In 2022, let’s create gender-positive learning spaces

 In 2008, when I (Aqsa) had to pick my medical specialisation, I chose a subject that could be pursued without staying in a hostel. As a transgender woman, only a men’s hostel was on offer to me, which was not acceptable. I was fortunate that I could complete my post-graduation but not everyone is. A decade later, Nivedhiya Anand, a tribal, intersex, and transgender student from Kerala dropped out of school, where she was put up in a boy’s hostel, due to mental harassment.

The recent announcement by NALSAR University, Hyderabad, on the creation of a gender-neutral space in its hostel has generated a buzz for the right reasons. This, along with gender-neutral washrooms and a proposed policy on inclusive education for gender and sexual minorities, is the outcome of honest conversations with the students. Two recent cases need focus when talking about accommodation for transgender students in hostels at universities. Yashika, an MA student at Panjab University, frustrated with the university for not being able to provide her hostel accommodation, had to approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which issued a notice to the university. In another PIL, filed before the Karnataka High Court, Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju, a medical student from Manipal University, has filed a case against the state government after being denied accommodation in the girls’ hostel even when she had changed her sex legally to female on her ID card. The university insisted that she get a sex reassignment surgery done before she is allowed in the girl’s hostel, denying her the right to self-determination, as provided by the 2014 NALSA judgment of the Supreme Court.

Even as inclusive spaces are created, we should be mindful of the intersectionality within queer communities. One, the presence of such facilities should not curtail the legal right of transgender men and women to get accommodation in men’s or women’s hostels, just like the presence of gender-neutral toilets should not be used to stop transgender men and women from using men’s or women’s washrooms. Secondly, such spaces should be accessible to persons with disabilities. Additionally, while such facilities give much-needed visibility to queer people and their issues, it can also expose the community to queerphobic attacks. University administration must pay special attention to the security of queer students on campus.

While infrastructure is essential for creating safe and inclusive places, we cannot underplay the importance of changing mindsets. There is a need for the sensitisation of students, teachers, and staff in all educational institutions, from primary schools to universities, on understanding and accepting queer and transgender folks. India has taken a step in the right direction by enacting the Transgender Persons Act, which speaks of a trans-inclusive education system wherein transgender students learn with other students without fear of discrimination, neglect, or harassment.

The National Education Policy 2020 speaks about providing equitable and quality education to transgender students. While that’s a progressive vision, it misses out on students from other queer identities. Such an omission is not just dangerous but can also be fatal, as in the case of a teenage student from DPS, Faridabad, who died by suicide, after being bullied by other students for his sexuality.

Creating safe educational spaces also demands that we change queerphobic curricula. It took a reprimand from the Madras High Court for National Medical Commission to issue a directive to medical colleges, faculty, and authors of textbooks to eliminate queerphobic content from books and pedagogy.

The step taken by NALSAR should nudge other educational institutes to consult stakeholders, especially queer-identifying students and staff, to undertake holistic changes for creating queer-affirmative campuses. Infrastructure, policies, and curricula need a thorough revision for creating not just gender-neutral but gender-positive learning spaces. In 2022, we owe this to our sexual and gender minorities.

Written by Aqsa Shaikh , Raghav Shukla

Shaikh is Associate Professor, Community Medicine, Jamia Hamdard, Delhi and Shukla studies at the Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi

Source: Indian Express, 5/04/22

LENS Foundation Launches ‘LDexplained’, India’s First Comprehensive Resource Website On Learning Disabilities

 

The website aims to help families, parents, and guardians of children with learning disabilities to better understand and manage the disabilities and equip themselves for a better future

New Delhi :  The LENS (Learning, Empowerment, Nutrition and Skill Development) Foundation has launched LDExplained, India’s first comprehensive resource website on learning disabilities among children and young adults.

 

According to a report by UNESCO between 10 and12 per cent of the school going children have learning disabilities. This roughly means that in a given Indian classroom there are at least four children with learning disabilities. LDExplained is designed for all stakeholders right from the family of the affected child to the policymaker who needs to work together to help the child cope with learning disabilities. For a parent or a guardian of a child with special needs who wants to help them learn to manage their challenges and deal with the world better; or for an educator keen to upgrade skills to help their students learn better, LDExplained is an excellent repository of knowledge and information on various learning disabilities, mental health wellness & management. The website covers coping and improvement strategies as well as ways to keep abreast with the latest research and methodologies developed nationally and globally.

 

Some of the key aspects of LDExplained include categorization of concepts of learning disabilities according to age brackets, the explanation of processes involved in identifying different types of learning disabilities, especially understanding early signs in children, discussion on rights of the affected child, policy support from school boards and local governments, networks, forums, support groups of parents of affected children, educators, and therapists. The website will also have a growing database of health professionals, counsellors, therapists, and educators who specialize in learning disabilities across India, etc.

 peaking about the website, Ketki Agarwal, Co-Founder & Trustee at LENS Foundation said, “The website has been a labor of love and we are thrilled to finally launch LDExplained. There has been a lot of confusion among parents and families about how to deal with children and young adults with special needs. Only if you are armed with the right amount of knowledge and information, you can handle it optimally for everyone involved.”

 

She further adds, “We encourage everyone to spread the word so that we can help and support people and families to not only cope with the challenges but also to be able to add value to the child’s life and help them prepare for a positive and strong future.”

