Best School in Gurgaon, Shikshantar School

Teacher's Day Circle Time 2026 - Vijay Dhasmana

आज का दिन अध्यापकों के नाम - Teacher's Day at our school was a beautiful day dedicated to taking a collective pause to reflect, learn, unlearn, and return to our own inner being. As educators, we constantly strive to be observers and listeners who create possibilities, staying quietly beside each child as they discover something for themselves at their own pace.

It is our shared calling to provide the space and atmosphere that gives children the confidence to become the truest versions of themselves, celebrating the journey of watching them grow while nurturing that growth from within. This year, carrying the vibrant oorja of our celebrations forward, Minoti Didi reminded us that this day is a day to connect deeply with ourselves, the children, and the living world around us.

This philosophy came alive in a deeply moving interactive session with Vijay Dhasmana Bhaiya, a visionary self-taught ecologist and the force behind the rewilding of the Aravalli Biodiversity Park with I Am Gurgaon.

Before beginning his presentation, Vijay Bhaiya requested for the lights to be dimmed in the room with a thought- " Sometimes it is good to be in the dark to truly appreciate and see the light." Taking us through the rich 1.8-billion-year-old history of the Aravallis, we looked at the growth of the geological armour of our subcontinent entirely through the lens of nature. From the resilient Dhok and Dhak trees to the life emerging from animal waste where the fruit ends and the plant begins, nature thrives on transition, diversity and collective responsibility. While we recognised that the educational landscape mirroring a society may often work around predictable blueprints and result-oriented paradigms, the talk on rewilding taught us a different, humbling lesson- everything is not predictable.

The ultimate takeaway as learners was true ecological restoration, much like a child's development, cannot be rushed. It demands time, tremendous patience, and an acceptance that real growth may not be immediately visible. It was a profound reminder of the humbling part of a teacher's journey- to step back from the urge to control, to protect the space for indigenous inner growth, and to realize that our responsibility is to simply stay present, nurture, and trust the transition.

Induction Programme 2026

At Shikshantar, children are at the heart of our philosophy. A strong teacher development programme empowers our facilitators to create a space for expression and attain a better understanding of every child's unique social, emotional and physical development.

As team members join the Shikshantar family, our Induction Programme gently ushers them into a progressive system of education that motivates children to question the world around them while connecting classroom experiences to their own.

This year, too, team members explored the differences between progressive and conventional approaches in education to deepen their understanding, helping them meaningfully connect the threads of discovery and learning with the children.

In a discussion weighing their impact on the classroom space, the opposing themes of free expression and rigidity came up often. Minoti Didi directed the thought towards the importance of learning the role of fear in classroom spaces and minimising it empathetically. As the discussion progressed, the team understood that fear can arrive within facilitators or students from any number of external forces which can create conflict between the facilitator and student when struggling for dynamic change.

Going through the three principles of true learning and how to effectively foster social-emotional development in children, the facilitators were able to analyse and draw linkages between different philosophies and their application in classrooms. In their familiar interactions with the children, they could identify the changes children go through as they move through different developmental stages and how to enable a sensitive and inclusive learning environment through the curriculum.

As they absorbed the educational philosophies of Aurobindo and the Mother as well as the psychological works of Vygotsky and Piaget, the team members created unique lesson plans specific to the multisensory needs and dynamics in a group. The team enjoyed the unique experience of planning lessons that integrated large motor skills and creative movements with the development of cognitive skills. To become more acquainted with these activities, the facilitators expressed their inner emotions through brush strokes, meditated to calming instrumentals, explored dance forms and outdoor physical games.

The outcome of the Induction Programme was understanding and connecting with their mental, vital and physical being and awakening of their inner worlds. It has also led to the expansion of our community of thinking and feeling individuals ready to lead the children.

Large Circle Time - Childhood Ecologies: Understanding the Worlds Children Grow Up In - Mila Tuli

Returning to school revitalised after the summer vacations, the team gathered once again in a Large Circle Time where we had the pleasure of hosting Mila Tuli, a developmental psychologist, on the subject of 'Childhood Ecologies: Understanding the World Children Grow Up In'.

In an interactive session around the value of exploring the many perspectives of children coming from diverse backgrounds, a key skill in the toolbox of our facilitators working with inclusive classroom practices, Mila Didi began her thoughts with how Shikshantar has always been a place where such conversations have existed for years.

Before taking the discussion ahead, she screened a short film 'The Silent Echo' by Suman Sen based on four teenagers and their musical aspirations in the remote Mustang district of Nepal. The team shared their impressions of what the film conveyed, with thoughts varying from 'childhood innocence' to 'creativity in the absence of a guide'. The team members also observed how the echoing mountains themselves became participants in their journey, forming a responsive space for collaboration.

Drawing on the observation of the role of children's environments in how they grow up, Didi pointed out the relative inaccessibility to educational spaces shown in the movie. Different ecologies worldwide present challenges that, when viewed through a lens, can double up as opportunities. Displaying a picture of a child from a tribal community carrying a bale of grass beside a picture of children playing with toys in a kindergarten, she initiated a spirited discussion that contrasted the unique learning opportunities of the tribal child to the affluent urban child that our inherent bias considers the idealised version.

Teaching methods continue to be shaped by a body of educational research that primarily centers first-world countries and flattens heterogeneity. A country like India with diverse and complex ecologies does not lead to uniform childhood experiences and should be approached accordingly. As Mila Didi put it, 'the child carries an entire world with them when they enter the school.' The beauty of the facilitator's work lies in bringing together these different worlds and creating a dynamic space in the classroom where children can grow up together in harmony.