Ekta Shetty

“Are schools (in their current form) obsolete?”
“Schools? No. Teachers? Probably.”

Ekta Shetty is a proficient marketer with agency and client-side experience, an IT engineer, an athlete - and a teacher. Currently based in Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), her organisation works closely with the region’s public education system to implement a virtual learning environment for students.

“Initially, I went in with the idea of introducing a school-in-the-cloud concept in most of the public schools. Introducing technology that enhances your learning experience would be the ultimate dream come true for any 21st-century educator. However, I quickly realised that I was skipping several very important steps which would ultimately result in my project crashing and burning spectacularly. In order to effectively use this technology, I had to completely change the way students and parents perceived the process of learning. I could give each student in my class an internet-powered iPad, but unless I teach them how to think right, they would use it like a virtual textbook which would defeat its purpose.”

“Often, the infrastructure of a school is questioned. And then we question the syllabus. However, in my personal experience, a competent teacher is a solution to almost all of the problems.”

This was a powerful insight, leading her to take a step back and plough the field before sowing the seed. She had realised that the technology she had developed since her college days cannot be a plug-and-play solution.

It needed a behavioural step change at a school level.

Her initiation methods involved monitoring current teaching methods, tweaking lesson plans, working with teachers to experiment with learning tools and longitudinal studies with student groups. There was analysis of what is being taught, the objective behind teaching it and what parameters were being considered to measure progress. Ekta focused on engaging with teachers and students on an emotional plane.

“Every time I am in a classroom, I primarily think about two things: 1) What could I have learnt differently when I was in that particular grade to make my life better now 2) The teachers who left a huge impact on my life. Taking these two things as my guiding stars, I make sure every minute I spend with my kids brings some value to their lives, be it to their education or their personal well being.”

“I believe a well-rounded education does not just begin and end with ‘what’ is taught in the classroom. The ‘how’ of it all matters equally.”

Ekta advocates the Socratic method of teaching - which encourages students to be contextually curious, and to identify the subject material as their personal problem to be solved. “As a broad example - asking students to represent and form arguments on the behalf of two opposing sides in the Second World War would make them far more conscious of the reality of that historic event than simply reading about it in books. As a teacher, I take it as a personal responsibility to make sure that I ask my kids questions rather than telling them what to do.”

“I would much rather have my kids learn to be curious than learn just for the sake of learning.”

This connects with the proprietary machine learning project she has developed, which intends to level the playing field. “Our system understands you as a student. If we consider mathematics - the more you use it, the more it will get used to you, and the system will start predicting your mistakes. This will allow it to change its teaching method, thus adapting to your learning method. Thus, every student reaches the same goal but with different methods, tailor-made to suit them.”

“Therefore, no child gets left behind.”

She dives deeper into what makes a student, in addition to deliberating over the environment in which one learns. How does a child relate to being a child, and how does it experience schooling? Are these distinct roles or are they one? Considering our children spend half of their day with their school teachers and the other half at home with their parents - is there a conscious effort to offer them emotional consistency?

Schools often expect uniformity and obedience, with siloed subjects and a single parameter - while individual homes offer unconditional love albeit with a pressure to fit into the societal and parental expectations. How does a child understand and absorb this fragmented reality?

Encouraging kids to be themselves is necessary.

“Their self identity is to be nurtured. We cannot, knowingly or unknowingly, beat a child's nature out of them, we cannot trample on their imagination. A teacher needs to have an open mind when they enter a classroom. Parents need to accept that when it comes to children, no one size fits all. Any pressure to the contrary affects the mental and physical health of a child. Being a teacher is like being a parent, we have to take a step back and allow children to learn by themselves, offering support where needed, but not steering the process. Parents and teachers wish the best for children, but fail to see that over-involvement and imposition of their personal ambitions is harmful.”

“There is a worst case scenario that they factor in, but there is also a best case scenario that needs to be considered.”

Ekta mentions how her mission to transform the world is intricately connected to transforming the self. “I have learned to approach everything with a blank slate, take it all in and then apply all my learnings - followed by a decision on what to do and proceeding with action. Pre existing notions have led to a narrower perspective in the past, and has been a source of stress. It is best to take the blinders off.”

Through demanding a fresh relook at the way kids learn at school, Ekta realised that it is not just about textbooks but the well being of a child. What has followed is a study to establish an inclusive curriculum - complete with practical skills coaching, awareness on biases linked to gender roles, encouraging open dialogue on the social dynamic and the environment. Ekta stresses on how wallowing about what is ‘wrong’ around us is not as helpful as the effort made to ‘right’ it.

“Let us look out for our kids.”

“Let us take care of their schools and playgrounds. What do they read? What do they hear when they step out into the world? Do we give them time and love? Do we trust them? Do we listen to them? What do they learn at school? How do they learn it? That should tick all boxes for societal development. That should solve all our problems. Let us look out for our kids.”

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Words: Ekta Shetty, in conversation with Sushrut Munje