 

The website, helps readers understand concepts of learning disabilities, coping strategies, parents’ role, the contribution of schools, policy support et al. The website is live already but you will see a lot of improvisations with time. One can subscribe to the newsletter for timely updates on information, relevant media articles on day-to-day topics, etc. There is a blog section that has reading material, generic articles from across the globe on learning disabilities.

Source:indiaeducationdiary.in, 16/02/22

A fine line between reward and bribe

 

Giving an incentive to encourage a child is reward, while doing it to tackle its behaviour briefly is bribe

My brother once complained to me about his two-year-old son. “Oh! It needs a Herculean effort to potty-train him. Is there any suggestion?”

Having gone through the ordeal with my daughter five or six years earlier, I said he could reward him with loud claps and encouraging words each time he finished his potty without help. I also added that a lollipop at times could also be given as a mark of appreciation. “But, won’t that be like bribing him,” he put a question that made me think.

Reward and bribe have a fine line between them. So, was giving a lollipop akin to bribing him?

The other day, when I was shopping in a mall, I happened to see a little, wailing child demanding a doll of her choice. Her parents were embarrassed as the she was attracting a lot of attention. To make her stop crying, the mother quickly bought the doll for her.

In both instances, the child is getting something in return for good behaviour. Which action by the parent in both cases could be beneficial for the child in the long run? Keeping the child’s behaviour in check for the time being, or mending his behaviour for years to come?

There is a valuable saying, “Though the bribe be small, yet the fault is great,” by the English barrister Sir Edward Coke, though in a different context. So, the thought of teaching children at a tender age the concept of bribe shuddered me. But after I did research on reward and bribe, these are the points I came across which may be useful to parents.

Pat on the back

Giving an incentive to encourage the child to continue progress in whichever field he or she is struggling is a reward, while the same thing being done in a stressful environment to briefly tackle the child’s behaviour is a bribe.

James Lehman, who has authored the book, Transform your problem child, has suggested using tangible rewards to let the child know that he is on the right path.

Also, a Dutch proverb says, “Reward sweetens labour.” So, to encourage children to do hard work, it is essential to keep a prize at the end of their toil. But, unless the child does not know the reason for receiving the reward, the purpose of giving it is lost.

Rewards motivate, whereas bribing makes children stubborn to get whatever they want. So, giving a lollipop at times after successful potty completion is not bribery. But the mother at the mall who wanted to make her child behave by getting her the doll can be accused of it.

Sripriya M. 

Source: The Hindu, 21/11/21

How to improve learning outcomes

 

The most challenging task would be to ensure teachers believe that every child can learn, and teach children at the right level. This may sound simple, but my work with government schools and teachers has convinced me that this will not be easy to achieve.

The recent National Sample Survey Office (75th Round) data and the learning outcomes study of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (National Achievement Survey, 2017) show that India’s children are not learning at the primary stage, and as they move to higher levels, they are struggling to cope with the curriculum. This means that children who complete eight, 10 or 12 years of schooling are not equipped with the requisite knowledge and skills — be it formal skills (reading and writing), cognitive skills, technological skills or higher-order thinking skills.The National Achievement Survey (NAS) also reveals a decline in learning levels as children move up the ladder. This, among other reasons, could explain the high drop-out rate at the secondary level, and higher at the higher secondary level. The 2017 NAS shows that a Class 3 student can correctly answer 66% of learning outcomes assessed; this drops to about 39% by the time the child reaches Class 10.

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 rightly focuses on the learning challenge in the classrooms. However, in order to attain universal foundational literacy and numeracy, which the NEP proposes, we have to work simultaneously on three fronts: Change the structure of the curriculum and assessment so that it moves away from rote-learning; work with primary teachers intensively to enhance their capacities and pedagogic practices; and make sure there are no dysfunctional, single-teacher/ two-teacher/ teacher-less schools in the country.

Now that the first stage recommended by NEP of five years foundational learning goes up to Class 2 (three years pre-primary and two years primary), the government can seriously consider consolidating small upper primary schools into one viable school at a cluster level. Then a student will not need to travel long distances if she can attend Class 3-12 in one cluster school. There is enough qualitative evidence to show that composite secondary schools retain more children. When children have to shift schools — especially girls — the problem of transport and the safety of transport/cycling acquires a momentum of its own — pushing more children out of the school system. The next challenge is upgrading/merging schools to make each school resource-rich in library/laboratories/sports/vocational education; and ensure there is a teacher for every class and every subject.

The most challenging task would be to ensure teachers believe that every child can learn, and teach children at the right level. This may sound simple, but my work with government schools and teachers has convinced me that this will not be easy to achieve.

Teachers need greater autonomy inside the classroom and they should not be tied down to curriculum-related time-tables. At the same time, they need to unlearn rote-learning practices and teach every child to understand and internalise basic concepts in mathematics and reading with comprehension. What a teacher believes in influences her attitude towards students, the pedagogy, and how she manages time to reach out to every child. A teacher’s prejudices, biases and attitudes can be a barrier to learning.

If a teacher believes that some children cannot learn, she is most likely to ignore them and focus on others. If a teacher believes that girls cannot learn mathematics, she will communicate it to the students, and girl students may feel afraid to ask questions. .

To improve the learning levels, India has to ensure that the education system focuses on what and how much our children are learning, and how we can support, encourage, and facilitate new teaching methods.

Vimala Ramachandran is an educational researcher and retired professor of teacher management, National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration 

Source: Hindustan Times, 24/10/20