Going to School in India

Description: Going to School books are a celebration of what school can be.

10 mini books tell the story of going to school in India through the eyes of a child who goes to school in places as unusual as a mud desert, in the dark, on a mountaintop and by a wheelchair.

1. Going to School on a Mountain Top
2. Going to School in a Tribe
3. Going to School in the Dark
4. Going to School in the Middle of a Lake
5. Going to School in a Tent
6. Going to School on Wheels
7. Going to School in a Temple
8. Going to School under a Mango Tree
9. Going to School by the Sea
10. Going to School on a Railway Station Platform

Target Audience: Children age 8 to 14

Print Run: GTS printed 1000 sets of mini books in Hindi.

Schools

Now we aim to reach over 100 schools in Delhi. These will be private aided or unaided schools. The monthly fee for these low-cost private schools is really minimal and most children living in slums attend these schools. By sending books to these schools we will be able to reach a group of children we have not been able to reach ever before.

We send out Going to School in India mini books to schools with self addressed and stamped postcards. After reading the books children write down what they liked about the book on the postcards and post it to us. Children's responses help us understand the impact of the books and we are also able to monitor the use of these books in schools.

By now we have a collection of postcards from children all across India. The feedback in this report are from children in Northern Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh living in villages and small towns. The children from Madhya Pradesh belong to a tribal community and have only recently started going to school and most of the children wrote that the stories motivated them to continue going to school and to complete their education. 

Please see attached pdf for children's reactions.

• Children's Responses to GTS Mini Books_Jan 2011 (PDF)
  

Going to School in India – a series of 10 mini books

Going to School in India mini books that celebrate what school can be from going to school in a tent in the middle of a mud desert to going to school in the dark, 10 such stories about children going to school in India. The books have been translated in regional languages and nine Going to School in India movies reached millions of children across India through national television.

Going to School in India series present many different kinds of schools and organizations, diverse religions and children across India – from street kids to kids who go to government schools. It tells stories that make children want to go to school stay in school and to dream of possibilities.

Going to School in India communicates with children about children, working to inspire change in schools by celebrating stories of activity-based learning. Communicating with children within India as well as children around the world, it envisions that children can begin to understand each other through what they know: the shared experience of Going to School. In this way shared rights, responsibilities, understanding and change are possible, both within India and around the world.

100 sets of Going to School in India mini books in Oriya were distributed to schools supported by Save the Children Fund in Orissa.

45 sets of Going to School in India mini books in Hindi were sent to schools run by non-profit trusts in Delhi and its surrounding areas.

The 10 books in this series are –

Going to School in a Mud Desert Going to School on Wheels Going to School in a Tribe Going to School on a Mountaintop Going to School on a Railway Station Platform Going to School in a Temple Going to School in the Dark Going to School by the Sea Going to School in the Middle of a Lake Going to School under a Mango Tree Children’s Responses to Going to School in India mini books

“I read all the books and got to know that children from backward communities like us can get help from government and other organizations to study. Now I know that I too can fulfill my dreams.” Badababae Juri, 8 years, Government Upper Primary School, P.O. Jogi Mundra, District Balangiri, Orissa

“Why doesn’t everyone have someone like SANCHAR in their life to fulfill your wishes?” (Going to School on Wheels) “I have friends too but they are not strong like Haider’s friends.” (Going to School on Wheels) Ratna Manjusa Sahoo, 11 years, Jogo Pura, Secondary English School, Sambalpur, Orissa “Now I know more about my country, I learnt that Patna is the Capital of Bihar.” Aakash Swain, 10 years, Loka Para Government Upper Primary School, District Balanagar, Orissa

“I did not know that a school can be at a railway platform as well and I loved the puppets. It must be so much fun to learn with puppets.” (Going to School on a Railway Station Platform) Anju Malik, 8 years, Very Special Arts India School, New Delhi

