Institutor, Mathematised Math

To the point, the most comprehensive K-12 Mathematics-curricula concepts are teachable in 5 to 50 hours! To the motivated and competent readers, it may just be 5 hours; they need exposure to mathematical thinking, the questions to ask in mathematics, and they can then READ away the ‘Family Edition’ of K-12 books, and ‘converse’ with AI to supplement. In fact, NO one may need 50 hours, because if one is not engaged, not motivated to learn to ‘read mathematics’ (reading and conversations are the ONLY two means of true engagement), any number of hours would not help (as is the reality of mathematics education.)

‘Cent Percent Mathematics’ is the ‘dream genre’ of curricular mathematics books that presents a peerlessly narrated formal mathematics. EVERY one will succeed in mathematics education, here on; all adults will discover the ‘real mathematics’ geniuses in them; and close their past dreads of the ‘school mathematics.’

‘Mathematised mathematics,’ our phrase to differentiate from the ‘school/textbook mathematics,’ unprecedentedly builds on the fact that mathematics is ‘a priori knowledge.’ Thus, NO human can ever struggle in mathematical thinking and appreciating quantitative relationships; all adults know that there are 16 half apples in 8 apples (ironically school mathematics would just say 16, and this IS confusing to the rational human mind.) In fact, the overwhelming majority of us branded ‘weak in mathematics’ are just ‘weak in what schools call mathematics,) not the ‘real mathematics’.

Mathematics (the real one, unlike what the abstracted textbook mathematics) is a language, the medium through which we express our best-tested understanding of the rigidly ordered, repetitive, patterned dynamics of nature, in fact, the universe. And, the consequence of mathematics as a language is immensely different and distinct from mathematics education – mathematics most uniquely powers meta-intelligence (critical, creative, and analytical thinking), and mathematics education must secure the same for ALL. No less, AI uses mathematics as a language!

Expectedly, mathematics education (at the school level) must be firmly rooted in logic, language, and visualisation (of everyday quantitative experiences.) And, this is what Cent Percent Mathematics brings to one and all, globally!

 Towards 8 billion + equally-educated, mathematics-wise.

 Relevantly, IF only we can educate all children to ‘full(er)’ human possibilities, AGI will be the Terminal ‘General Purpose Technology’ (TGPT) for humankind. Finally, the ‘Renaissance Man,’ the idea of “a man can do all things if he will,” is physicalising, 600 years in the making. The limitless capacity of the human form is set to manifest, for EVERY adult; complemented, and supplemented by AI.

The only bridge to be built is the universal excellence in (K-12) mathematics, for ALL. A contemporary, ‘Cent Percent (Real) Mathematics’ education that mathematises thinking; hardwires brain to visualise, verbalise, and virtualise (abstract) quantitative relationships. This is also to assuredly rigourise and routinise learnability; we are born learners, and education must enrich and expand it. No less, success in ‘mathematics as a language’ best catalyses ‘same-outcome’ academic attainment, for all.

We have authored ‘K-12 Cent Percent Mathematics,’ the ‘Mathematised Mathematics,’ that cultivates every family and community as the nursery of mathematics education and re-vitalises communities.

To the point, new scientific discoveries, technology and engineering inventions, innovations, and researches are getting intensely multi-disciplinary (and, data driven, closely integrated to the real world.) These domain overlaps cannot be navigated except at the level of domain concepts, and that too significantly delineated understanding of concepts; for example, designing prosthetic limbs involves biology (such as muscle dynamics, joint articulation,) physics (such as mechanics to model human movement,) engineering (such as developing materials, structures,) and mathematics (such as models to simulate biological mechanics and optimize designs.)

One-pager Overview

Conceptual clarity (and their organic net of interactions) was never more important than it is in these times of ever-accelerating sci-tech. However, concepts are cerebral; conceptual strands cannot be easily grasped without significant, deliberate deep thinking (mental effort and reasoning.) Thus, schools cannot secure concepts. The textbooks are primarily teaching aids, broad content, and transaction layout for teaching and assessment. Textbooks are poor-quality learning aid and inadequate resources for independent learning.

A new genre of books is needed for the conceptual and true cognitive development, of all children. The LearnAbility books may well be the world’s first learner-centric (in fact, family-centric) resources, threaded as they are around specific concepts and their relationships. The books, in a way, invert the roots of textbooks – these are written for learners and are as meaningful and right for the educators.

And, being concept-centric the books are grade-less and national-curricula-free, and most effectively support individualised learning pace and process (a dream educational goal.) To top it all, the books are sliced by standalone concepts or a group of closely related ones, making access and usage focused and friendly.

