Processes

A random search on Google describes processes as sequence of interdependent and linked procedures which, at every stage consume one or more resources (employee time, energy, machines, money) to convert inputs (data, materials, parts etc.) into outputs. These outputs then serve as the next inputs for the next stage until a known goal for end result is achieved.

The Gandhi Fellowship Programme believes in the famous dictum that God, or devil for that matter, lies in details. Here follows a brief overview of some of the processes that we have designed for our Fellows.

Learning Quality

This process is designed and supported by the Learning Quality (LQ) team of Kaivalya. The Fellow is given the role of a teacher and has to teach for several hours each day in a school. Fellow will set a teaching goal and will develop his/her teaching plan based on the following principles:
1. A child learns best in a fear-free environment
2. Learning needs to be activity based
3. Each child in class needs to have understood what is taught
4. The teacher needs to mould his/her teaching to the need of each student

During this phase GFs will also begin to practice the routine of “Plan, Act, Reflect, Share”. They will plan for their class each morning, visit the school, reflect on their actions, and then share their experience and learning with other Fellows each day. They will be provided with support and pedagogical tools from the LQ team.

Why Plan, Act, Reflect, Share?

The goal of the GFP is to create change leaders. Create men and women of action, those who can act, get things done, move and influence people.  Thoughtful Action is a core competency for every leader. Action is at the centre of the programme but it cannot be mistaken with doing something randomly. For action to be effective, it requires thought and planning.  Planning helps to shape action and drive it towards the desired direction.

Once an act is committed, one needs to look back to know how the action unfolded. Through reflection one can find answers to questions like, “Did I lose my patience?”; “Was it my hastiness that caused the children to not learn?”; “Was I aware of the assumptions I held when I went to class?” Reflective questions like these can help GF understand the consequences of her/ his assumptions, emotions and actions, and, this in turn, can help the GF modulate and change his/her actions in the future.

Sharing all this with other Fellows helps each GF to be able to reflect on one’s own work in a new light.  Feedback from fellows, sharing of confusions sharpens reflection and also the next day’s plan. The Plan, Act, Reflect, Share process is a non-negotiable practice in the Fellowship Programme.

At the end of the six-week period, a few days will be given to the GF to pen down his/ her learning, experience, and change observed in self.  The consolidated learning is shared with the rest of the GFs and Programme Leaders and Managers.

Personal Reflection

The ability to critically self-reflect is unique to humans. In essence it requires person to look back at one’s actions, and examine one’s thoughts and feelings during that action. This process of holding a mirror to our inner selves is Personal Reflection.

Objectives of reflection

These are the goals of PR processes in the fellowship programme.
• PR is a tool to gain insight into self
• PR serves as a pause in action
• PR brings our unique strengths to the forefront and helps us identify weaknesses to be worked on

A significant goal of reflection is that of regulating ourselves, and our behaviour towards the end goal of leading oneself

Slum/Village Immersion

In this process, the GF stays in a slum/village community for a period of four weeks. The community in which the Slum/village immersion happens will be close to the school the GF is teaching in. In this phase GFs will continue to visit schools and teach in their classes. But outside of their school hours they will have to live with the local community, forge relationship with them and involve himself/ herself in their life, not as an outsider, as a social worker, as a social reformer, but as one of them. The GF is not being placed in the village and slum community to cause reform or change. The GF is being placed there to understand and know the people around him/her. The GF is placed there to know the extent to which s/he can cope outside her/his comfort zone.

Before setting off for the Slum/Village Immersion, the terms and conditions, or the code of behaviour, are mutually agreed upon by the GFs and their Programme Leaders.

GFs will be encouraged to keep a daily journal for this period to pen down their responses and thoughts. At the end of the 4 weeks, GFs will write down their Slum/Village Immersion experience. After writing it, they will share it with the rest of the Fellows, Programme Leaders and Programme Managers. Consolidating the experience and learning is as important as the actual immersion.

Learning Journeys

Gandhi Fellows join the programme to cause impact on the ground and to discover their private dreams. GFs undergo a very intense engagement with issues pertaining to education, teaching learning and school change. This intensive engagement helps them understand the complexities of primary education and related issues with depth and maturity.

