Education

The ‘Ground Zero’ piece highlights how organizations of many different kinds across the country are trying to democratize the space of education through the learning centers that they run.

In this issue, we also carry an interview with Eklavya, an organization that has been experimenting with plural ideas and practices of learning centers for more than two decades. It has used its experiences in these spaces for building deep engagements with the communities and people it works with, for improving learning-related processes in governmental schools, and in developing its grounded thinking about democratic education.

We also carry a review of her book ‘The Open Classroom’ in this issue. This volume captures her decades-long journey of working towards meaningful and democratic learning of children, often of marginalized backgrounds. It also discusses her efforts and experiences in running a learning center for children in the Tilaknagar area of Bengaluru.

This article highlights the value of contextual learning through a biodiversity curriculum developed for Adivasi children in the Kanha region. By connecting education with forests, local knowledge, play, agriculture, and everyday experiences, it demonstrates how learning can become meaningful, fostering scientific understanding, environmental awareness, and a deeper connection with community life.

Aastha Maggu, in her article titled “Learning spaces outside schools,” highlights resources that aid educators in guiding students to explore their environment beyond classrooms. These materials focus on nature education, heritage conservation, and engaging students as citizen scientists.

In this ‘Ground Zero’ piece, we talk to four organizations whose interventions outside the classroom are redefining their understanding of learning.