No Lessons. Just Learning

By : Beethika

A child watches long before we realise he is learning.

When we first visited Know School a few months ago, Dakshith saw Shalmali didi using these skates. He was completely awestruck. But somehow, instinctively, he also knew that he wasn't ready for them yet.

So instead, he picked up a pair of four-wheel skates. And on that very same day, he was rolling around happily.

Over the next few months, during our occasional visits to Know School, he kept observing the older children. Sometimes, he and the younger kids would use these skates as "cars", putting their hands inside them and zooming around. Sometimes, he would put them on his feet, hold onto a sofa or a table, take a few hesitant steps, and then remove them almost immediately.

No one was teaching him. Nobody was giving instructions. But clearly, something was happening.

Yesterday was the first day he put them on by himself and actually tried rolling. He fell. Many times. The only time the grown-ups intervened was when his ankles were bending at an unsafe angle and there was a chance of injury.

And today, he rolled.

After rolling quite a distance, the very first thing he said was, "Look! I'm rolling like Shalmali didi." ❤️

Honestly, that one sentence stayed with us.

Children learn so much from other children. Maybe even more than we adults can fully understand. They observe, imitate, absorb, experiment, fail, and then try again. Sab kuch quietly ho raha hota hai, without us even noticing.

This is perhaps the beauty of mixed-age spaces. Younger children get to see what's possible. Older children become role models without anyone assigning them that role. Learning happens through relationships, through observation, through simply being together.

It also reminds us of something that is becoming increasingly rare these days — the experience of growing up with siblings, cousins, neighbours, or children of different ages around us all the time. The very familiar feeling of भावंड and community.

At Know School, we often feel that children don't always need someone to teach them.

Sometimes, they just need more children around them.

And honestly, we feel very fortunate to have found a real family at Know School. 🙏🏻🌸