently homeschooled. They have come to meet their family in Mumbai.

By friday everyone was relaxed and kids were on their own. We were all having fun together. Frankly speaking, it is a lot of hard work to police. It creates a lot of tension in our relationship. They might have found their facilitators very distant, whom they usually hug and sit in the laps and even sit on their shoulders. They also know that its false and facilitators aren’t actually like this. We all are glad that it’s over. But if you ask, did this work at all? I don’t know. Maybe not. Our kids undeterred and determined about expressing their free will. Isn't that a good thing? They didn't bow down under pressure and adversity. Though it comes with its own challenges. The positive thing is that there has been a lot of discussions among children and a few processes have been put in place. For the time being the problems are abated, having told them about the facilitators's trump card which is, Faciliators will go on strike. The idea that LC will be close for all for a week is unimaginable for many of them. :)

That's all for now.