The Progressive Teacher Vol 04 Issue 03

skills programme aims for. The
Student Leadership and Life
Skills Programme implemented
in the school has been designed
and customized by Magic Bus
Foundation.
I find a resonance of the key
pedagogical approaches I have
been recently practising in the
pages of The Progressive
Teacher where educators
have written about authentic
learning, immersive learning
experiences, project based
learning and experiential
learning. In the recent past there
have been columns dedicated
in The Progressive Teacher
on the proven effectiveness
of the S4D (Sports for
Development) method in the
overall development of a child’s
personality by Mona Shipley. My
intent through this article is to
delineate how this international
pedagogy is used effectively in
imparting life skills to students.
Must have heard the oft quoted
line ‘The battle of Waterloo was
won on the playfields of Eton’,
attributing the success of the
British over Napoleon’s forces
to the superior character of its
young men built in boarding
schools while playing games
like cricket. Eton was one of
the famous English boarding
schools that trained English
boys for careers in the military,
civil service and the church. This
perception is grounded in the
practice of famous public schools
using team sports like cricket
not just as outdoor play, but as
an organised way of teaching
English boys, the discipline, the
importance of hierarchy, the
skills, the codes of honour and
the leadership qualities that
helped them build and run the
British Empire.
All said and done how does
one proceed in the direction
of Curriculum - Creation or
customizing an existing one to
impart life skills?
Now having established the
primacy of sports and games in
building character and bringing
about the desired behavioural
changes through physical
activities, let us now explore
the crucial elements, mode of
engagement and implementation
of a structured life skill
programme.
Elements:
1. Safe environment: It refers
not only to the physical
environment but also to
the creation of a conducive
environment to make the
participants feel emotionally
safe and secure to conduct
activities aimed at their socioemotional
development.
2. Rapport building: To ensure
a learning continuum, a
good rapport between the
facilitator and participants
is of paramount importance.
Equally important is a
healthy level of comfort and
ease among the participants.
3. Facilitation: The most
crucial and critical element
needed for an effective
learning scenario is a skilled
facilitator. The facilitator
is a catalyst who triggers
the right response from
the participants and knows
to when seize the right
teaching moment to further
the teaching objective. It
is vital that the teacher is
open, unbiased and nonjudgemental
to win over the
participant’s trust, without
which total engagement and
immersion in the programme
is not possible.
4. Immersion: In order to meet
the programme objective,
it is necessary to create an
immersive experience through
experiential learning, wherein
the participants experience
a situation through hands
on activities / simulations/
role plays, etc relate the
experience to real life.
During the course of the
workshop, we the teacher
facilitators experienced firsthand
how sports and physical
activities could be used as an
optimal medium to impart life
skills. There are many advantages
of incorporating S4D approach
to teach life skills, the first
being the use of recreational
physical activity or play ensures
voluntary participation needing
minimal coercion. Since play
equates to fun for everyone
involved, the learning takes
places in a stress free context
(it completely eliminates the
element of artificial simulation
or motivation for learning). The
pivot around which this entire
exercise revolves is experiential
learning, thus making learning
internalized. A few weeks into
the programme it becomes hard
to miss the connection between
experiences on field to real life
scenario. The most captivating
component of this entire process
is children become children
again! The physical component
of each session allows them to
indulge in mirth and they are
happy to be learning the fun way
(This is what fun-filled learning
is supposed to be like!) And
what keeps the sessions lively
and interesting is the variety!
Yes there are different games
and activities for every session.
The activities are very varied
and engaging. In such a learning
environment, children are
prone to be less self-conscious
and are more open to discuss,
debate, introspect and reflect
on their own behaviour, values,
attitudes and those aspects of
their personalities they were
either ignorant of or were
earlier unwilling to even admit
to themselves. Well take it from
me - the profound discussions
I have encountered in the class
of 14 year olds would intrigue
anyone interested to pay
attention to their perception of
the world! This really came as
a surprise to me initially. But
upon a little reflection it became
crystal clear why it was so. Our
students are seldom given such
a learning environment – stressfree,
non-judgemental and happy
environs, where they are allowed
to be their natural selves and
given a platform to voice what
they feel, think and perceive.
After a year of implementing
the programme, I am really
excited at the possibility, nay, the
surety of facilitating the rounded
development of students.
Jul/Aug 2017
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