Issue 26 || 2023
Welcome back, dear reader, to a long-awaited issue of the Journal of Krishnamurti Schools. After the COVID interregnum followed by our special issue, No. 25, we are returning to our customary collection of contributions by teachers and educators from the global family of Krishnamurti schools.
Knowledge is not Wisdom
Written by J.Krishnamurti
In our search for knowledge, in our acquisitive desires, we are losing love, we are blunting the feeling for beauty, the sensitivity to cruelty; we are becoming more and more specialized and less and less integrated. Wisdom cannot be replaced by knowledge, and no amount of explanation, no accumulation of facts, will free man from suffering. Knowledge is necessary, science has its place; but if the mind and heart are suffocated by knowledge, and if the cause of suffering is explained away, life becomes vain and meaningless….
Editorial
Written By P. Ramesh
Welcome back, dear reader, to a long-awaited issue of the Journal of Krishnamurti Schools. After the COVID interregnum followed by our special issue, No. 25, we are returning to our customary collection of contributions by teachers and educators from the global family of Krishnamurti schools.
Challenges and Opportunities at a Young KFI School: Pathashaala
Written By G. Gautama
Under very special circumstances a small school emerged on a large campus, about 85 km away from Chennai, in Kancheepuram district (now Chengalpattu district). On 19 August 2010, Pathashaala started with three teachers and fourteen children in classes 5 to 7.
A Kaleidoscope of Reflections
Written by Indus Chadha
Quite serendipitously, just after I returned from a wonderful fellowship at Teachers College, Columbia University, I fleetingly met an editor of this journal at the Valley School. I vividly remembered an insightful session with him that inspired me to cultivate a teaching portfolio and keep a journal…
Studying and Teaching History with my Students: Reflections on my experiences
Written By Parikshit Sharma
I cannot be a teacher without exposing who I am —Paulo Freire
The Hungry Tide and the Country Within
Written by Mallika Asirvatham
Who, indeed, are we? Where do we belong? And as I listened to the sounds of those syllables, it was as if I was hearing the deepest uncertainties of my heart being spoken to the rivers and the tides. Who was I? Where did I belong? In Kolkata or in the tide country? In India or across the border?
Child-centred Education: Uncovering Assumptions
Written By Rhythm Parikh
Several theories about education are available for the seeker. The teachers at Centre for Learning, Bangalore, felt the need to share their ruminations on, and experiments with, some educational discourses through webinars online.
W(hole)istic Education: Thinking the Psychic Revolution in Question
Written by Lionel Claris
Two years ago, I contributed to a series of emails over several weeks amongst 150 Krishnamurti ‘educators’ around the world. This online ‘dialogue’ had been ignited by the question of what K would call his schools today.
The Role of Imagination in Perception
Written By Nina Mecagni
The land on which Oak Grove school is situated is a numinous place to learn, work and educate future generations. A place we are invited to inhabit for the day and participate in creating and accessing the common ground of real-time awareness with students.
Integrating Krishnamurti’s Teachings with the Syllabus: My Experiments in Economics and Business Studies Classes
Written by Meena G
Children today appear very different from what we were at their age. I once happened to see a video of J Krishnamurti addressing a group of young children. The children were neatly dressed, polite, paid keen attention to Krishnaji’s talk and were respectful towards him.
A Living and Learning Space: Approaches to Education in a Krishnamurti School
Written By Vaishnavi Narayanan
I have been a teacher for the past eighteen years, fifteen of which have been at a Krishnamurti School in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India at The School (Krishnamurti Foundation of India). When I chose to become a teacher, it was driven neither by an ambition to teach nor by the yearning to ‘make a d…
Walks with Mina
Written by Rajani Jooju
In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks —John Muir
Breathing Life into the Classroom
Written By Sangeetha M
The morning light creeps in gently into the classroom, warming and awakening the space for another new day. The grade one children slowly trickle in one after the other. Very soon, there is a fully charged room brimming with excitement, energy and laughter.
Honesty, Trust and Cooperation
Written by Jenner J Prince
Here is a bold claim that is ripe for a healthy discourse: “Everybody lies, essentially about everything. Either verbally or through their actions. Either directly or by omission.” Lies, deceit, dishonesty and deception come in an assortment of different skins.
Performance in School: A Critical Examination
Written By Prashanth Narasimhan
The single major tool in today’s world that has come to determine how we (adolescents and adults) understand others as well as ourselves is social media. In this space, like and follow seem to matter at least as much as, if not more than, confide and support; such is the power of these online p…
An Immersive Experience in Rural Rajasthan: Unforeseen Learnings
Written by Sanjay Mathur
A school counsellor asks children of two different classes at Rajghat Besant School to describe in one word their emotions upon returning from a field trip. At the end of the monsoon, Class 9 had gone to Uttarakhand, enjoying the natural beauty, hiking, and physical challenges.
Connecting to Self and the World in the Time of COVID
Written By Bhaveen Sawlani
Preamble “How do we understand our connection with our neighbourhood?” This was the question that prompted the Longitudinal Survey (LS) process that was initiated and conducted by Classes 9 and 11 of Pathashaala in 2014, 2015 and 2019.
On Being A Young Teacher
Written by Manisha Koppala
The day I turned 25, I found myself in a classroom full of ninth graders waiting to meet their new English teacher. As soon as the principal introduced me to them and stepped out, one enthusiastic voice shouted, “Akka we thought you would be at least 60. But you’re not!”
Teacher-student Relationships as a Factor of Socialization: Some Ruminations from a Small School
Written By V. Arun
Schools perhaps play the most significant role in the process of socializing a young person in their formative years. The other key players are obviously the family and society itself. As a teacher I am wondering about the role of socialization in schools.
Book Review: How Mistakes Can Work for You!
Written By Sunanda Ali
All of us remember in excruciating detail how humiliating it was to make mistakes as students. Mistakes, usually in English and mathematics, were often received with laughter (loud or stifled) or condescension from our peers.