An old article in the science magazine Nature Medicine caught my eye, and I thought I would share it with you. This article is about Jodo Gyan, an unusual organization in Shakarpur, that makes a variety of educational material for children.
Jodo Gyan "is an organization of professionals and social activists who have come together to find workable solutions to the problems in the classroom practices. We try to take a fresh look at the problems and draw upon cutting edge research to solve them. We are a social enterprise motivated by the need to find sustainable and broadly applicable solutions to make education meaningful for every child in our country." Their website, http://www.jodogyan.org says
"Jodo Gyan is an effort to participate in the process of development of the country. Since 1998 we have worked closely with students, teachers, teacher-educators and parents, particularly in mathematics and science education, to introduce innovative methods through which children will understand and enjoy what they are being taught. ....
We have set up Maths Labs in many schools and designed Science Discovery Rooms. Presently we are engaged in a programme called
Design and Development of Innovative Curriculum for Primary Mathematics in four progressive schools in NCR. This involves curriculum designing, module making, modeling classroom transactions, assessment and evaluation.
We are a non funded,
not-for-profit social enterprise. We intend to carry forward our work by establishing linkages with all organizations and individuals concerned with providing quality education to our children to enable them to embark on the path of inquiry-based learning."
They have wonderful kits for carrying out experiments- inexpensive and imaginative- and for doing mathematics. An ideal set, either for keeping your children occupied during the summer, or for sharing with friends, and the School. It would be great if groups of parents could get together and see that their children's classes (and this is mainly targeted to the primary sections) could get these kits. The price list can be seen on the Jodo Gyan website-
here.
The article that made me aware of JG is also
available online. It is entitled
Science on a 
shoestring " Microscopes made from bamboo bring biology into focus", by Paroma Basu. As the picture on the right shows, it is the imagination to use everyday material in a very useful device that makes it possible to integrate science into everyday life in a meaningful way. At Rs 175 for a microscope, every class should have one, as should every child...
JG's details:
Jodo Gyan Educational Services, E - 12 & 13, Shakurpur, Delhi –110034 Ph: 27102820, 27100104, 9312385974, 9873084472 Email jodogyandel@jodogyan.org
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