The concept of hanging out in India for a few months and testing if a concept like Curriki can take hold seemed pretty implausible, especially given the diversity of the Indian education system (private schools, government schools, private government schools, NGO schools, International schools and the list goes on...I could stay here until I am 100 and continue learning about the nuances of this system). Fortunately, its not as far-fetched as it seems.
The generosity of our contacts makes this endeavor entirely possible. We meet with our contacts (business associates, friends of friends, founder’s contacts, Board of Director contacts, etc.), they provide us excellent feedback, sometimes consider piloting Curriki, but always gave three or four names to follow up with. And not just after the fact. They pick up their cell phone in the middle of our conversation and ask their own contacts when they could meet with us. My favorite example was meeting with a good friends father who was an Indian Ambassador. Over lunch in Mumbai discussing the Curriki concept, he scheduled a post-lunch meeting for me with a superb contact and tried to confirm a morning meeting for my Executive Director in Delhi. Why don’t Indian trains work this way?
In a way, our experience mirrors the approach of Open Source Curriculum. We introduce the concept to our own community, they take ownership and reach out to their communities, during our conversations their communities adapt and localize the concept to their own needs – be it NGO, private wealthy school, etc. – and the momentum begins.
The generosity of our contacts makes this endeavor entirely possible. We meet with our contacts (business associates, friends of friends, founder’s contacts, Board of Director contacts, etc.), they provide us excellent feedback, sometimes consider piloting Curriki, but always gave three or four names to follow up with. And not just after the fact. They pick up their cell phone in the middle of our conversation and ask their own contacts when they could meet with us. My favorite example was meeting with a good friends father who was an Indian Ambassador. Over lunch in Mumbai discussing the Curriki concept, he scheduled a post-lunch meeting for me with a superb contact and tried to confirm a morning meeting for my Executive Director in Delhi. Why don’t Indian trains work this way?
In a way, our experience mirrors the approach of Open Source Curriculum. We introduce the concept to our own community, they take ownership and reach out to their communities, during our conversations their communities adapt and localize the concept to their own needs – be it NGO, private wealthy school, etc. – and the momentum begins.
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