“Where the mind is without fear
and the head is held high,
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken
up into fragments by narrow domestic
walls;”
- Rabindranath Tagore
and the head is held high,
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken
up into fragments by narrow domestic
walls;”
- Rabindranath Tagore
At the heart of our work with children lies a belief that education should not merely tell how, but invite wonder about why. This year as we reflect on our journey, we realised that we’ve only deepened our commitment and increased our efforts towards moving beyond procedural teaching toward a more propositional approach, one that encourages children to engage with ideas, pose questions, and explore meanings rooted in their own contexts.
The great design educator Donald Norman shared in one of his lectures, “The current educational regime is based on a certain view about what kind of knowledge is important: “knowing that,” as opposed to “knowing how.” This corresponds roughly to universal knowledge versus the kind that comes from individual experience. Individual experience and practical knowledge go hand-in-hand and make way for a growth mindset. And, practical know-how cannot be downloaded, but only lived.”
At Swatantra Talim, we try to bridge the gap between theories and application, the gap between ‘knowing and knowing how and knowing why’ via several ways - sometimes it's an experiential classroom, a contextual pedagogy or a cute little library that lets children read, and simply think about the world around them. Teaching propositionally, with an open-ended approach only means trusting that every child is not just a learner but a thinker, capable of forming insights and drawing connections between their lived experiences and broader concepts on their own. So while we don’t say procedural knowledge isn’t important - it is. It forms the base of many of our thoughts, but after a point, our thoughts as individuals must venture out on their own. In our classrooms under trees, in community spaces, and through hands-on explorations, we have seen how this shift allows children to build not just skills, but understanding—rich, grounded, and enduring.
The great design educator Donald Norman shared in one of his lectures, “The current educational regime is based on a certain view about what kind of knowledge is important: “knowing that,” as opposed to “knowing how.” This corresponds roughly to universal knowledge versus the kind that comes from individual experience. Individual experience and practical knowledge go hand-in-hand and make way for a growth mindset. And, practical know-how cannot be downloaded, but only lived.”
At Swatantra Talim, we try to bridge the gap between theories and application, the gap between ‘knowing and knowing how and knowing why’ via several ways - sometimes it's an experiential classroom, a contextual pedagogy or a cute little library that lets children read, and simply think about the world around them. Teaching propositionally, with an open-ended approach only means trusting that every child is not just a learner but a thinker, capable of forming insights and drawing connections between their lived experiences and broader concepts on their own. So while we don’t say procedural knowledge isn’t important - it is. It forms the base of many of our thoughts, but after a point, our thoughts as individuals must venture out on their own. In our classrooms under trees, in community spaces, and through hands-on explorations, we have seen how this shift allows children to build not just skills, but understanding—rich, grounded, and enduring.
A part of an article on Rabindranath Tagore and his tryst with education read “Tagore recognized early on that children are not unfinished adults but have to be seen in their own rights, so that their strengths become visible and can develop – for example their curiosity and wonder, their imagination and creative joy and their ability to see unity that derives from their freedom from habits of thought and behaviour (in short, an excess of what Tagore terms surplus.
Tagore argues that the difference between children and adults requires different methods of learning. While adults may read books and while their learning is motivated by a clear purpose, children require indefiniteness and learn mostly unconsciously, relating to those and what happens around them.”
As we share our progress and stories from the field, we celebrate the pedagogy of alternate, experiential and contextual education. It is not just about moving from task to thought, but from instruction to inquiry—a move we believe can transform learning into a journey of real experiences, relevance, reflection, and real change.
Tagore argues that the difference between children and adults requires different methods of learning. While adults may read books and while their learning is motivated by a clear purpose, children require indefiniteness and learn mostly unconsciously, relating to those and what happens around them.”
As we share our progress and stories from the field, we celebrate the pedagogy of alternate, experiential and contextual education. It is not just about moving from task to thought, but from instruction to inquiry—a move we believe can transform learning into a journey of real experiences, relevance, reflection, and real change.