On another plane, in an increasingly intelligent world, the role of the individual has become more critical to success than ever before. However, the standards for what constitutes valuable talent are soaring. The intense competition for skilled workers, high turnover rates, challenges in adaptability, ambitious diversity goals, a crisis in role engagement, and the growing demands for training and development all highlight a concerning decline in the overall ‘learnability’ of humanity.

Corporates must confront the reality that learning is fundamentally personal and emerges naturally from the environment in which individuals operate. Fortunately, AI serves as an unparalleled learning resource. The imperative for organizations is clear: they must enhance the ‘ability to learn’ for every employee. No one should be left behind in their journey to become a self-learner.

Ahead, we will self-learn, or not learn (at all). And, this is most crucially hinged on extensive conceptual grounding.

We offer academic achievement and acceleration of children till Grade IX in informal/supplementary (‘tuition/coaching’ mode) and we are going to offer the same in formal/full-time mode. Academically, it encompasses mathematics, sciences as well as social science; though history is presented in a very impactful way, the foundational way, not specific to any curriculum.

The Supplementary Academic Aisle
It starts with securing excellence in mathematics, then, the other Achilles heel – biology; both till Grade X. Our invention is that our tuition services are just a few tens of hours in all subjects for K-12. We are conceptually focused, computational support is now very easy with AGI tools, such as ChatGPT.

Of course, concepts can never be taught, concepts are learned, and internalised over a period, with extensive reading and conversational engagement. That is also why we essentially educate parents, for children up to Grade VIII; children may also attend with their parents from Grade V onwards.

Grade IX-XI children are offered direct tuition services, first for mathematics and biology.

The Mainstream Academic Aisle
We are to launch three 1-Year (full-time) education for all of K-12 academics – mathematics, science, and social science. The first 1-Year is for the Grade II or III children, to get on the path to be fall in love with reading (fiction); the second 1-Year is for the Grade V or VI children, to achieve Grade IX or X competencies in mathematics, science and social science; the third 1-Year

How have we reduced academic learning time by over 75%?
There is a long story here, but the short of it is presented as follows. First, the K-12 system is nearly 200 years old, founded at a time when the entire children population was almost first-generation learners, formally speaking. ‘4Ts’ – (Curated) Textbooks, teaching, teachers, and tests (of teaching, rather than learning) – were appropriate solutions; but we are still at it! ‘4Ts’ are outmoded.

We have cut textbooks, teaching, teachers, and tests by helping children and families become readers, read new genre books that are for learners, and then graduate them to read the best minds (popular genre book.) Second, age-wise grades were the only means of enrolling and planning education (for first-generation learners no assessment of potential was possible, that too in a default mass-education system.) 200 years later age-wise grading is dead, we can assess children to fit grades. Age-wise and rigid grades is not right anymore.

Our grade-less books allow personalised learning paths, and allow children to be in multiple grades at the same time; for example, a child could very well be in ‘Grade VII Mathematics,’ in ‘Grade IX biology,’ in ‘Grade VI physical geography,’ and so on.

Third, and perhaps the most hurtful, is the fact that the grade-wise curricular and syllabi distribution is speculative at best, and convenient for teaching at worst. For, we still know little about how we learn, and we have averaged that capability and process at a mass level, and that kills whatever good there may be. It could be easily verified by ANY devoted teacher/educator that the textbooks are too fragmented, too slow in progression across grades, and too conversative.

We have so narrated and plugged the holes in concepts that just three-year academic education is enough for the entire K-12, for a well-reading child and a committed family. Our books are uniquely storied and extensive on concepts.

Fourth, K-12 has remained firmly rooted in excluding parents from any active role (except as financial or HW support providers). It was a necessity when parents were not formally educated. In the current times, it is very disabling, in many ways, and must be stopped forthwith.

Academic Aisle is centred on parents, and this may be the most significant educational revolution in human history. It is built on a foundation of exceptional educational principles, placing family and community as the primary educational institution; education is to raise cultured adults, including the culture of technology. Moreover, it embodies unparalleled virtue by fostering childhood-centered societies that nurture close-knit families, thereby strengthening the fabric of our communities. It also acts as a force multiplier by transforming adults into role-model learners, where parents serve as academic peers rather than traditional teachers.

In the immediate, parent’s personal academic rigourisation will fuel the promise of economic miracle of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The Liberal School, directly peered by us, would be at the leading edge of academic education, the world’s best. It would be a non-physical school, global, and supporting schooled, home-schooled, and unschooled children. It would offer closest mentoring to enrolled children, with a week of physical contact about every quarter. There would be no one model, and we know the milestones well to let it be flexible, and evolve. This is what my wife and I expect to be focused upon over the next two decades.

