What separates Anuradha Joshi from other educators is how she defines her role. “It is not teaching at all; it is all about learning. It is all about giving children a platform to explore themselves and in the process experience the unbridled joy on their faces,” says the principal of Delhi’s Sardar Patel Vidyalaya and recipient of the National Award for Teachers in the Special Category earlier this year.

Sardar Patel Vidyalaya is the only private school in Delhi to have Hindi as a medium of instruction up to Class V. And Joshi, who joined the school 10 years ago, calls it a “wonderful barrage of Gandhian ideals and Tagore’s creativity, and Sardar Patel’s ability to plan”.

Marks, she feels, are too absolute. “We therefore have a grading system, for academics and otherwise. No one ever stands first, second or third. We have a ‘merit card’ system. If you achieve the specified benchmark, you are given what we call a merit card.” The school places a premium on developing the children’s innate talents. “The ability to innovate, research and work with people should have weight. We are instead struggling with what the British left. We are not giving enough space to skills and creativity,” says the 55 year-old educator.

Joshi attributes her perspective on education to her mother. “She is a fabulously gifted person. From embroidery to care for the environment, she has ingrained these things in us. She wanted me to learn all these crafts, especially the ones that require the use of the hands, including gardening. It has made me an environmentally aware person.”

Her father wanted her to join the Indian Administrative Service and so did her in-laws. But Joshi had begun to forge her own path much before entering the professional realm. “I often used to teach kids from my colony while I was still in school myself,” she recounts, of what is now a 22-year vocation for her.

A master’s degree in physics and bachelor’s in education did not stop her from learning interior decoration, block painting and flower decoration, and even winning prizes for these. “The desire to excel comes from Mummy,” she shares. “There’s no point in pursuing something if you do not wish to excel in it.”

At Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, the children run the school, Joshi reveals, complete with an Upper House, Lower House, a 32-member Council and a voting system. “We teachers only facilitate,” she says. “The students make all the decisions through a democratic set-up.” Under her guidance, learning often goes beyond four walls. Two years ago, she encouraged the kids to set up a solar panel on the rooftop. A third of the power utilised in the school now comes from this solar plant. Right from floating tenders for the project to coordinating with the contractors, the students did absolutely everything, she says.

‘Saanjhi’ is another project that began under Joshi. Here, students explore Indian traditions and crafts and share them with schools across Delhi. Storytelling in various Indian languages, folk art and much more are explored through completely non-competitive formats. Further, the Yamuna Yatra is a project where students travel along the river in Delhi and study the city’s dependence on the river and its ecological, social and historical significance.

“When you are passionate about something, nothing is ever enough,” she points out. “You always want more from yourself and the children.” What really upsets her is when parents drive and steer their children. “I always tell parents, do not judge your kids. Stop looking at them through the spectrum of marks.”

—April Cleopatra

Courtesy: Anuradha Joshi
Featured in Harmony — Celebrate Age Magazine
December 2016