COLLOQUIUM SUMMARY - Sri Atmananda Memorial School

COLLOQUIUM SUMMARY
INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM ON THE
TEACHER-STUDENT RELATIONSHIP IN EDUCATION
August 12, 13, 14th 2013
Hosted by Atma Vidya Educational Foundation (Kerala, India),
Co-sponsored by Association pour le soutien à AVEF (France) and
Organization for Atma Vidya Educational Foundation (U.S.A.)
Venue: Sri Atmananda Memorial School,
Malakkara, Kerala 689 532, India
CONTENTS
AIM AND OBJECTIVES
SUMMARY
SESSIONS
FINDINGS
APPENDICES
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AIM AND OBJECTIVES
The aim of the International Colloquium on the Teacher-Student Relationship in Education was
to make the relationship between teacher and student central to educational thinking and practice.
This relationship is expressed in the following paragraph by the Founder of
Sri Atmananda Memorial School:
There is a latent push in any man which is only a search for perfection.
Rightly pursued, one finds this in one’s awakening experience to one’s real
nature through the atmosphere between the real teacher and the taught.
Education is only an attempt toward this.
Atma Vidya Educational Foundation strives to perfect this aim.
Sri Adwayananda (Sri K.Padmanabha Menon)
*Copyright © 1992 Sri K. Padmanabha Menon
The specific objectives of the Colloquium were:
1.
to gain a better understanding of the relationship between teacher and student
and to explore its significance for education everywhere and what it means in
concrete terms;
2.
to understand the practical requirements and challenges of such an education; and
3.
to provide a platform to share ideas and discuss the next steps for further developing
and communicating the findings of the Colloquium.
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SUMMARY
The Challenge: Many of us remember the influence of a teacher or a small handful of teachers who
opened or illuminated an area of study or who taught us something about how to see the world. As a
result, we recognize in the relationship with these teachers something that has remained with us all
our lives.
We consider this to be essential to our learning and our development as individuals. Recognizing this,
we see the relationship between student and teacher as central to effective education. This basic fact gives
us a common basis beyond methodologies and pedagogies to work together for educational change.
The question then is: Why is this relationship not a greater part of public discussion and more central
to our thinking about education and policies and practices within education?
For the first time in its twenty-five years of existence, Atma Vidya Educational Foundation hosted
a Colloquium on the Teacher-Student Relationship in Education. This Colloquium brought together those who live and interact in the teacherstudent relationship at Sri Atmananda Memorial
School, along with eminent people from other organisations and fields of endeavour who joined in
exploring this relationship in a School that aims
to make it the basis of educational practice.
The Colloquium was designed to avoid the usual pattern of academic theories and symposia so that participants could think beyond their usual boundaries to experience directly a teacher-student relationship that
is universal, humanistic, and appealing.
The primary vehicle for this experience was teacher-alumni interactions in which pairs of teachers and
alumni presented their experience to individual guests. The atmosphere was lively and charged with discovery, arising from the teachers and alumni and extending to the guests. The depth of feeling and genuine,
visible bond between the teachers and alumni was palpable for all the participants. The qualities gained by
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the alumni through their relationship with their teachers — their self-possession, their ability to see clearly
what it is that they gained from their School years and their ability to apply it in their lives — was evident. Through their dialogue with their teachers, it was possible to understand the origin of their personal,
social and academic skills that have allowed them to take their place as citizens. These alumni came across
as thinking people as a result of a strong teacher-student relationship. The five sessions of the Colloquium were focused on the practices of the School. After a preliminary discussion of the importance of the Colloquium theme, sessions covered the process of making a relationship with
a student, the necessary institutional support for this relationship, the broader benefits of an education centred on the teacher-student relationship, and a discussion of the Colloquium findings and next steps. There
was so much to explore that there was not enough time to cover the implications of the relationship for some
important social issues such as violence in the world; for example, students properly cared for could become
able to act in the field of negotiation and conflict resolution on any scale.
