Philosophy

We see education as an important activity for the country. We don't believe that globalization gave our people anything, but quality education can make the difference, build people power that will bring to India what she deserves. We hope it will be the panacea we wish it to be, acting as a key tool in making children, women and men, across gender, caste, colour and economic divides to realize their potential in helping break down gender, social and cultural stereotypes, building a level playing ground. To bring the wealth, enjoyment of life into our lives, we need stories in our lives, thus building our individual capacity to change and hence change the society we live in.

Katha's vision is to help make a better world where everyone can aspire to and attain lifelong learning and earning opportunities, where each one can attain one's potential, where we have the space to be responsible and responsive citizens.

Katha's philosophy The Katha philosophy has grown organically with each perceived need.

LIFE education is a concept that stresses knowledge that is relevant to life, which spells economic prosperity for the family and greater happiness for all - the ultimate goal of all development and sustainable education.

LIFE knowledge comprises -
L iteracy to Lifelong learning - skills including purna siksha or total education, culturelinking, and active tolerance
I ncome-generation skills, and more importantly, an ability to overcome poverty - of ideas, imagination, entrepreneurship, business ethics. The poverty of affluence.
F amily wellbeing - honing our skills to foster the health of the immediate family, the community and the larger family, our planet --loka samastha sukino bavanthu.
E mpowerment, including building in ourselves activism, action-oriented ways of redressing gender, equity and equality issues

Katha's work with the 9C's help move LIFE concepts from idea to action. The 9Cs that build character and citizenship are -

Purna Siksha or "education for the complete person" brings in the concept that good education has to be relevant, exciting and be able to develop empathy in the minds of its receivers, as well as help build a strong and more equitable nation. Purna Siksha ads heart to the all-brain training that formal education today gives. It helps bring people from passive to active tolerance, from a debilitating mass culture to a more questioning and self-enriching critical culture, through vaadam, vivadaam and samvaadam .

Katha's Sustainable education
Katha's idea of sustainable education may be seen as a coming together of -

A Relevant Education Curriculum that gives to the child a rounded education that is fun and exploratory, bringing together scholastic, entrepreneurial and spiritual learning. This is based on our Purna Siksha or Essential Knowledge which includes the traditional "Sixteen Riches" that folk wisdom have handed to us

Teaching/learning materials that make learning joyful, relevant and creative, increasing lifelong learning skills/habits in children. The City as Classroom approach of Katha works in tandem with the relevant education curriculum to make the magic happen!

Teacher training that supports sound and creative classroom work on subject learning as well as topics like gender that are part of Katha's invisible curriculum.

Empowered students and teachers who know their rights and responsibilities and who join to make the system work for the good of all.

Community and parent participation and informed investment in their own and their children's future.

Education that combines traditional Indian practices with new knowledge on life-related topics which makes the child a responsive, responsible and happy member of her society.

Extensive use of story /katha, and fun /tamasha, make our classes/workshops come alive!

CultureLinking, a fun, student-centred learning process which tries to build greater awareness through theatre and film, translation and story, multi-media activities.

Some other ideas that Katha has found relevant and suitable are -

Guru-Sishya Samvadha where the teachers and students together look closely at a text, and re-create knowledge, rather than accept a transference-of-knowledge method of teaching/learning.

Cooperative learning . Competitive education trains the technocrat, the bureaucrat, the scientist, the international banker. But somewhere in this race for economic prosperity, we have forgotten the humanities which, as Dr Radhakrishnan has said, helps make one humane.