Ms Bhagirathy Jhingran

Latest assignment: GROUP HEAD : GROUP 3/IBDP/IGCSE & MYP INDIVIDUALS & SOCIETIES /Teacher of Geography/Global Perspectives/Theory of Knowledge September 2004- July 2016

New Assignment: HEAD OF DEPARTMENT: HUMANITIES MYP & IBDP, TEACHER OF GEOGRAPHY, GLOBAL POLITICS & THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE, The Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa, Kenya wef August 2016

Mobile:09810418260 bhagirathyjhingran@gmail.com

I am a 45 year old school teacher from India, who is disseminating Geographical knowledge, skills and relevance for over 2 decades in India, amongst High School and Senior Secondary students. I have grown deep roots in the subject which I teach, as I have myself, studied Geography at the Bachelors [Miranda House, Univ of Delhi 1991] and Masters [CSRD, School of Social Sciences, JNU 1994 ] level to enrich my own understanding of the subject. In between the pursuit of the two degrees, I went for a Bachelor of Education[Central Institute of Education, Univ of Delhi 1992] program too, which gave me the wherewithal for dealing with young learners. I have worked only in two schools till date, namely Vasant Valley School, New Delhi, India which has the Central Board of Secondary Education Curriculum for 10 years [1994-2004] followed by teaching the IGCSE, MYP and the IBDP Geography at

Pathways World School, Aravali, India since 2004 till July 2016. Apart from Heading the Department of Humanities , which includes Geography, Global Perspectives, Psychology, History and EVM/EVSS, World Religions, Theory of Knowledge, Integrated Humanities across Middle & Senior School. I have also been the Award Leader of the International Award for Young People IAYP, formerly the DOE Awards in the school and a core TOK faculty in the IBDP. And now, I will embark on a new journey to lead a team of passionate teachers of Humanities in the MYP and IBDP at The Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa, Kenya wef August 2016.

I am passionate about the subject as I teach the same, more as a life-skill rather than a mere discipline. In the contemporary world, which is full of strife, disparities and yet there are opportunities galore to make the world a far better place to live, I feel that a genuine understanding of the workings of the planet from the perspective of both the finite and non-living resources and the ever-growing, plural and teeming human resources is crucial for the young cohort whom we deal with. Also, I feel that the relevance of my subject comes from the connect to the real world that we establish for each of the theoretical concepts that we deliver in the classroom and the more we move out of the classroom, the better is the learning.

I am a traveller, trainer and educator who believes in regular fieldwork and experiential learning modules like the River studies which I have conducted in the Lower Himalayas. My IBDP students have explored tiny villages on the sun-kissed slopes of District Sirmaur in Himachal Pradesh and District Gurgaon in Haryana to unravel the Demographic transitions of these settlements. The Middle Year students have studied the secrets of their own city by embarking on an Urban Change Study in the course of learning about how Urban Settlements undergo change with development processes here in Gurgaon and Manesar. They have regularly conducted fieldwork exercises using Geographical tools of investigation during their visits to the Land Bank of the International Airport of New Delhi, the Garment Industry in the SEZ of Haryana and the IT hub of Gurgaon.

I am keen that as educators we mould minds which think with a unique geographical perspective yet are capable of belonging to a

plural world. That they are able to appreciate their role in the larger scheme of things, and enhance their scale of operation and influence, even as they grow into young global citizens who are proud of their own identity.

Besides this, I have also authored textbooks and developed curricula for the National Council of Education, Research and Training, India and Central Board of Secondary Education-International, India. I am on the selection committee of candidates for the Bachelor of Elementary Education and Education Programs for the University of Delhi. On a freelance basis, I conduct regular workshops for teachers and train them to be able to realize their potential and the learning outcomes which they set out with. The themes of these workshops vary from Learner Profile & International Mindedness of the IB program and Experiential learning through Fieldwork which cuts across all curricula.

I have taken my passion for teaching to a dynamic interface by using travel as an effect tool and have led several ‘Learning Expeditions’ in the North East of India, Andaman Islands, The Nilgiris, Aravalis, Mangarbani et cetera for doing fieldwork. Students have embarked on these learning modules independently, armed with manuals created with their own theoretical understanding and executed to perfection with their own logistical management.

In addition to this, I have taken students on holistic journeys along the River Ganges [2010 & 2011] and Yamuna [2008 & 2009]. We have traced the river all the way from Gomukh, where the Ganges originates in a Glacier through Banaras, the oldest living city in the world, all the way to Sundarbans which is the largest mangrove delta in the world.

I have also taken a delegation of students to be a part of the largest gathering of humanity in the Maha Kumbh in February 2013 at Allahabad, India which was a life changing experience for our contingent.

These journeys have been a result of a thorough understanding and execution of academic ideas which I have designed, envisioned and conducted with various student cohorts across the length and breadth of the nation. Without a doubt, the learning has

been holistic, real, enduring and life-changing, as is shared by the Alumnus of both the institutions which I have been associated with, Vasant Valley School, New Delhi and Pathways World School, Aravali, India, now for over 2 decades.

I am very excited to embark on a new phase of my journey as an educator and learner with the students and faculty of The Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa, Kenya wef August 2016, which will challenge me with yet another cohort of students who will be representative of a truly international, plural and sustainable future of our shared planet.

BHAGIRATHY JHINGRAN

20th June, 2016 GURGAON INDIA