Leading by Example: The Dynamic Journey of Kashmira Jaiswal

Multi-faceted is an understatement for this passionate educator whose remarkable accomplishments reflect an unparalleled trajectory. Leading by example is the dynamic journey of Kashmira Jaiswal, Principal, Navrachana International School, and Mentor Magazine is proud to share her inspiring story. 

Her Journey

“People often say I have so much energy that I never stop; but that's what it takes to accomplish your goals.” said Curtis Jackson, and Kashmira Jaiswal seems to align with the same. She stepped out from college, qualified as an MBA, armed with additional degrees of Masters in Linguistics, Diploma in Journalism, Mass Communication and Filmmaking. The checkered trajectory of her academic pursuits gave her the widest playfield, igniting confidence to conquer any opportunity that came her way. However, Jaiswal’s small but strong inner voice turned into her NorthStar, navigating her to take up a teaching job in a school. 

“Since that day in 2004, there has been no ‘looking back’! I realized that being in the company of children, unravelling the mysteries of the teaching-learning processes, kept me alive and kicking. The onward journey was marked by personal and professional development every single step of the way. My seniors were my mentors and my family was my anchor,” says Kashmira.

 Education Philosophy 

“Education begins the moment we see children as innately wise and capable beings. Only then can we play along in their world,” said Vince Gowman. Quickly enough, Kashmira Jaiswal understood that teachers needed to be facilitators and guides for students to construct their knowledge based on stimulus, experience and research to arrive upon their logical conclusions. “Of course, we all agree with Oscar Wilde, that education is an admirable thing, but it is good to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught, we can only help the students to construct their learning and application”, opines Kashmira. 

Her philosophy, therefore, is to create a joyous, engaging and conducive environment for students to build their knowledge, by scaffolding their learning process with the right direction of activities, experiences and opportunities. Her English language classes often happened under the mango tree in the school quadrangle, in the wide corridors outside classrooms or on the terrace, where enchanting scripts for staging inspiring plays were created, where they designed and played grammar boardgames, or debated and discussed till the point of discussion was shred to smithereens.

In short, Kashmira strongly believes that for learning to happen, the learners need to be engaged, enthused, proactive and motivated. 

Shake-up the Foundation 

“We are the products of an education system that draws strength from the Indian culture and ethos, hence the foundational stage needs to leverage upon the holistic development aspect of the ancient Gurukul system” remarks Kashmira Jaiswal. According to her, the ‘Naturalistic Intelligence’ of children should be nurtured at the foundational stage. This can easily be achieved by providing learning opportunities through nature walks and fieldtrips. The animal and plant kingdoms, the flora and fauna can be introduced through experiential learning pedagogy in the outdoors. 

She reflects that children learn social skills through interactions in their families in the formative years. “I wonder how children learn communication, cooperation and emotional regulation skills while adhering to a strict aunt’s disciplinary regimen? How they learn to be compassionate by immersing themselves in a doting grandparent’s kindness, or inculcate empathy by helping the elderly… How they learn conflict-resolution and problem-solving while mentoring their junior counterparts in the family”, quips Jaiswal. 

She’s of the opinion that due to the emergence of nuclear families, learning these skills take a backseat, resulting in an awkward, asocial lot of youngsters. Essentially, a lot of group discussions and collaborative projects in the formative years helps them build their social-emotional skills, remarks Kashmira. 

New Age Skills

Kashmira observes that educators these days happen to be nothing short of magicians. They need to consistently pull out from their hats, all sorts of tricks to stay relevant in their fields. While they need to ace their game of providing constructive feedback to students, they also need to be assertive in the pursuance of discipline and compliance. 

She states that they have to be articulative to efficiently communicate with parents, and need to use the silent wand of patience, when irked or provoked. While they need to be masters of education technology, they also need to organize activities that elicit total physical response, with zero-tech involved. Therefore, the urgent need for constant personal and professional up-skilling stands imminent. 

