Socially Conscious And Ethical Learning In Education

With the emergence of Mindful learning, Social, Emotional and Ethical Learning and Peace education, the education system around the world is undergoing a change. A change to encourage greater consciousness for oneself and one's environment which allows for learners to be more conscious of their thoughts and actions. A lot of state governments in India and around the world too have launched similar programs in order to raise more conscious learners. Greta Thunberg is one such example of a conscious learner who since 2018 began school climate strikes and public speeches for which she has become an internationally recognized climate activist. Nonetheless if all learners around us take small steps to preserve the environment, fight against inequalities and oppression in the society and work towards the upliftment of the underserved we will witness a change that will define the beginning of a new happy, safe and secure world.

Let me now take you through the journey of one such socially conscious and mindful child who is continuously working towards the upliftment of the society.

Ayan Mehta journey started in the summer of 2016 when he realized the joy in giving. Together with his mother he came up with the idea of completing 100 Deeds of Kindness. The idea was to spread happiness amongst the less privileged through food drives, clothes donation drives, teaching children around him etc. Some deeds that he enjoyed the most are:

• Food distribution in slums around his house

• Donating food at an animal shelter

He says that his journey of giving has just started and the more he gives, the happier he is.

When the pandemic began, the world came to a standstill and so did 100 deeds of kindness. Everyone was stuck in the four walls of their home and our homes became our offices, schools, gyms, playgrounds etc. What Ayan missed the most was being in school, around his classmates, my friends, and teachers. He felt like a river that once used to flow but now is stagnant. his mind would try to roam about, but there is only much one can do when confined in one space. That's when he started doing some experiments to spark the shut brain. It made him feel excited and with each experiment, he learned something new. These experiments helped him in feeling adventurous even while at home. It made him think about different things in life that we usually skip by in the hullabaloo of life. It made him realize that even when we are stuck in one place our minds can continue flowing.

This is how the idea of Pragati Lab came to his mind. A space where his and other children can explore science experiments and merge it with the different values, and learn from them. These experiments require simple household materials but can teach us about life. When he shared these learnings with some of my friends, they were also very excited and shared their thoughts as well. That's when he knew he could take this further and make Pragati Lab into a continuous project where he is learning progressively.

For this purpose, he also started taking online sessions of students from grades 5,6 and 7 in government schools. These sessions were a big hit as his children could conduct these experiments in their own homes. They would be amazed at the results they got and would especially enjoy the part where he would explain how it worked and how we can apply the learnings in our daily life. The students would then share their thoughts and reflect upon the experiment done. These are learnings that are not conducted in regular school hence he believed that these students should also apply the learnings in their day-to-day life. The parents were also very happy to see their children enjoy and learn at the same time.

His endeavor is to continue using Pragati Labs as a bridge to the gaps we have in regular education. he aspires to innovate and inspire young minds who might not have access to such a unique take on science. From this point onwards the idea is to grow and move forward towards reaching more people. He is keen and hopeful that he might be able to help the society with this opportunity. Pragati means progress and that something he wants to continuously achieve as an individual as a learner and as someone who wants society to progress as well.