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IHEU organized a three-day seminar on ‘A Humanist Orientation to Education’ in collaboration with Viveka Vidyalayam (an Associate Member of IHEU) and STEP (a students, teachers, educators, and parents council of Andhra Pradesh) in January 2003. It was attended by 150 teachers and resource providers, as well as IHEU President Levi Fragell, Vice-Presidents Sonja Eggerickx and Roy Brown, Executive Director Babu Gogineni, Dutch educational expert Dhyan Vermeulen, Dr Innaiah, S. Choudhary Babu, Dr C. A. Prasad, and other experts from Jana Vigyana Vedika, a science popularization group. An exhibition on alternative educational resources and workshops on educating through dance and games were also organized.

It was my first visit to India and I was very curious. I did not know whether the image I had was one taken from films and television: hunger, poverty, dying children, lots of people... The last, at any rate, proved to be absolutely true! I was only a few days in India, and visited very few places, and those only in Andhra Pradesh, but in thinking of this country I immediately see lots and lots of men, fewer women, and children. Always, everywhere...

We arrived by car at Viveka Vidyalayam (literally “rationalist school”), the Humanist school in Chirala. A nice building; we received a very warm welcome. We were to spend three days with the teachers of the school and some of their colleagues from others schools in Chirala. On Thursday morning, everyone was assembled. We were introduced and made our speeches. I emphasized the importance of Humanist education and the need for children to learn not only facts and figures but also how to live together with other people, whatever their social background, religion, or gender. I listened carefully to Professor Siva Ram, eager as I was to know how Indians perceive Humanist education. It was time for questions. Only the men spoke. During lunch, though, this changed: many of the women came to ask me about my way of teaching. We had a good discussion. They told me about the difficulties of teaching so many in a class. They listened to the solutions we have tried to find for the same problem...

In the meantime my Dutch colleague, Dhyan Vermeulen, had been organizing workshops to encourage the teachers to pay more attention to the emotional growth of pupils, rather than their intellectual development alone. There was great enthusiasm and the teachers were keen to participate in the workshops. It was a new experience for them. Their system is much more strictly cognitive, and there is far greater discipline than we are used to in Belgium or the Netherlands.

One unusual item on the training programme was the magician’s visit. He showed us some “miracles”. They looked amazing, but then he explained how the tricks were done. Even more amazing! He emphasized that he didn’t perform miracles at all, just tricks, and he showed us new ones, saying that he wouldn’t explain them all as he wanted to amuse people – as an entertainer, not a miracle man.

I didn’t follow the complete training programme: I wanted to go into a classroom and attend a normal school day. That seemed impossible. As anywhere in the world, the children of Viveka Vidyalayam reacted as one might expect when complete strangers enter a classroom. They came closer and closer; they were curious; we were so white (“Auntie, why is your skin so white?”) and we looked so strange. They wanted to know all about us. And here was the opportunity: a map of the world. A lesson in geography. One child pointed out India, I indicated Belgium – so very small, so far away. They sang, I sang. They told of their culture, I of mine. And above all, we enjoyed each other’s company, we listened to each other, we learned from each other. They even taught me some Telugu. Humanist education in practice!

Viveka Vidyalayam was celebrating its 10th anniversary. Ten years of very hard work, overcoming prejudice against its Humanist ethos and, of course, struggling for the money to survive. The founder and headmaster, Ancha Bapa Rao, lives at the school with his family. As the school is not in the town some pupils come by bus, and some are boarders. In contrast to what I sometimes experience in schools, I did not see or feel any aggression here. The children were singing and playing; they really looked happy. The youngest are about 3, the oldest 16 years of age. And there is room for trainees to help the teachers. The trainees are already dedicated. It gives one hope for the future.

An official celebration took place on Saturday evening. We were very happy to congratulate the school for the work that had been done. The pupils received their exam results and we were invited to help by distributing the prizes. The setting was different, yet not unfamiliar: proud parents attending the ceremony, impatient children waiting for their names to be mentioned. They offered us a charming spectacle of singing from the very youngest, traditional dances, and also a play. It was in Telugu but that didn’t mean that I couldn’t follow the story: their acting was so expressive and the sentiments so universal that I felt as though I could understand.

I congratulate Bapa Rao and his family for the opportunity they have given these children to grow up in a fine Humanist way, and also the teachers and

trainees for everything they taught me about their way of imparting knowledge and working with children. My fondest memories are of those pupils who were so curious, so longing to know. I hope they will never lose that sense of curiosity and wonder as they grow up.

Sonja Eggerickx is Vice-President of IHEU and of Unie Vrijzinnige Verenigingen, Belgium. Viveka Vidyalayam: