Page 122 - EW November 2024

Books

part of design thinking, in 2002, a year after the shops on the ground floor. “Kiran ma’am also does
and Sethi has learnt well Riverside School was pro- It was located on a busy this!” It brought home the
from her experiences with moted, Sethi was appalled street with heavy road realisation that students
colleagues who felt intimi- to learn that one of her traffic. The neighbourhood pay attention to how adults
dated by the language of students lived in a family lacked parks and open around them behave and
design. that did not allow out- areas. The student had speak. This book counsels
This book also reveals door play. Assuming that many opportunities to play teachers/parents to be
how the empathise-define- the child’s parents were indoors, but outdoor play mindful of how they con-
ideate-prototype-test insensitive to the child’s was prohibited for reasons duct themselves because
process was reimagined needs, she called up the of safety. This incident children will emulate
and articulated as the feel- mother to talk about the prompted the school to them.
imagine-do-share (FIDS) importance and benefits of adopt a policy whereby Every Child Can ac-
process to allay apprehen- outdoor play. The parent visiting the families of knowledges that River-
sion about lack of formal could have chosen to get students became a regular side’s approach to educa-
design training. It proved defensive; instead, she activity for Riverside tion does not work for all
critical for the school as it invited Sethi to their house teachers. It helped teach- parents, which leads them
prompted willing engage- to understand why the ers avoid drawing ill-in- to switch schools. One
ment of teachers, parents, child was not allowed to formed conclusions based hopes that a future edi-
students, administra- play outdoors. on subjective biases. tion of the book will also
tors and support staff in Sethi was surprised to It’s axiomatic that have a section on how the
adopting an innovative witness the family home schools are learning school engages with these
design-led approach to oozing love and joy rather habitats for all, including parents’ anxieties, with a
find solutions. than the stifling environ- adults. Sethi, for instance, section on the costs of inte-
One of the biggest ment she had assumed. was shocked when a parent grating the design thinking
takeaways from the book The apartment block that of a Riverside student told process and how it affects
is the humility that design the eight-member fam- her that her daughter justi- school fees.
thinking teaches. Back ily lived in had dozens of fied an outburst by saying, CHINTAN GIRISH MODI

122 EDUCATIONWORLD NOVEMBER 2024