ABHISHEK PATIL
"STUDENTS ARE NOT BENEFICARIES BUT BENEFACTORS"
- Abhishek Patil
WHAT MAKES ME BELIEVE THAT?
Here's My Story of #Reimagining Education
WANT TO PARTICIPATE
"I also want to Engage in Class"
It began in my 5th grade. I always felt that I want to be part of my school. When I say part of the school, I do not mean coming to school and accessing the education. Instead, come to school and participate in education. I was fortunate to be part of Teach For India Classrooms, where I was provided with multiple opportunities to engage in education, like when my peers used to struggle with learning some concepts, then I used to help them out. I also remember how I used to design test papers for my peers so that they could practice it. Since then, I have made sure to take up more opportunities in the classroom to engage with education, be it teaching quick concepts in stations or teaching in breaks.
WANT TO TAKE OWNERSHIP
"It's responsibility of everyone in school to solve problems"
One of our teachers used to conduct Quiz Sessions weekly in our schools. It was one of our favorite parts of the week. However, in 8th grade, it was stopped. Later my friend and I took to ownership solving this problem. We then initiated the Quiz Club. We conducted it every Wednesday after school for everyone who turned up. Every week, we saw 15+ students engaging with the club for three months. Lastly, we explored different ideas in Quizzing, like introducing KBC- Kaun Banega Crorepati.
WANT TO PARTNER
"Students & Educators are Partners"
In 10th grade, we observed a skill-building gap in our school. Our partner organization, which used to aid us in skill-building, was functional from September; however, the academic year began in June. So, there was a 3-4 months skill gap for all the students. Therefore, three friends and I decided to partner with our school to fill this gap. We initiated "Project iQ" - Project Inner Quest that provides a set of clubs to the school every Saturday for two hours. The project functioned on the "For the students and by the Students " principle. All of the clubs were facilitated by 30 students for 120 students. We ran this project for three months and ended up with a final showcase where 120 students, 30 student mentors, and four co-founders performed together on a single stage in front of 200 audiences consisting of all three stakeholders: parents, students, and educators. Through this project, I realized what could be possible in partnership between educators and students.
WANT TO REIMAGINE
"We all have to Reimagine Education Together"
Since the time when Project iQ was completed, we went to various platforms to emphasize peer learning and student educator partnership like Kids Education Revolution. Kids Education Revolution (KER) is a space where educators and students come together to reimagine education. KER has impacted me the most. It has helped me experience the potential of student educator partnership in systems where students are moving beyond being beneficiaries. Since then, I have been part of multiple discussions like Inspire Ed 2020, the TFI PM Conference, The Circle India Day 2, etc., where we reimagined the present education system.
WANT TO CHANGE
"IT TAKES A COMMUNITY"
Following Project iQ, I joined pencilbricks to continue working in education and to better understand the skill building gap and potential solutions. In August 2022, I was appointed as Member of the Board of Advisory at Teach For India (TFI). At TFI, we believe leadership for education is the solution. We are building a movement of leaders who will eliminate educational inequity in India. Today, the Teach For India Alumni community is 3400+ members strong, impacting 1 million children directly and reaching 33 million indirectly. TFI is mobilizing efforts across our eight cities: Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata. My role at TFI is to discuss and deliberate the quarterly plans with the National Leadership Team, advise the team on various policies, projects, and curricula, ensuring that students are at the heart of the design.