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One-pager Overview

It is founded on the premise that privileged children face the most miseducation. This is not just because the current school system is totally gapped out, it is because such children need a comprehensively different education to be personally, socially, culturally, professionally, and civicly self-actualised role models. Grow to carry on their legacy, contemporise it, and catalyse it to accelerate the socio-economic growth of their community, society, and nation.

To be frank, our personal goal is to handhold their growth to not be rent-seekers of any shade, be among the most productive people of their times.

Lest you are thinking that this is elitist, I must offer the social imperative that is driving this version of The Liberal School. I like it or not, the lead users of the next-gen education system would be the most financially accomplished families. The best of the middle-class, and the rest would follow their cues. To be true, we expect to build the mass version of The Liberal School in due course.

DREAM DISTINCTIONS​

Embracing the Net

Soumitra Dutta,

Sandeep Srivastava.

Financial Times, UK, in 2000

FIRST INDIAN
And among a handful of others across the globe, to author a book about Internet before the first dotcom bust in 2000! Embracing the Net, 2000, Financial Times, UK, by Soumitra Dutta, Sandeep Srivastava.
Published during the 2000 dotcom bust, it was among the first ten global books about Internet and the first by Indians.
Soumitra Dutta is the Dean of Said Business School at the University of Oxford.

Government @ Net

Kiran Bedi, Parminder Jeet Singh, Sandeep Srivastava.

Sage, India in 2001

FIRST PERSON
To author the (world’s first and best-selling) book on e-governance, in 2001, India’s e-governance year. Government @ Net – by Kiran Bedi, Parminder Jeet Singh, Sandeep Srivastava.
Published in 2001 by Sage, India. The book propositioned that there is nothing virtual about e-governance, it’s about new governance.
Kiran Bedi became the first woman to join the officer ranks of the Indian Police Service (IPS).
Parminder Jeet Singh was a police officer but currently a leading digital society researcher and author.

The Bright Stuff

Arnoud De Meyer, Soumitra Dutta, Sandeep Srivastava.

Prentice Hall, USA, 2001

FIRST PERSON
Along with the Co-authors, to publish books on strategies for transforming businesses, both pre- and post-dotcom bust, 2000. The Bright Stuff: How Innovative People and Technology Can Make the Old Economy New 2001, Prentice Hall, USA, by Arnoud De Meyer, Soumitra Dutta, Sandeep Srivastava.
Published in the aftermath of the 2000 bust, it recommended “Innovation as Strategy”, probably too ahead of its time.
Arnoud De Meyer was the past President of the Singapore Management University (SMU).

PIONEERING FEW

To have authored a narrative on a new world order and later proved the same realisable; the norm being the other way – ‘do and then narrate’.

IYCWorld Softinfrastructure Private Limited (IYCWorld) was established in 2001 and has over the years evolved into a Total Information Technology Solution provider. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, covers the Middle East, Europe and the Indian subcontinent.

my journey as author, educator, and humanist

I graduated as a computer engineer from Jadavpur University, in 1987. Concurrently, I had pursued CMA and completed all the four groups exams in 1990. I pursued M.Tech (Management System), completing the degree in 1992, at IIT, Delhi. Subsequently, studied MBA at INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France, during 1998-99.

I have been an entrepreneur since 2001, founding IYCWorld Softinfrastructure and leading it till 2018. It a showcase of a deeply knowledge-society enterprise – 23-years of ‘no debt, no equity dilution,’ powered solely by world-leading domain (education) and technology leadership. The organic growth as a key strategic design to retain long term focus on research and innovation in education.
I started my career as Assistant Professor on the management and computer faculty at IMT, Ghaziabad, UP. It was followed by Middle management HR role at Modi-Olivetti and ModiCorp (holding company for Xerox, etc. in India). Between 1996-98 I contributed to the HR function of SAMBA (Citibank in Saudi Arabia) at Riyadh. This was followed by INSEAD, books and Entrepreneurship.

Incubating educational enterprises

Seeding ‘next-gen school model’ through innovative entrepreneurship for the young professionals, across nations; including The Liberal School, Math Masters (AI-age math tutors), etc.

Global citizen

Taking a shot at creating the world’s first ‘product’ to be an integral part of ALL 8 billion+ of us, by 2030 – ‘Mathematised Thinking’, ensuring everyone succeeds in K-12 mathematics. It is a long story; briefly, I have created/authored/demonstrated entire K-12 mathematics (conceptually) as a readable narrative in under 50 hours (effortlessly localisable in all languages).

Non-career politician

One of the afflictions of the modern times, but the only one continually sliding south is the state of polity, and political institutions. Only deeply active citizens can reverse the tide; such as being ‘non-career politicians’ – nurturing best political choices and participating as needed to get to those ends. I have contested two elections to the Assembly of the NCR of Delhi.

