Siddesh Sarma

Believer in Public Education Systems and Social Equity| Pursuer of Gastronomic, Musical & Literary Delights | Co-Founder, Leadership For Equity

[Subir Shukla @subirshukla]

Here are the eight biggest issues school education faces in our country, and 2024 needs to see action on these!

1. Our demographic dividend is at an inflexion point: Boys are dropping out of secondary and higher-secondary education. At the same time, the lack of secondary and

[Siddesh Sarma @SiddeshSarma]

@subirshukla Bertrand Russell had written an essay during the industrial revolution to do with Leisure. A lot of what he said applies today as well regarding consciously putting in thr time for civic and community engagement, personal development and projects and not just productivity.

[Siddesh Sarma @SiddeshSarma]

@VandeBharatExp whose idea is it to keep so many needless and intrusive loudspeaker announcements in the train! It completely takes away the comfort and peace of the travel experience which goes against the travel concept of this train. @IndianRailMedia @indianrail

[Madhukar Reddy Banuri @MadhukarBanuri]

A wonderful morning spent with the amazing Prof. Padma Sarangapani and her team of @cete_tiss, speaking on the current dispensation of capacity building of TEIs & teacher education in India! A lovely first learning visit to the #TISS Campus :) @SiddeshSarma @lfe_ed @clrindiaorg

[Siddesh Sarma @SiddeshSarma]

Great to see government adoption of this process to invest in teacher mentors who will observe and coach teachers based on the TEACH Tool.

[Nagaland Education Project-The Lighthouse (NECTAR) @nectarnagaland]

Teach Tool: The state-wide Level 2 training on Teach Tool, held across four training stations (Kohima, Dimapur, Mokokchung, Tuensang), concluded on 19th October. A total of 34 Master Trainers (Trainers of Teachers) trained close to 300 School Heads. (1/2)

#teachtool #WorldBank

[Siddesh Sarma @SiddeshSarma]

@subirshukla As much as we may denounce the merits of technology, that is the direction society is headed. What can progressive and grounded NGOs do today to embrace and guide tech development /AI in a more grounded and equitable way rather than keep eschewing it...

[Siddesh Sarma @SiddeshSarma]

@subirshukla 1. There is a big consensus that self learning content for students is 'solved' owing to its proliferation in big and small private schools and development by Ed tech companies. What needs to be added is context from life worlds of children in govt schools.

[Siddesh Sarma @SiddeshSarma]

@subirshukla 2. Based on what I have seen, local languages and contexts are the only thing that remains to be integrated. So what is the role of NGOs in learning content creation in general? Are we better suited as sub contractors to these companies? We cannot match resources or finesse.

[Siddesh Sarma @SiddeshSarma]

@vishaltalreja @OnePlus_IN Green lines on screen?

[Siddesh Sarma @SiddeshSarma]

On #GandhiJayanti2023 Everyone should read this gem of an anecdote and access the linked comic archive!

[Subir Shukla @subirshukla]

In late 1994, when I was Editor at National Centre for Children’s Literature, National Book Trust, India, I was approached by the Gandhi Peace Foundation. They wanted a book on the Mahatma brought out for children. I suggested that such a book would be lost among the thousands

[Siddesh Sarma @SiddeshSarma]

@airtelindia while product quality of 5g and internet are top notch, experience of getting anything done at an airtel store is as tedious as a post office. Rudeness of service representatives at the Pune aundh store was the cherry on top. I wonder why I got my entire family on it

[LeadershipForEquity @lfe_ed]

@lfe_ed has started an initiative for the #professional #development of our project leads called 'Rise to Lead', #blended skill-building workshop for managers and project leads.

Thanks to @rahulgupta2709 for leading these sessions!

#mentoring #coaching #monitoring #evaluation

[LeadershipForEquity @lfe_ed]

Last week, 20+ team members from the @lfe_ed & @clrindiaorg got together for a three-day training workshop that touched upon several aspects like #strategic_planning, the significance of #earlychildhoodcare, and basic #numeracy & #literacy.

[Siddesh Sarma @SiddeshSarma]

@chuck_gopal Congratulations! We have to catch up.. I Keep coming to Flame to "collaborate with professors" 😉. We also recently cohosted a big symposium with them.

[Siddesh Sarma @SiddeshSarma]

Really sorry state of affairs with the one thing that is purportedly in pursuit of unbiased knowledge creation and moving the science and society forward, god knows what happens in a less regulated research / university system.

[Andrew Akbashev @Andrew_Akbashev]

Not able to produce “favorable results” in the lab? You are a “loser”.

Stay in the shadows of those who can bring cool data to the Big Prof.

Sounds familiar? It's not only about this case at Stanford.

It's about academic culture in general:

- Keep pushing for metrics. Quantity over quality. Look for flashy conclusions.

- Skyrocket your profile. Build your research enterprise. Outcompete everyone in your field.

Isn’t it how academia works today? 🤨

▫️

Albert Einstein remarked: “An academic career, in which a person is forced to produce scientific writings in great amounts, creates a danger of intellectual superficiality”. 

Peter Higgs said he could NOT replicate his discovery in today’s academic climate: “Not enough peace and quiet in the present sort of climate to do what I did in 1964”.

▫️

Wonder about the results of this “culture”?

1. Thousands of FAKE research articles are published. 30% of all scientific articles may be fake products of paper mills. There is even a special lengthy page on Wiki called “Replication crisis”.

2. Life-draining tenure requirements that fuel the rat race. Why? To ensure the university ranking and recognition is going up.

3. Most PhDs don’t see themselves in science anymore. In many places, you are not required to be creative and knowledgable. Instead, you should demonstrate you can win a race.

Everyone knows it but few things change.

▫️

I am happy that Stanford showed courage and carried out investigation. It is an excellent example of HOW to react to manipulated papers and unhealthy lab dynamic.

It's just another reminder that:

We should STOP focusing on taking “professional selfies”.

We should STOP trading our passion for glory.

Focus on science instead

#AcademicChatter #AcademicTwitter #phdchat

[FLAME University @FLAMEUniversity]

Curious about the transformative power of education in the 21st century?

Join us for the research symposium on ‘Rethinking Educational Transformations: Systems Change for a Better Future" in association with Leadership for Equity (@lfe_ed).

Date: July 5–6, 2023

[LeadershipForEquity @lfe_ed]

We’re excited to announce that @lfe_ed is now a part of the #ScratchEducationCollaborative! 🎉We’ll be collaborating with @scratchfndn, @scratchjr, and organizations around the world to support learners in developing their confidence with creative coding. https://t.co/lRHsXQ7Oms

[Yamini Aiyar @AiyarYamini]

On the consequences of the shifting profile of who becomes IAS today and the urgent need for training and HR reform to address this. With Rahul Sharma

[Lee Crawfurd @leecrawfurd]

"[private schools] are impressively frugal, but do not often produce better results ... relying on [technology] alone is risky ... All this makes fixing government schools even more urgent. India should spend more on education."
https://t.co/M2Rtg19hXz

[FLAME University @FLAMEUniversity]

FLAME University, in association with Leadership for Equity (@lfe_ed), is proud to present a groundbreaking research symposium that brings together leading education experts, researchers, and visionaries from around the globe.

Register now: https://t.co/UBgEaSr7il