Every academic year I visit different schools covering a broad spectrum of places. American School of Bombay (ASB), based in Mumbai, was one of my must-visit places for this year and I finally made it there.
It was truly a unique experience to be there. A few of the key ideas I noticed there that we practice at GGIS or would love to bring to GGIS are:
- Invest in teacher’s professional development. It makes a huge impact. ASB hires great teachers and then invests heavily in their development. They are truly committed to the idea that a school is just as good as its teachers.
- A great school shares. And ASB does. All the ASB members, were extremely kind, courteous and helpful. They shared all their thoughts, processes, ideas and were glad to host me.
- Maximize your constraints. They are in Mumbai and pressed for space. Hence their elementary school building has open plans. They can so easily move things around that the constraints of space are least observed.
- Diversity can be a strength. They have so much to learn from each other, it is a mini UN in their campus.
Most of all I was bowled over by their humbleness. I did not know anyone at ASB but I just wrote to their Superintendent asking if I could visit and voila! I get a detailed tour of their work along with fantastic lunch and multiple transfers between campuses.
Could I ask for more?!