Throughout the sessions and in their speeches, the contributions of the guests, distinguished practitioners
from various walks of life, provided wider perspectives on the theme of the teacher-student relationship in
education. As they recognised through the sessions that a strong teacher-student relationship can exist and
is practically possible, they responded by contributing their own practical insights to rich discussions of
various aspects of the topic, such as the nature of the relationship itself, teacher training, replication and
government policy. The guests also expanded the topic to show that there is potential for international recognition of an education based on a strong teacher-student relationship.
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SESSIONS EXCERPTS
In recognition of the experiential and non-theoretical nature of the Colloquium theme, the sessions were
arranged in a series of small discussions to give the participants exposure to those engaged most directly in
the relationship, i.e. teachers and students, as well as parents.
These are some brief observations from the sessions:
Session I: Significance of the Colloquium Theme:
One guest pointed out that it is not what is taught, but the life process that is important. If what is taught
is part of the life process, that is worthy of respect. We remember ourselves the lessons that made us more
capable of dealing with life challenges.
Another guest recalled that one teacher said something at the right time at the right place just two times in
twenty years for him. He asked, “Can we do that more than twice in twenty years, and how can we organize
that?”
Session II: Learning Through Relationship: Alumni-Teacher Interaction:
An alumnus who is now a manager in the IT field said that the personal attention, the individual attention
and care that he got from the teacher, helped him a lot. This made him realize how much personal and individual attention he now gives to the workers in his workplace. He can be an active listener, even though he
may not be able to solve the problem.
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Another alumnus said that his teachers never compared students with each other. He feels comparison
makes a person lose his self-esteem and confidence. Instead, his teachers helped him to understand his own
strengths and interests.
When asked what skills are needed to prepare a child for his future, one alumnus answered that if the child
knows his interest with the help of his teacher, and if he is confident, then there is no need for a particular
preparation.
Session III: Making a Relationship with a Student: The Practice:
A teacher said that if the student feels acknowledged by a teacher, this is when the relationship with the
student starts. Even small things may mean a lot to a student. Then, the next day when the student sees you,
they can refer to that moment. Through that moment, a relationship can be built. Actually the teachers are
just plunging into being with the child and valuing the child for who he or she is. Once he feels that, then
many things can happen for the student.
Another teacher stressed the importance of following the child. “There is the element of testing. They are
constantly asking, how far are you going to follow them? When they find out it is infinite, they are keen to
be with the teacher all the time.”
Session IV: Teacher-Student Relationship as the Focus for School Practices
Teachers explained that the main School practice is to create an environment for the children to get the most
out of their own interests. Teachers are careful not to make students feel that they can’t do something.
A teacher explained that the School from the outset has done without textbooks in the Lower Primary and
Upper Primary sections. How? By having abundant resources and flexible activities. As an example, the
Upper Primary campus has “turns” for various subjects, not formal classes but rather structured learning
situations.
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One teacher said that in most schools, children do not touch the chemicals. For us, the children could actually go to the lab and make smoke, volcanoes etc. whenever they want. Here, we use fire, we have Food
Fests, sharing with friends, doing maths in measuring, cooking etc. Through this, English also can come in
many ways.
Exam Fest on the Upper Primary campus was
described as an activity that linked the children’s interests with an opportunity to begin
experiencing the testing aspect of mainstream
education. Exam Fest introduces exams as
something festive rather than something to
be feared. As Exam Fest developed over the
years, it utilized different approaches: a Question Box of student questions for the teachers to answer, stations for students to visit
that involve activities with a question/answer
aspect, or the use of questions from the higher standards to show students what they already knew.
Session V: Benefits of an Education Based on the Teacher-Student Relationship:
Parents of an alumnus said that their son was not like other children who wanted to stay with a company
for the duration of his career. His parents felt that all the graduates from his batch were entrepreneurial, and
that their skills to adjust and initiate came from the school. It was also noted that the graduates from the School are very flexible. A teacher attributed this to the fact
that as the School’s children have the opportunity to make their own decisions from a young age, they grow
to feel secure. If something does not work out, they come up with something new that does work.