Incubating social enterprises

Galvanising – intellectually, functionally, and financially – public, ‘free’ socio-economic softinfrastructure to ensure economic dignity of all adults. No less, technology solutions for direct, living democracy is another thrust area (as distinct from technology for government.)

Disruptor

The Family College may well be the most disruptive social product and action in history. It goals to revitalise societies by nurturing its cells – families. Unimagined socio-economic renaissance awaits the most comprehensive empowerment of every family.

Educator

Conceived and created mass-scalable 5-year formal school system for the ‘Industry 4.0’ era, to replace the current, ‘Industry 1.0’ origin K – 12 school system. Researched, experimented, and developed resources and processes for ‘Whole School Transformation’.

Technologist

Among the pioneering batches of computer engineering graduates in India; founded India’s first truly knowledge-led company – no-debt, no-equity dilution in the past 22 years! Debunked the much celebrated ‘Edtech’ industry for learning is essentially social.

Author

Unique pride of writing next-gen, ‘Family edition’ math, science, social science ‘textbooks’ for Grades I – X; and math for XI-XII too! Besides the path-breaking books on Governance, Society, and Education.

THE INSPIRING OTHER​

We ‘home educated’ our daughter in Grades VII-XII, and became co-learners in her preparation of math, physics, chemistry, biology, economics and English language as a private student for CIE’s ‘AICE’ (XII) examination, 2014-16.

For the past seven years we have worked in intensely complementary dimensions in education.

My wife and I have lived and worked as (ideally) expected of educated middle-class – proactively nurture the world we want to live in a happier humanity, cutting across all divisions!

  • five
    The common thread of what affects quality, running through the four years, are: the school leadership’s ‘definition and expectations of quality’, the language competence of teachers in the academic language for all subjects, the domain competence of the heads of various subject departments, close routine involvement of parents, and language competence of students. The consistently important input factors for quality include the frequency and (easy) actionability of assessment reports to parents, continuous teacher motivation development, better books and learning materials, career guidance resources and processes and ‘happy socialisation’ in primary school years.
  • four
    The five most universal indicators of quality education are: minimum dispersion between the top and bottom performance of classes in every scholastic subject,normal distribution of performance of classes in every ‘co-scholastic subject’, open and respectful student-teacher relationships, ‘education-friendly homes’, tuition-free homework/assignment submission. Srategies that work are – literary-level reading skills in any language of all students, ‘public knowledge of the lesson plans’, level of pre-class preparation by students, the micro nature of assessment and reporting, micro-remedial efforts at home and school, and cumulative progress reporting.
  • one
    This paper is the analysis of ongoing evaluation of our successful strategies in school management by classifying schools into 9 distinct categories and tailoring optimal leadership performance role definitions/models for each. The 9 school categories emerge essentially from the 3 stages of progressive growth for schools (Effective, Successful, Living) for each of the 3 types of schools (Teacher-centered, Parent-centered, and Student-centered). Effective schools are academic focused, successful schools are overall-development focused, and Living schools are next-gen, ‘boundary-less’ schools.

    This paper presents 9 high-performance leadership models tied to on-ground realities of types of schools and their stage of growth.
  • Six
    The challenges, which reflect the agenda for further research, are as follows – tools to make it easier for parents to duly complement language and math transaction of their children in school (up to elementary school level), specifically defining the ‘facilitator/co-learner’ role of teachers in the times ahead, development of ‘career discovery and preparation’ curriculum starting early (ideally from middle school), addressing the needs of gifted and talented children in every classroom, and fool-proof strategies for development of ‘slow-learners/weaker students. To top it all, these five challenges evade effective strategies towards their mitigation, let alone attempts to eliminate them.
  • there
    This paper, clued to research and rooted in on-ground school development strategies, proposes school leadership standards and competencies that will assuredly propel school’s equity and quality goals. However, standards and competencies are all-encompassing, and can’t be developed and applied universally. In this paper standards are mainly focused on making student learning as the end-all mission, whole-person development as core value, educating talented and gifted, multi-dimensional inclusion, teacher-student relationships, micro-curricular organization, parent and community integration, leader’s effectiveness policies, ethical and operational norms, whole-school community and distributed leadership roles.

    This paper showcases extensive and sustainable details on standards and scalable competencies.
  • two
    Very many factors influence student outcomes and the quality of school leadership tops the list by a mile. This paper is an ongoing, 12-year action research on exploring diverse models of school leadership in my capacity as a leading school’s co-founder, in India. Literature review on the subject is rich and diverse, but the verdict is still wide open; from Drysdale’s model, ISSPP’s eight models, to tri-model (transformational, instructional, distributive), but none of them are independently applicable. However, talking of ‘performance’, the literature can be divided into models that help create effective schools, versus successful schools.

    This paper uniquely explores and integrates models for a working model of effective school leadership.