“Devki works during the day and goes to school in the evening; I was inspired by her story. All girls should be as hard working and driven as Devki.” (Going to School in the Dark) Aarti Malik, 12 years, Very Special Arts India School, New Delhi

“Can you actually have a school under a Mango Tree? I had never seen or heard of such a school. We study in a room with tables and chairs and still we find it hard to pay attention to the teacher. These children must find it so hard to concentrate and study under the tree in the sun. I enjoyed reading these books and read them over and over again.” (Going to School Under a Mango Tree) Kanchan, 7 years, Deepalaya School, New Delhi

“Children in Kashmir go to school in a lake; they don’t have classrooms or sufficient number of teachers to teach them at school. It is so difficult for them to go to school. I had never heard of a school like this. Why doesn’t anyone help these children?”(Going to School in the Middle of a Lake) Bulbul, 9 years, Navsrishti, New Delhi

“From this story I learnt that people of all castes and communities have the right to go to school. It is amazing that children are getting education relevant to them, about their environment and about things around them. This is how schools should be.” (Going to School in a Tribe) Kapil, 9 years, Manzil, New Delhi

“We would also like to go to the government and talk to the people there about our problems.” (Going to School in the Middle of a Lake) Phulsum, 9 years, Salaam Balak Trust, New Delhi

Links:

• About Going to School

• Children's Responses (PDF)
  

Here is a list of schools that received Going to School in India mini books. Soon we shall be receiving postcards with feedback from children after reading the books

• Schools receiving Mini Books (DOC)

A series of 10 mini books - Going to School in India - tell stories to children about how children in India go to school - in the middle of a Mud Desert, on a Mountain Top, on a wheelchair and so on. The books aim to inspire children to go to school and stay in school.

• GTS_books_images.pdf (PDF)
  

Going to School is pleased to have received funds from GlobalGiving to support the printing of three series of Going to School in India mini books in English, Hindi and Oriya. A set of 10 Going to School books were printed in each language with help from other funders such as UNICEF in India.

• 500 sets of Going to School in India mini books in Hindi were printed which were distributed to 150 government schools in Delhi and NGOs and reached 10,000 children. • 500 sets of Going to School in India mini books were printed in English for schools in Andaman & Nicobar Islands affected by the Tsunami to reaching over 10,000 children in the islands. • 45,000 sets of Going to School in India mini books have been printed in Oriya and have been estimated to reach 500,000 children across the state of Orissa.

The 10 Going to School in India Mini Books printed and distributed are: 1. Y is for YAK. Going to School on a Mountain Top in Ladakh, learning English with YAK cards. 2. Jackfruits & Giant Anthills. Going to School in a Tribe, walking in the woods to learn. Gudulur hills, Tamil Nadu. 3. Going to School in the Dark. Girls who work during the day go to school in the dark; they have their own children’s parliament where they decide what they would like to learn. Ajmer, Rajasthan. 4. Going to School on an Island. Kids who change the way their school works in the middle of Dal Lake, Srinagar, Kashmir. 5. Going to School in a Tent. Little Rann of Kutchh, Gujarat. The children of salt-workers go to school in the middle of a mud desert. 6. Going to School in a Wheelchair, outside of Kolkata, West Bengal. Haider goes to school in a wheelchair, wheeled by his three friends. 7. Going to School in a Temple, Patna, Bihar. Kids learn rain-making yoga. 8. Going to School under a Mango Tree, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh. Mango tree parliament, kids run their own children’s parliament under a mango tree. 9. Going to School with Fish. Fishing for facts in Pondicherry, girls ask the fishermen about the fish in their textbooks. 10. Going to School in a Railway Station. Kids go to school on a railway platform in Orissa. Learning with puppets about their lives.

Going to School’s next project also on GlobalGiving is Be! an Entrepreneur, a multi-media project to inspire millions of young people from underpriviledged backgrounds to become entrepreneurs and to create businesses that solve the social, economic and environmental problems they face in their lives.

Photo-- Going to School in a Tribe

Links:

• Be! an Entrepreneur project