GFs need to take time to explore and learn from experiences outside of KEF.  It is in this light that the Learning Journey is designed. The Learning Journey ( LJ) needs to contribute to the GFs' growth in the following areas
1) Help GF develop perspective on systems and issues beyond education
2) Help GF understand how organisations in different domains and geographies work
3) Help GF build upon their interest and passion
4) Help GF develop self- awareness and sharpen self-management

Design and Schedule of the Learning Journeys

In the period of two years of the Fellowship, 6-8 weeks will be devoted to the Learning Journey.
The Learning Journey -1 will be of up to 4 weeks and scheduled before the summer break at the end of the 1st year of the Fellowship.

The second Learning journey will be of 3-4 weeks during the last phase of the Fellowship when the GF is working as a Research Associate within a KEF department.

The time allocated for the Learning Journey includes
1) Time taken to plan and prepare for the LJ
2) Travel to and fro
3) The actual time spent at the venue
4) Time to consolidate the experiences of the LJ

 Learning Journey -1:
1) Attend a 10-day long Vipassana Meditation Camp
2) A group visit to a development organisation
3) Consolidate and share this experience and learning with peers

Learning Journey -2
The second one is an Individual LJ designed on the basis of the GF's articulation of his/her private dream. It can be…
1) Exploratory LJ: Shadowing a role-model figure for a week to understand how that person works and functions. For example, a GF contemplating to be a social entrepreneur may spend time with one such leader and experience and understand what it takes to run a social enterprise.

Or a GF is wondering whether s/he should follow a corporate career or a development career can spend time in both to make a more informed decision. This is recommended if the GF is still considering different options and cannot decide what s/he wants to take up.

2) Placement LJ: Visiting an organisation, which works in the area of one’s private dream, and/or a place one would like to work in. If the GF is clear about his/her private dream role s/he can shortlist and initiate a dialogue with organisations that s/he can potentially join. Visit these organisations to understand how they function and arrive at an informed decision about joining them.

3) Skill Building LJ: Engage in an activity that enhances a skill in an area of interest or passion. If the private dream of a GF is related to development of a specific skill, say photography, or filmmaking, or theatre, and the GF feels that an intensive engagement with such practice is needed then the GF can take up such an assignment for a fortnight or so. A GF who chooses to pursue this kind of a Learning Journey needs to share and convince the supervisor and coach why it is needed

Vipassana Meditation

Vipassana is one of the most intense and interesting Learning Journeys you will make in the duration of your fellowship. It is also a valuable philosophy, and a practise that many fellows will find themselves drawing upon, more deeply with time and experience.

What is Vipassana?
The word “Vipassana” means to see things as they truly are. Its roots go back thousands of years, to a time where one lone individual, rejected the glitter of his material trappings to set off on a barefoot journey to find the secret to eternal bliss. Compelled by a gnawing inner hunger, and frustrated with the never-ending cycle of human suffering, he travelled many paths, using his self as a tool to explore experientially, different ways of being. His quest ended under a Bodhi Tree, where enlightenment dawned upon him. Buddha’s purpose in life became the practice and sharing of a technique he has claimed only rediscovery of- the ancient technique of Vipassana.

Why Goenka's Vipassana?
Someone who has been hugely involved in creating free, apolitical spaces, where individuals can learn and practise the technique, is SN Goenka. He has been instrumental in gathering like-minded people to create communities and retreats for the sharing of the technique all over the world. The interesting thing is that this vast system runs on human generosity – and the concept of paying it forward. Your Vipassana course is a gift someone anonymous gave to you- and if you find it valuable- you can choose to pay it forward, by offering cash or your time.

What is it all about?
Vipassana is founded on three core tenets. Sila: the practise of morality; Samadhi: the development of concentration, which leads to panna, experiencing the wisdom of insight.
The ten days of Vipassana essentially involve a paring down of external stimuli in order to connect more deeply with your mind, body and self.
A vow of “noble silence” is taken on the first day and observed until the eleventh morning. Silence is essential to the practice of Vipassana because participants are expected to refrain from impurity in thought, word and deed. Adhering to a vow of silence automatically makes this easier. Secondly, Vipassana is a time where we withdraw from “external reality” and attempt to explore the hinterland of the mind. Spoken words are the bridge between your mind and the outer world. By practising silence, we allow ourselves to stay deeply rooted in our inner worlds, and also exercise a certain level of discipline over the act of talking, which is for us, usually an impulsive habit. By disengaging verbally with the world outside, you begin to silently engage more with your mind. Anything that connects you to the outer world- books, music, laptops, phones, pictures are not permitted. The vow of silence helps one stay centred in the stillness within.
This creates a space which is free from the usual distractions of our reality so that we purely engage with our own minds and bodies, and observe the impulses, thoughts and sensations which affect the self. The way to liberation is to observe and experience each sensation with compassionate detachment. This journey through our mind often brings up old memories, happy and sad thoughts, and many uncomfortable physical sensations but there is continual reinforcement to view them from a neutral place of calm, to still the mind, and unlearn the impulse to constantly categorise and pass judgement, on fleeting and impermanent feelings. By learning to view our experiences objectively, rooted in stillness- we understand how much emotional energy is lost in constantly judging what is transient.