STEM v/s Arts 

Kashmira Jaiswal has always sworn by the benefits of theatre in the teaching-learning process. She affirms that emulating a personality, or getting into the shoes of a character - be it a ferocious animal, a walking tree, a vain king, or the browbeaten ragamuffin - helps children to comprehend the world around them. 

“It is phenomenal when students engage with content and context through the pedagogical tool of theatre, because they construct their knowledge in cognitive, psychomotor as well as the affective domain. Using drama in classrooms fosters empathy, critical thinking, and teamwork, making it a valuable educational tool.  Students explore the far reaches of their imagination by learning essential life skills along the way” points out Kashmira. 

While all shades of characters are available to explore in the world of drama, she concurs with Shakespeare’s philosophy that, ‘In drama, it is the darkness of a villain that defines and focuses the brightness of its heroes.’ Therefore, the stories retold by enactment uncover rich historical roots that stretch back through time, while spotlighting life-lessons learnt through them. 

Importance of Micro-Credentials 

“In the field of teaching, we definitely need to elevate our own game of learning. The world as we see around us is advancing at a breakneck speed. At the cost of appearing cliched, I agree with the notion that we are preparing our students for a world that is not known to us and for jobs that do not yet exist. We cannot pour from an empty cup (of competencies) either. Unless we consistently strive to build our competencies to match the rhythm of the changing world, we will not be able to build our students’ skills and proficiencies”, insists Kashmira. 

She thinks that It is absolutely important to be aware about diverse pedagogies, to keep up with the rapidly evolving streams in education, to learn new strategies of teaching, to learn new skills that can be taught to students, to learn and master the latest innovations in technology, and to be that FUN teacher who lives in the same time-zone as the students do!

The Path Ahead 

“The Competency Building Drive is certainly a bonanza that changes the context of classrooms in India! The NEP demands schools to focus on skill development before sending the students out for higher education, which in turn helps tremendously in achieving the goals of nation building” says Kashmira. 

She sees energy in the classrooms of her school, she’s happy to see them scouting outside the four walls of the class with a specific learning objective, rather than to have them buried half-heartedly in books. She loves seeing them tinkering in the robotics lab, using design thinking to solve real-life problems, even if they are the smallest, as seen from the lens of a teenager! 

She sees them becoming climate action warriors, ambassadors of world-peace, designers, innovators, and problem solvers and it swells her heart with pride! Of Course, all safety hacks should be in place to make technology a great partner, else it will turn into their greatest foe! 

Modern Careers 

“Career Counselling is seamlessly interwoven in the curriculum of our school, so that students can start discovering their skills and competencies at an early stage, dabble with activities in the respective fields and consequently follow their dreams” states Jaiswal 

She feels that building skills starts right from the classroom. The mid-lesson activities designed by the subject-teachers, the inter-house competitions, the wide range of co-curricular clubs and the extra-mural platforms help students choose an appropriate stream of studies, and eventually the career they want to pursue. It is here, she feels, that the seeds of curiosity are sown for a particular field. 

Through-out these activities, students discover their passion and develop a game-plan. Then comes the right time, when internship opportunities are provided in the concerned field or industry. Also, activities and events like alumni engagement, organizing TEDx Talks, hosting design thinking events and holding career fests are a regular feature in our school, says Kashmira Jaiswal. 

To Aspirant Educators 

“I feel that wherever we are planted in life, our attitude should be to energise the atmosphere with our positive vibes. If I ever find a road-block in my path, it is my students who come and remind me of my own advice to them that "Ma'am, every problem in life is ‘figure-out-able’!” remarks Kashmira. 

This shows how the philosophy percolates from leaders to teachers to students. The culture that we foster in our school at NISV is that of trust, positivity, growth mindset, nurturance of excellence, and camaraderie, to add zing to the ‘world of work’! 

“Smile and the world smiles with you’, is a paradigm that I concur with evermore, concludes