The school of tomorrow

LAHORE
WITH 800-plus student body, purpose-built campuses and above all internationally recognised and innovative education system and regularly trained teaching faculty The New School-a project of Beaconhouse - is steadily on road leading to “The School of Tomorrow”.
“Towards 2035: The School of Tomorrow” was the first ever international conference hosted by the Beaconhouse Group in 2005 and The New School (TNS) was established as a direct consequence of the event attended by top-notch from academia and intelligentsia from different parts of the world.
TNS is inspired by experiential and project-based teaching and learning systems which are at the heart of Reggio Emilia Approach and the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme. Reggio Emilia, named after a city in Italy, is “a holistic approach to teaching and learning based on the principle of learning by doing” while the IB programme challenges students “to excel in their studies, and encourage both personal and academic achievement.” The News recently interviewed TNS Deputy Head of School, Ayesha Kasuri, who unfolded the success story of the school in Pakistan, where education remains a neglected sector by successive governments over the years.
Explaining education philosophies TNS has embraced to prepare its students for 21st century challenges, Ayesha Kasuri said the school encourages its students to learn through their own experiences and not just confining themselves to books. According to her, the experiential learning is a wonderful idea as it gives students a deeper understanding. At the same time, however, she adds at TNS the balance between curriculum and experiences is also ensured to prepare well-rounded individuals for the increasingly competitive world.
At TNS the students are taught through Reggio Emilia Approach (Reggio Emilia is an approach to early years education and TNS merge that with PBL-Project based learning) till the 5th grade while for onwards academic achievements the school offers globally recognised Middle Years Programme-MYP (equivalent to “O”-Level) and Diploma Programme-DP (equivalent to “A”-Level) of the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme.
Ayesha Kasuri said it is holistic approach where the child is first and foremost respected, given an opportunity from a young age to start thinking of real world. “The fundamental aspect of this approach is respecting your culture, your environment, and learning from your environment”, she said adding that projects are also at the heart of IB programme.
Gone are the days when everybody wanted to be a doctor or an engineer. There are many more options now with the world compressing so fast with new professions coming up every day and we need to align our students in Pakistan with students graduating from rest of the world. “We got to give them the same sort of level of expertise so that they can also compete in these markets”, TNS Deputy Head of School went on to say. About the IB programme she said it works towards making a well-rounded individual equipped with skills and expertise of the modern day world.
“It’s not possible for everybody to be all-rounder and it’s not possible for anybody to be just a failure.” Every child has potential and it’s up to schools and teachers to bring forward this potential and help students hone their skills.
Ayesha Kasuri said TNS is first IB authorised school in Lahore to offer MYP and DP adding the school is in the IB’s Asia Pacific Region and its teachers are sent for international trainings on regular basis. To a question she said the IB’s Diploma Programme was recognised by universities across Pakistan, adding that many international universities, especially in United States, preferred this diploma programme and offered scholarship programme for the DP students. Commenting on private tuition/coaching, which over the years, has become a rampant phenomenon among “O” and “A” levels students, Ayesha Kasuri said it has unfortunately become a culture. “Parents have become more competitive and they go for private tuition even if their kids don’t need the same.”
“TNS-students stay longer at school after that we want them to be human beings, to do art work and community service etc”, she further said while referring to CAS-creativity, activity, service-which students must complete as part of the Diploma Programme.
Answering a question about affordability of studying IB programme, Ayesha Kasuri said “There is myth out there the IB is expensive. IB is expensive, but it is expensive for institution.” She said “We are investing so much in our teachers’ training.” She said when more schools do IB in Pakistan it is going to be cheaper even for the schools. “In some countries even the public schools have taken on the IB system where public education is free” she said while questioning “Who is to say this can’t happen in Pakistan.”
It takes a long time to get IB authorisation and it is strict programme in terms of what International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) requires for authorisation. “It took us two and half years to get our authorised MYP and almost same for the DP”, she informed. The authorisation is a rigorous process. “They (IBO) came to Pakistan; they assessed several aspects of the school; curriculum maps, student life and safety security of the school and kids, they even checked where the gas pipes were!” she said while explaining the level of care IB attaches to its authorised schools. Ayesha Kasuri sees education as heartbeat of any nation which helps set standards, changes the mindset and helps exhibiting true potential. At the same time she stresses a partnership among schools, students and parents saying the true purpose of education can only be achieved through this triangle.