CLASS STRUGGLE
What is life like after an alternative school? We spoke to college students and young adults who said, expect to feel alone in the crowd at first, fazed by tight schedules, challenged because you have opinions
T he first day of college is a lonely, scary experience for most kids. For those from alternative schools, it’s the beginning of a different way of life.
“Just the sight of a class of 80 students, all ignoring the teacher, made me feel so uncomfortable,” says Aryaman Jal from Andhra Pradesh. “I noticed people were getting irritated when I asked questions in class. I had to stop,” says Kunal Lalchandani from Ahmedabad. “My confidence took a dip,” says Rohan Jain from Delhi.
Feeling alone in a crowd; classmates who think they’re strange; teachers who seem distant and want them to stick to the script — these emerged as the most common concerns, when we spoke to kids from alternative schools who have moved into the mainstream.
It’s a culture shock that the parents and schools try to prepare them for in their last year at the alternative school.
These are places like Mirambika in Delhi; Tridha in Mumbai; Riverside and Eklavya in Ahmedabad; Rishi Valley in Andhra Pradesh, with flexible curricula; classes as small as six; a practical approach that includes camping trips to study the constellations.
“When we were learning about India’s medieval history, we decided to cover the class in a mud floor,” says Akshay Menon, a former Tridha student.
Moving from these schools to the bustle of college, the first casualties are personalised attention and the freedom to choose.
“These students are so used to personal attention and pursuing what they like, that following the rat race in conventional education can make them feel lost in a crowd,” says Dr Samir Dalwai, developmental paediatrician and director of New Horizons Child Development Centre.
They are also used to having an opinion and speaking their minds, and this can be perceived as an ‘attitude problem’, adds Gita Bhalla, associate director of the V Excel Educational Trust that runs the Ira Institution for Learning, which trains teachers for alternative schools.
“The students too can develop an ‘I don’t care’ attitude towards their new school or college,” she adds.
The good news is that the worst of the turbulence last, on average, a year or two.
“They are used to a community, but will eventually come to terms with the more formal systems because they are still young and flexible when they make the shift,” says Dr Dalwai.
The bad news is that most of them face this challenge at an already confusing — teenage. “On the upside, most already know what they want to do because their schools taught them to discover and build upon what they like,” says Dr Dalwai.