What am I to expect after ten days?
Many people experience significant shifts, which can be emotional, physical or psychological in nature. Usually it is an interweaving of the three. It is a journey that is stirring, rigorous, and often uncomfortable. We are simply unused to disengaging from a busy world teeming with easy and enjoyable distractions- to sit with discipline, in silent awareness of our selves. It can be soothing as well as overwhelming. The time spent alone, with yourself, brings with it a richer awareness of yourself and your experiences, putting you in touch with yourself more deeply.

Academic Support Programme (ASP)

The second and third stage of the Fellowship is the time to make an IMPACT on the ground. This is longest and the most crucial aspect of the programme.
The GFP is the only programme that offers, as part of its leadership development, a real life opportunity to make an impact and cause real systemic change in a public system. No other programme offers the youth this opportunity. The Gandhi Fellow executes KEF’s Principal Leadership Development Programme on the ground and learns what it takes to cause real change.

The two components of ASP are:
• Headmaster (HM) Support
• Supporting HM Workshops

HM Support

This stage of the Fellowship begins with the training workshop for the Fellows. Here the GF is introduced to the techniques and skills required in building relationships and influencing people.
The new Fellows then begin to make visits to headmasters with their seniors.  Over a period of 4-6 weeks, the senior GFs handover their HMs to the new GF.
The new Fellows then take charge and work with their HMs for a period of 34 weeks in two years. At the end of the 34 weeks GF will hand over the HM to the next batch.

How does the GF “execute” the PLDP

The Principal Leadership Development Programme  is KEF’s school change programme. It is designed to change schools by transforming the School Principal from being a mere administrator to being a leader. It is a three-year programme offered to Principals of primary schools to develop in them Instructional Leadership, Institutional Leadership and Social Leadership. These abilities are built on the base of Personal Leadership. The long-term goal of the programme is to establish in society the value of a school Principal. They have the potential to make a great impact on the lives of children and their parents. The role and value of the school principal needs to be redefined. To achieve this objective the plan is to establish a training institution which will create quality headmasters for the Government school system.

Till this long-term goal is achieved the Gandhi Fellow has the responsibility and opportunity to influence and change the public school system. The GF thus executes the PLDP by taking responsibility of working closely with up to 5 school principals. The GF is the vital link between the organisation KEF and the HM. That the HM is being able to implement the learning s/he acquires from the workshops and contact sessions is the primary responsibility of the Gandhi Fellow. It is important for the GF to understand how vital his/ her role is. It is not just another job, or an experiment. The PLDP is a well- thought out programme designed by senior professionals with a lifetime of learning and experience in pedagogy and leadership. They are entrusting the Gandhi Fellows with the responsibility of making this vision a reality. No other programme, anywhere in the world, places this level of trust on the youth. It is the Gandhi Fellow who has to make the goals of the PLDP a reality.

The Research Associate-ship

In this process the GF takes on the role of a Research Associate in the different departments of KEF.

Design of the RA ship
• The RA ship is offered to the GF only in the the fourth term of the Fellowship. It  offers the next level of stretch to the Fellows as they need to take on new and near independent roles with KEFs various departments.
• The RA ship will be of 12 to 16 weeks.
• For this period the GFs will report to their Programme Managers.
• Ideally, the RA ship should require for the GF to move to a new location.
• At the end of the first six weeks of working as an RA, the GF will share his/her experience along with his/her Programme Manager and with his/her peers.
• By the end of the RA ship period the GF will do a 2-3 day review and consolidate the learning of this period.
• The Programme Manager will give feedback to the GF on his/her work that will enable the GF to make more informed choices about his/her career and future.

Objectives of the RAship
• To offer the GF an opportunity to take up more responsibility
• To offer experience that proximate real life work experience
• Of  taking an Independent R
• To recognise her strengths and gaps in skills, knowledge and execution