Workshop on Education & Learning beyond school - Parents Day 2014

It is common concept, in our homes that if the child is going to school that is sufficient for his learning and development. But, is it? Indian education is perhaps at a crossroad. Each parent wants to provide the best possible for his/her child's development, and the school on the other hand is striving to strike the right mix of learning & development for children. Given such realities, it's crucial that we foster the right surrounding and inputs for each child to achieve his/her own true potential. Is learning & development just limited to the school or educators? How could a parent curate a better developmental stimulus for his/her child to realize her own best? How could a parent go about understanding his/her child's interest areas, and in some cases, their child's gift and subsequently What could a parent do to nurture it? How could a parent achieve more for his/her child's learning & development?
Given such questions and dilemmas that a parent faces every day, it was time to get them the right advice, through an interactive workshop format and from some of the best-known experts in the area. And this is how the education and parenting workshop came about. Parentune understood parent’s dilemma and focussed the workshop on “How to identify and nurture your child’s talent and foster a learning environment beyond school”. The workshop was held on 26th July, 2014, at the Select CITYWALK on the occasion of Parents Day. The workshop had a great panel that comprised of Steven Rudolph, American Educationist, and Father of Multiple Natures, and Founder Director of Jiva Schools. Also, available for interaction was Ronny Gulati, Outdoor Experiential Learning Expert.

The workshop focus
The workshop turned out to be a roaring success with 20+ parents attending it, listening to experts, asking questions, and sharing their own learnings with fellow parents as well.
The workshop opened with a very lively, yet simple-to-understand and clear presentation by Steven Rudolp. Steven introduced parents to the entire concept of Multiple Natures where based on what the child is like—a protector, educator, entertainer etc.—you could roughly help him choose the right career later on. Steven also told the parents that this simple exercise will also help the identify the nature of their child, nourish the positives, and provide him with skills to deal with the negatives. Some important learings from the workshop were “That it is important to let the child pursue a passion, as a parent it is also important to guide him to the practical bits of life so that he is able to provide for himself,” Steven explained. Following this was Ronny Gulati’s presentation that was how the best teacher for the child is nature. Ronny accounted for all parents, the umpteen benefits of exposure to the outdoors and how it boost self confidence, arouses curiosity in the child’s mind, and equips him with some real practical learning. Both the experts were flooded with eager questions from attending parents. Besides direct questions related to the education of their child, parents also wanted to know, “My child is an introvert, how should I deal with it?” “I can hardly take time out to take my child outdoors. Please suggest some simple activities?” “What kind of developmental activities would you suggest for a child of 5-years of age?”

Both the experts patiently took each query and at length discussed it with the parents till they were satisfied. Some outstanding tips they suggested was “Do not push your child to be an engineer or a doctor if he doesn’t have an inclination for it. Remember an apple tree planted in Kerala will not flourish as it is a wrong environment for it. Same is true for children. Nourish them and not forcibly try and change their nature,” explained Steven. He also added that “For an introvert child, do not push him, rebuke him or ridicule him. Accept his nature. But also equip him with the skills of dealing with a situation such as an interview or at a party where his introvert nature can perhaps cause him discomfort. Ronny also at length discussed with parents their schedules and suggested some easy outdoor activities that they could try with their children, including star gazing from the balcony, letting them run amok in the rain, or even letting them dabble in the sand. He very categorically explained to parents, how each of these activities, even getting hands dirty in the mud, is skill building for children and will boost their development. The workshop lasted for two hours and was a full house.
Closure of the workshop
The workshop ended on a surprise musical melody. Steven sang a beautiful song “Jeevan ke yeh anmol pal” on his guitar. Through this simple, yet warm song, he reminded all of us how important each and every moment of life is and how we must not miss relishing these beautiful moments. The song lifted the spirits of the parents and soon everyone joined in with Steven singing along and tapping to the tune.
At the end of the workshop, over refreshments, parents queued up to the experts and the parentune team thanking them for all the valuable insights they got from the workshop and appreciating the team’s effort in bringing it all together. Parents gave fantastic feedbacks on it and in fact many registered for the next workshops also. They also told the team how the site is also a great effort in their daily parenting dilemmas.
The brand partner on the workshop, Youreka, also elicited a lot of curiosity from the parents. Youreka is an outdoor nature campout company that takes children on exploration and activity trips, both nationally and internationally. Parents wanted to know more about the company, their activities, and carried with them all the information they could glean about the company.
Thankyou Note to Everyone
At the end of the workshop, parentune founder, Nitin Pandey, personally thanked all the experts and gave them small token of appreciation in the form of a gift. The parents too were in for a treat as they got a couple of discount vouchers as take-aways. A note and a gift was also presented to parents who asked the best question in the workshop and kept the interaction going.