Institutor, Mathematised Math
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 human form is set to manifest, for EVERY adult; complemented, supplemented by AI.

One-pager Overview

The only bridge to be build 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, 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.

The LearnAbility Project is to ride the 4IR revolution to its crest, faster and juster. Prioritised for all in their 20s, but excluding none, it is to kick start the virtuous cycle of learnability through ‘mathematised minds.’ Nurture ‘net-producers’ out of every adult, in these unprecedentedly enabling sci-tech times. It is to be the peerlessly universal catalyst for human revolution, as young get to be both, the fuel and the fire, of economic and social transformation.

One-pager Overview

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).

This approach requires a return to basics, focusing on excellence in foundational education. For instance, proficiency in mathematics at the Grade XI level is now sufficient for effectively utilizing AI applications, whereas previously, a degree in engineering or mathematics was necessary. By prioritizing the development of learning capabilities across the board, companies can empower their workforce to thrive in an ever-evolving landscape.

Fortuitously, success in mathematics, mathematical thinking, to be precise, is the amazing elixir for self-learning.

Outside of the corporate, mathematics re-education will secure Augmented Intelligence Quotient (AIQ) to plug into the endless possibilities of seeding and succeeding as micro, local, green, and inventively niche entrepreneurs. It will also nurture the next-generation educators within communities. It will pave the path to (economic) dignity to all adults.

If it resonates, I invite you to write to me at sandeep@iycworld.net.

The Family College is the one-stop, AI-age educational resource and community (in time) for you, your family, and your community. For one, it is the first to be focused around parents, family, and community; neither teaching, nor schools. Second, it pioneers THINKING as the only curricula; you will learn mathematics for mathematical thinking, geography to geographical thinking. Third, the ‘Complete Human’ curricula, way beyond schools system, such as, Philosophical Thinking, ‘Thinking Thinking’ (Psychology), Story of Nations (Political History), Technology and Engineering foundations.

No less, it is for all families, schoolers, ‘home-schoolers’, and ‘unschoolers.’ Academically, schools are, and will remain, hugely out of sync with the times; for instance, a schooled child is most likely to be struggling in the foundational intelligences – the ‘three languages’ – mathematics, reading and writing in the language of academics, and art/dance/music/games, etc. Schooled children need supplementing and complementing. And, that cannot be based on school textbooks, assessments, etc. A new-genre of academic resources is needed – reading resources threaded by the domain integrity, not grades. We have the humankind’s first ‘K-12 A-Z’ grade-free learning resources. For non-schoolers, it is magical.

I have no reason to be immodest, my 2-decade action-research holds that The Family College represents 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. This revolutionary approach is globally inclusive, empowering every family to become educators on equal footing. The program is dream-resourced, leveraging first-ever, ‘Family Edition’ educational resources.

Moreover, it embodies unparalleled virtue by fostering childhood-centered societies that nurture close-knit families, thereby strengthening the fabric of our communities. Lastly, The Family College 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.

Visit The Family College Website.

Hopefully, the name itself tells a story of its own. Conceived over a decade and half back, it is ready with conviction and (private) curricula. Schools are necessarily regimented, there is no liberal school in the world, as much as I can search on the Internet. In fact, it is not a common knowledge that the very meaning of the ‘school’ is antithesis of ‘liberal’, being ‘schooled’ is kind of being put in place, reprimanded, or ‘told (to do things).’ I retain it in the name, because, we would be working with children.

The Liberal Schools will be knowledge-society schools, the ‘4IR schools,’ with one curricular goal – routinize and rigourise polymathic thinking. Technology would be an intensive component of the education, but, wholly as something that is an input, a substrate, to be extensively ‘humanised’ through personal mastery, and then presented as a personal contribution. There would be no teaching, all adults would be peers, and, the best qualified model learners! And, the best paid too; also because, there would just be one adult academic peer per ‘subject’. To start with, The Liberal Schools may be accessible to the most financially privileged families. I hope sooner than later, a new generation of ‘teachers’ (the model learners) would be available to mass-scale The Liberal Schools.

The Liberal Schools will be essentially 5-year formal education, instead of the current 12 years, equivalent of Grades IV – VIII years. The entry qualification in Grade IV would just be reading ability; for reading would be the first source of exploration of all of academics, followed by conversation, experiments, observations, experiences. Children may also be enrolled from Grade I, but they would spend the years till Grade IV on reading, play, sports, play, dance, art, music, etc. By the end of Grade VIII, all children would have transacted up to the best of the current Grade XII curricula.

They are expected to read nearly 500 books, on top of our private ‘A-Z’, domain-threaded curricula, world’s first of its kind. While ‘The Liberal School by Saloni and Sandeep’ is already open for enrolment, the license and start of The Liberal School will follow new entrepreneurial ventures in education. We hope to have the first such school ready to welcome families by April, 2025, somewhere in the world.

Please do write to us, in case you are passionate about education, and awaiting the next-gen school model, or the unschool model. To me, home-schooling communities will immeasurably benefit from turning into Liberal Schools.

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.

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.