Learning Across Borders, Teaching Beyond Boundaries

Learning Across Borders, Teaching Beyond Boundaries: Dr. Pascal Chazot

He’s a visionary educator, linguist, and changemaker whose journey spans continents and disciplines. Dr. Pascal Chazot, Founder, Trustee and Honorary Head of Mahatma Gandhi International School, Ahmedabad, has spent decades redefining learning through experiential, democratic, and value-driven education. Mentor Magazine spoke to him about this journey through his vast body of work that includes pedagogy, politics, research, and cultural integration—anchored always in empathy, respect, and a deep commitment to child-centric education.

Beginning of a Journey

From a very young age, Dr. Pascal Chazot realised how important education was but his own experience in school was not a happy one. To him, school felt more like a jail than a place of learning. He often wondered what he’d done wrong to deserve spending all those hours in such a restrictive environment. That feeling stayed with him for many years.

It wasn't until much later, during his Master’s in the Science of Education in France, that Dr. Chazot read Michel Foucault’s “Discipline and Punish.” Foucault's work opened his eyes to the idea that modern schools were designed around the same principles as prisons—a thought that explained a lot about Dr. Chazot’s discomfort.

A turning point came when he was about twelve years old. Dr. Pascal remembers watching an old Black and White film on TV about the life of the French educator Célestin Freinet. In the film, he taught children about electricity in a very hands-on way: he took them to a river, where they built a water-powered generator together. That moment inspired him deeply. He knew then that real learning should be joyful, practical, and connected to real life. From that day, Dr. Pascal promised himself that he would one day create a school where children could truly love learning, just like in Freinet’s classroom.

Diverse Roles

Dr. Pascal Chazot’s journey spans education, politics, research, linguistics, and cultural work—each shaping his outlook and commitment. “What grounds me is a blend of curiosity and values from my earliest school days, when feeling like an outsider fostered empathy and a drive for more meaningful, real-world learning. Inspiring models like Freinet and Dewey revealed the impact of hands-on, student-centred approaches” remarks Dr. Chazot.

“Cross-cultural experiences broadened my view of how language and tradition shape understanding. Research on Gandhi and non-violence as well as the humanistic framework of psychologists like Carl Rogers highlighted the role of listening and empathy, while challenges along the way reinforced his core principles: respect, curiosity, and perseverance. ‘Moving forward, I remain anchored by empathy and openness in every role I take.” he says.

Passion towards Linguistics

Dr Chazot recalls that from a young age, he struggled with learning foreign languages—mainly because of the way English was taught in school. He often felt frustrated and left behind. But everything changed when he started traveling, especially to Nepal. “Meeting people with fascinating stories and being in such a diverse and rich culture, I realized I needed to speak their language to truly connect. Within weeks, I became fluent in Nepali. Driven by curiosity, I later turned to Sanskrit, eager to read ancient Buddhist texts and ayurvedic litterature” states Dr. Chazot.

Each new language unlocked new worlds for him. Eventually, his passion led him to formal studies of linguistics in French and Asian universities, where Dr. Pascal built a career uniting these learnings into his professional journey.

Sanskrit

Sanskrit first attracted Dr. Chazot because of its deep connection to India’s intellectual and spiritual traditions. He was curious how a language thousands of years old could still shape so much of modern culture and philosophy.

“Delving deeper, I began to appreciate Sanskrit’s extraordinary creativity. The language’s structure allows you to form new words and concepts by combining roots and elements through precise grammatical rules. This capacity for creative expression means Sanskrit, besides being a vehicle for ancient knowledge and wisdom, is also a living, inventive language” he remarks.

Studying Sanskrit helped him understand the depth, continuity, and flexibility at the heart of Indian culture where every festival, value, or tradition is underpinned by centuries of thoughtful exploration. It opened the door to the ancient Indian texts as he no longer depended on translations where meaning can be lost as concepts in Sanskrit often do not have an equivalence in another language.

Learning this language didn't just enrich Dr. Chazot’s knowledge—it fundamentally changed how he saw India, allowing him to experience its world from the inside, through an appreciation for its living traditions.

The Mahatma Gandhi International School

Dr. Pascal Chazot elaborates that at the Mahatma Gandhi International School (MGIS), the Gandhian fundamental values are interpreted with flexibility and inclusivity. MGIS is built as a democratic and fully experiential learning environment, where:

The school is built on the notion of swaraj and self-governance. Student councils have agency and draft and implement their own rules each academic year with shared responsibility.

Students have a lot of freedom, but it is aligned with Gandhian principles of ahimsa, service, manual work, and care for all living beings, echoing Gandhi’s belief that education should develop the head, heart, and hands.

“By anchoring its practices in Gandhian ideals, MGIS creates a living, evolving culture of learning—one that goes beyond rote academics to nurture character, social responsibility, and creative freedom in every learner” he observes.

The 'Generated Resource Learning' Pedagogy 

“GRL is born from the idea that learning is everywhere and that everything is a resource to learn. The body, space and daily objects are used to learn through real life projects chosen by children. The pedagogy used is multi-sensorial, joyful and collaborative where everyone is a learner including the teacher which we call Initiator” explains Dr. Pascal Chazot.

In fact there is no teaching, only learning going on. There are no exams in the traditional sense and no marks. Only formative tasks with qualitative feedback, he says.

Global Influence on Indian Education

Dr. Pascal opines that students must learn about Indian knowledge systems and also be exposed to western epistemology and ways of thinking. This allows students to learn critical thinking, understand other points of view, use different modes of perception and communicate effectively.

“Indian students must be rooted and take pride in Indian languages, philosophy, culture, its wisdom and innovations while learning to situate oneself in the world. This is possible when children see how different nations and cultures are contributing to world knowledge and learn to respect and appreciate diversity” believes Dr. Chazot. 

AI, SEL & Critical Thinking

Dr. Pascal Chazot observes that AI is a revolutionary tool to be used to increase the human potential in terms of outreach and output. It is potent only when used with critical thinking and ethics with an awareness of its limitations. AI cannot fill in for the human capacities of empathy, compassion, intuition and soul force. Therefore, we need to develop emotional well-being with socialisation and human interactions as the AI alone and without caution can lead to an experience of isolation.

Roles of an Educator

“Educators must create opportunities for students to be involved in real life experiences. This includes interaction with peers, community, environment, diverse materials and spaces. Real life projects with problem solving for their community will empower them to develop empathy and creativity. Being in the here and now will help them understand the world they are stepping into and develop real life skills” states Dr. Pascal Chazot.

He observes that educators need to develop capacities of intuition to develop their inherent powers of the mind. “The school must open a space for a child to address the question ‘who am I’ and ‘what is my life purpose?’ For this, the school must celebrate the unique potential of every child instead of success in terms of marks in a normative framework”.

Policy Shift in the Indian Education System

As per Dr. Chazot’s views the NEP 2020 as a policy and the NCF 2023 have rebalanced the educational frameworks in terms of a meaningful, contextual and joyful education with integrated and experiential learning. The challenge is in the implementation in terms of teacher training.

“But the one big change that remains and needs to be made is related to exams that are largely text-book centric. The board exams need reforms so that a child’s diverse abilities can be made visible to give direction to their life” he says.

Values for Life

Dr. Pascal Chazot shares that the three non-negotiable values for life are respect (for life and environment), compassion and non-violence in a humanist and non-materialist paradigm.