1

Audience Participation question

- Children get free education - The girl child and backward classes (Scheduled Casts and Scheduled Tribes) get free notebooks as well - Every child is given a uniform, textbooks and a mid day meal - These mid day meals are the biggest incentive to ensure parents send their children to school

LITERACY INCREASE - Todays children are first generation modern learners - The graph shows an exponential increase in overall education for the past two decades

LANGUAGE BARRIERS - Education is in the medium of local languages up to Grade 7 - English becomes the medium of education only in Grade 8 (by then, it is too late for children to grasp the language easily) - Children of migrant workers are not able to keep up with the local languages DYSLEXIA - Schools have no way of identifying dyslexia that is prominent in 20% of the school going children

- Even after considering all the previous problems, the structured education system is itself broken.

- The current system lacks practicality meaning. There needs to be some type of connection between the classroom and the real world. - The present education system unfortunately leaves behind the millions of average children with an incredible potential, but who are paralyzed by the fear of failure.

- Educational Infrastructure - Safe and reliable class room spaces - Investment in technology - Environments that foster learning - Teacher Incentives - Currently there is low commitment and availability of teachers - Possible salary cuts and raises - Appreciation programs - Mind, Body and Soul - Not just teaching math and science in classes, but also encouraging creativity, physical activity and spirituality - Health Improvements - Contact local dentists, hospitals and doctors to provide free consultation to children in government schools - Accountability - There is an immediate need to reduce corruption at all levels within India - Making sure that teachers are imparting the correct knowledge in an equal manner

- Ensuring that Government funds are not squandered into middle mens pockets - Following the Midday Meal Scheme truly and thoroughly at ALL Government shcools.

Reference: Mallett, Christopher A. The School Success Program: Improving Maltreated Children's Academic and School-related Outcomes. Children & Schools. Jan2012, Vol. 34 Issue 1, p13-26. 14p. 18 Public Schools in Lorain County (Ohio, USA) were analyzed This evaluation of the program included the following student measures: Woodcock Johnson III Assessment scores (2006 through 2009), grade point averages (2001 through 2007), and special education disability identification and services. The standardized Woodcock Johnson Assessment measures general intellectual ability, specific cognitive abilities, scholastic aptitude, oral language, and overall academic achievement and reports these results as basic reading, reading comprehension, math calculations, math reasoning, basic writing, and overall academic skills scores.

10

Mentors worked in the child's home and were available as needed to improve academic habits, focus, and outcomes. School Success Program, in collaboration with 18 Ohio public school districts, has provided individual tutoring and mentoring by certified teachers to 615 maltreated children and youths, working closely with the whole family in an in-home setting. Most children and youths in the program have progressed to their appropriate grade level while improving overall grade point averages from 1.74 to 2.56 in core academic subjects.

11

Basic reading and comprehension skills improved 58 percent; math reasoning and comprehension skills improved 50 percent; basic writing skills improved 48 percent; and overall academic skills improved 51 percent.

12

- Private School Students as Mentors - Positive, supportive living environment - Cooperation between mentors, teachers, program representative (someone with authority representing the program). This will not only allow the program to become a team-effort but it will also allow for accountability to be kept through quarterly evaluations conducted by the mentors and program rep. regarding the teachers. - Standardized tests and graduation statistics will serve as measures of improvement.

13

Reference: Tintocalis, Ana. Will Corporate Sponsors Help Save Education?. KPBS Public Broadcasting. 24 Nov 2009. <http://www.kpbs.org/news/2009/nov/24/will-corporate-sponsorshelp-save-education/>

14

In this article, Ana Tintocalis details corporate sponsors working with an outdoor school. Camp Cuyamaca, running since 1946, is one of the extracurricular programs that the San Diego County Office of Education is looking to keep alive through corporate sponsorship. At the time the article was written, it was the first time the county worked with corporate sponsors. Target donated $50,000 to be used as scholarships for kids unable to afford Camp Cuyamaca. REI and Adventure 16, 2 recreation stores, donated $10,000 for equipment as well as other services. They are also seeking $3 million for whichever company wants to buy the naming rights of the camp.

15

Corporate sponsorships are useful because schools need the money to survive. Also, businesses need marketing strategies that build public trust: consumers want to support companies that are giving back to the community.

16

Using this same principality, corporate sponsorship can be used in Bangalore to improve problems with education. Corporations donate money to the public schools to help fund the education of the children as well as provide resources they need. Participation is fully voluntary, but incentives include improving the companies' marketing strategies by building public trust, offering larger incentives for consistent commitment to donating, and providing the opportunity for their branding to be expanded to the schools via potential naming rights. The effect of corporate sponsorship is improvement of school resources, which is a major problem concerning public education in Bangalore. Resources range from food to teachers to textbooks to professionals who can identify learning problems in children. To observe signs of improvement, we would measure graduation rates, attendance rates, and availability of resources.

17

- The current system lacks practicality meaning. There needs to be some type of connection between the classroom and the real world: - We could implement this into the corporate and mentorship programs: have executives come and speak about what they do, their road to success, etc. and have mentors helping the students get more involved in the community and make them more career-ready. - The number of Indians joining the workforce is growing rapidly. However, many of them lack fundamental skills and the mindset for productive employment. - Its especially important that we try to support students in poor/rural areas of India to reduce income inequality; so the rich dont get richer and poor dont get poorer.

18

First 3 are the scholarly articles that we used Last reference is the interview we conducted with one of the founders of the organization

19