It was said that the teachers model the behaviour of looking after the feelings of others, and guide the children through modelling and distraction, or later through discussion, so that the children just absorb the
lessons of compassion without realizing they are learning them.
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Session V: Next Steps and Findings
From the transcripts of the proceedings, the following major findings emerged from the Colloquium
discussions :
1. All participants recognized that the relationship between teacher and student is paramount to the
quality of education and yet largely ignored in discussions of education. More specifically, this
relationship was seen as an important means of furthering personal development and the acquisition of
academic and non-academic skills.
2. The relationship between teacher and student was clearly defined and understood. It was seen as going
far beyond personal likes and dislikes and was spoken of by returning alumni as having a deep and lasting
effect upon their lives and careers.
3. From the teacher’s point of view, the relationship between teacher and student involved a concern for
the best interests of the student. From the student’s point of view, it meant a foundation of acceptance and
security, from which it is safe to explore the world to the fullest.
4. It was clear from the comments of the returning alumni, as well as the speeches of the distinguished
guests, that the relationship between teacher and student provided them a rich experience of working with
others, active listening, and attention to the needs of others, all of which profoundly enriched their professional lives.
5. It was recognised that putting this relationship into practice is entirely possible. As illustrated by Sri Atmananda Memorial School, the relationship between teacher and student can be supported by all
aspects of the school environment, including layout and design; curriculum; student evaluation; and,
especially, teacher training.
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APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1 - PARTICIPANTS
APPENDIX 2 – Letter of response to Colloquium invitation by Mr. Qian Tang,
Assistant Director General for Education, UNESCO
APPENDIX 1
Distinguished guests :
•
Professor Debashis Chatterjee, Director of the Indian Institute of Management,
Kozhikode, India
•
Dr. Huma Masood, Programme Officer at UNESCO, New Delhi, India
•
Sri G. Vijayaraghavan, Kerala State Planning Board and Former CEO, Technopark,
Trivandrum, India
•
Dr. Cheng-Chang “Sam” Pan, Department of Teaching, Learning and Innovation,
The University of Texas at Brownsville, USA
•
Mr. Sanjeev Palar, Producer, Fox International Channels, Singapore
•
Dr. Achuthsankar S. Nair, Director, Centre for Bioinformatics, University of Kerala, India
•
Dr. Law Watkins, former Professor of Art History at American University, Washington DC, USA
•
Mr. Pascal Leclercq, from the Ministry of Culture, Paris, France
•
Sri Pradeep Shah, President of Atma Vidya Educational Foundation, India
Moderators : Mrs. Tarla Nanavati, General Convenor, Principal, Sri Atmananda Memorial School,
Dr. Suzanne Buckley, member, Governing Council, Atma Vidya Educational Foundation
Organisers present during sessions : Mrs Molly Seeligson, Mrs Suzie Nash, Mrs Suzanne Pitman,
Mr. Anthony Cooksey, Mrs Annie Cooksey, Mr. Pierre-André Garcin
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APPENDIX 2
1- (UNESCO LETTER 5 APRIL 2013)
(SCANNED COPY)
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2- (a free translation of the above letter)
UNESCO headquarter letterhead
Assistant-Director General for Education
Madame Tarla NANAVATI
Mr. Pascal Leclercq
7 impasse Crozatier
75012 PARIS
ref ED/THE/TEP/13/1738
5 April 2013
Madame,
In the name of the Director General, I thank you for your letter of 12 March 2013 by which you
have invited her to the colloquium organized by your Foundation at Sri Atmananda Memorial School,
form 12th to 14th of August 2013.
UNESCO salutes the outcome of this international colloquium, which theme, the teacher-student
relationship, proves decisive for the quality of education.
I invite you to please contact the Director of UNESCO office in New Delhi, Mr. Shigeru Aoyagi
(tel +91 11 26713000; e-mail s.aoyagi@unesco.org) in view of an eventual participation.
Wishing you a complete success for the colloquium, please agree, Madame,
the assurance of my distinguished consideration.
Qian Tang
7 place de Fontenoy
Paris, France
www.unesco.org
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