[Child] 25, 26, 27…

[Woman] It is not easy to see them go through this experience of actually making the incense. It’s a dark and dingy place where they are all sitting cramped up, but when the child goes through that experiential learning I see them building empathy and having gratitude for their own lives. I’m really proud that I’m creating citizens who are changing the world. The vision of Riverside is to create the best school for the world and not just in the world. Education is not all about content. It is about doing good as well as doing well. So, right from Grade 3, we start with this whole idea of citizenship.

Citizenship for me is when you add value to your society and make it better, the way you want it.

[Woman] We start by giving them various experiences which highlights the problem.

You recognize a problem around you and that disturbs you, then you actually go and experience it.

Grade 5 we are learning about child labor. We learn what is a lifestyle of child who is making incense sticks.

Agarbathi is the incense sticks which we use especially in our Indian culture. These incense sticks is made by these tiny children, these tiny hands.

What did we just see?

That they have to work for so much and they’re not even getting food.

And the children were forced to work over there.

They don’t have basically a choice.

To understand what they might be going through, what can we do?

Agarbathi experience.

We can experience.

Children will spend two days making agarbathis. That kind of experiential learning is something which hits the children the most. They will understand child rights and child labor to a much deeper extent.

When we watch videos or talk, we don’t get to know what do they feel and this is like stepping into their shoes and feeling what they do.

We want them to see these are the places where children work. So you try to make it as authentic as it can be. (kids chatting)

[Woman] Complete silence. You will be in complete silence right from here. No talking to each other.

[Child] We have a dough of agarbathi that we have to roll on a stick and make it.

[Woman] No smiling. This is not play time, this is work time.

[Child] So the teachers are acting very strict. They’re not letting us do anything. It was not normal.

So, I also want the size proper. I want the thickness proper.

You wanna buy this from market? Would you? Would your mom give money for this?

[Woman] Quick, move your hands now.

No, I don’t want to buy this.

[Woman] Move it!

[Child] I was feeling very excited that what is going to happen and I’m going to have a lot of fun.

[Woman] Hurry up, Tushya!

And now I’m really unexcited and I’m very sad. I’ve been having a headache. My back is aching because of sitting.

Six hours. How many agarbathis of quality?

10.

10. So what’s the problem? You will get water only when you give me 50 agarbathis and you will get food when you make 100 agarbathis.

We give them two chapatis, onion and chili, which actually, a child in a factory gets.

I was like so happy in that chapati with chili and onion. I could eat anything at that time.

I told my parents that I don’t want to go to school tomorrow because of the same experience. Then after thinking sometime, I thought that I need to experience this,
this is important for me.

[Child] One, two…

Right now, we will be doing the reflection. What do they feel? Has that made any difference to them?

I was feeling very bad. I was not being treated like a child.

So, what do you think children should be doing?

Go to school, get education.

What else children should be getting at this age?

Playtime.

Now I’m feeling more grateful about things because I know that
everyone doesn’t get it. So, now I’m not wasting things.

So, when you wrap up the experience, it is about how would they like to take it ahead. Some of them said, “We want to do a street play “and we want to make people aware.”

Basically, going back to the purpose of citizenship, taking some action to change that situation. I believe this is the education. Through content, the head is growing, but definitely, you need the heart to grow and when you get content and character together, that’s where the change happens and if we can have all
our children go as citizen leaders, they will stand up for what is right.

Schools That Work

Riverside School