Riyaz-ghar was fascinating, let's make it happen again

What is Riyaz Ghar? 

Sagar is a twelve year old boy, studying in 6th grade. He was not present in the school for over the last 2 weeks. Because in the migration season his parents needed extra hands, and he was given no other choice by his father than to go behind the cows. The school can wait. But can it? Only if! 

Most boys like Sagar from our community drop out before completing middle school. The same could be Sagar’s story in the time of a year or two. But we hope not, this time. Last year we asked ourselves, “Is it necessary for a middle school age child to be present in the school 9 months a year and 5 days a week, to be learning? Can we have a model of school in which children can continue learning, while they are also at their homes, community as needed?”

The idea is that we will initiate a series of theme/interest based, immersive, short-period workshops, in which different children will participate based on their interest. It will be planned such that the children are exposed to different new ideas, practices that they learn, and then continue practicing while they are at home. Children continue coming back to similar workshops building their rigor in topics of their particular interest.

A professional chess player, for example, practices for hours every day. The same applies to a good cricketer, musician, engineer, or farmer. In today’s schools, is it possible for children with different interests to practice various skills together? Absolutely not.

While searching for an answer to how schools should be, we came across the concept of a school, which we call Riyaz Ghar. Riyaz Ghar has four components:

• Core Skills Hours: If we have some basic skills, such as reading foundations, math, critical thinking, and the use of technology, we can independently learn almost anything. So, every day for two hours, we focus on these core skills.
• Adventure Hours: In our surrounding world, there are countless ways to experience joy and excitement and ways to earn a living. Understanding which things feel most natural and enjoyable to us helps in choosing the direction of our lives. Therefore, we spend two to four hours each day exploring new adventures or delving deeper into what we enjoy.
• Riyaz Hours: Our third critical need is to be part of a community and build friendships, which are formed through mutual interests, whether through art or shared activities. Friendships are built by spending hours together on these common endeavors. This is why we dedicate one to two hours each day to Riyaz hours.
• Planning and Reflection Hours: To ensure we do these three things well, and to understand and eliminate the obstacles we face while doing them, we spend one to two hours a day in Planning and Reflection hours.

This structure ensures that we not only master these skills but also reflect on and plan for overcoming challenges.