The Finishing Touch

The one with the amazing NMIMS interns signing off :)

The two sides of the coin – Education

As I walked into the third standard classroom of Muppanur government school, I heard children surrounding the blackboard loudly repeating after the teacher.
P..E..T.. PET!
R..A..T.. RAT!
H..U..G.. HUGE!
Huge? “Hug. Its HUG”, I said and smiled trying not to sound too formidable. Their eyes lit up as they saw someone new walk in. I had been given the opportunity to review the skill levels of primary class students as an intern. Making full use of their interest in me, I delved straight into the various tests I had planned for them. I found 8 students out of the 43 who passed the basic skill level tests in Maths and English. Perplexed at my new findings, I made my way to the principal of the school. On further prodding I found that internal motivation is the main challenge for primary school education today.
After much research, I can conclusively declare that the two main factors that determine a child’s performance are – the curriculum of the school and the methods of effective delivery used by the teacher.
Students in primary school lack motivation, encouragement, and don't know the value of education. Parents either don't reinforce education's importance or encourage rote learning and force the child to follow a fixed particular pattern of learning methodology. Students lack the cognitive stimulation that gets them interested in school. Various projects and assignments involve how efficiently one can map data from the internet and getting it printed out for next day’s work. There is no real learning happening in this scenario. Very few really understand why the sky is blue and why eight divided by four gives you two. This will eventually spiral up to a web of dispassionate young teenagers doing jobs they couldn’t care less about. Nothing can be more horrifying for a nation wasting their human resource in this fashion. Primary education is directly related with the success of democracy, economic development and quality of life of nations. It is thus pertinent to do whatever it takes to elevate the standards of primary education in India.
Curriculum means a course to be run for reaching a certain goal or destination. In this sense, education is considered as race, with its aims as the goal, the curriculum as the course, leading to that goal. Curriculum means all that goes into the lives of the pupils through the school, home and society. It is the totality of influences and experiences, selected and unselected, conscious, subconscious and ever unconscious, and planned and unplanned which the pupil receives through the manifold activities of the school, in the classroom, library, laboratory, workshop and playgrounds and in the numerous informal contacts between teachers and pupils. Whatever its definition, a curriculum needs to be flexible enough to meet the needs of the variety of the students. All categories of learners need exposure to a wide array of curricular options. The key to curriculum development is selectivity. Handwork or craftwork should find place in the curriculum with a view to develop manual dexterity and effective use of the hands. Artful activities like song and dance, drawing and painting should be introduced with a view to give creative shape to child’s imagination peppered with moral values. We at ‘The Finishing Touch’ are committed to provide a world class global perspective to the course structure of schools which can be customized according to the skill levels of each child. Innovations in curriculum become inevitable, with the changes that take place in a new and changing environment. This helps in tapping the maximum potential of the children and in turn encourages the over-all development.
The second factor is very important too. The school should link the quest for knowledge through instruction with a quest for improving life around the child through well thought out activities. The learning process should also instill in the child an inquisitive mind, a joy and zest for discovery, a love and respect for nature. The school climate must be made joyful and interesting for children through an attractive school environment; activity based child centered pedagogy and a nurturing rather than intimidating school ethos for which the basic resources and appropriate staff preparation are critical inputs. Only the best of teachers can drive in a particular point such that the child never forgets it. The effectiveness of the delivery depends on various factors like clarity, pacing, variety, enthusiasm and humour. Evaluation and reflection on the various techniques would help teachers and schools majorly improve on this note as well.

The Finishing Touch is an Education Consulting venture which is conceived with the very same intention in India by integrating minds from Educational, Entrepreneurial and Corporate Backgrounds. We strive to elevate the standards of primary education by battling the above mentioned two factors. Elementary education is the foundation of the entire super structure of a nation which we intend to build.

Where it all started…
Being an engineer by profession and having what they call the best way to kick start your career at Deloitte as a Consultant, what made you do what you’re doing now? This is a question which is thrown at me pretty much always.
I always reply saying that it was a calling of sorts and my passion that made me choose this! But to reach to where I could make this choice has been a journey in itself. It all started once I started giving interviews for companies in my last year at TSEC (Thadomal Shahani Engineering College)
I always knew I wanted to be the one who takes interviews rather than the one who is at receiving end. Obviously, I knew I could not do that from day one, so I made some goals for myself which I wanted to accomplish within 5 years of corporate life to get there. Post which I was very sure I wanted to pursue entrepreneurship. My father is a first generation entrepreneur and a successful one! I knew I had a role model right in my house. My mother gave up teaching in school to take care of me and she also taught me. Besides, she even helped dad at work. Everyone expected that at some point I would join my dad’s business. However, I never wanted to join him immediately after I finished my studies. Call it high headed behaviour or self-made traits that I inherit from him, I knew I had to make it on my own. Jan 18, 2010 I got selected for Deloitte. The next few months in college were my last and also gave me time to make my checklist which I wanted to accomplish from my corporate life. I knew what I wanted but I did not know how to get there.
I did not know my strengths or weaknesses until I worked at Deloitte. I was exposed to so much right in the first year. I kept grabbing all that came my way. I even worked 12-14 hours a day at times not just doing my day job but exploring all other avenues. Sitting in the office at one of the best companies in the whole wide world, our problems were so much different ! I was always very passionate about social work. So, I got myself involved in a lot of Social Corporate Responsibility work done by Deloitte. It was because of that I got associated with worldwide non-profit orgs that work in the education sector. I worked very closely with the team in India as well as within Deloitte to give sessions to students in various schools in Mumbai. Each time I took a session, I realized how much I loved children and interacting with them. Not just that, the kids loved me too. From receiving handmade craft articles, notes, poems made by the students for me I have had my share of celebrity moments which moved me each time. Here were children all under the age of 14 who would sit and pay attention to each word I said not because they were asked to but because they wanted to! From R.N Podar School in Santacruz to Anjuman Islam School in Bandra I had visited each principal’s office and even interacted with some of the teachers and stalwarts of the Education sector in India. By the end of my 2nd year at Deloitte, I had become a team lead. After which, I even went back to my TSEC campus and was a part of the interview panel to recruit students to join us. When I went back home that day, my checklist flashed in front of my eyes and I didn’t even realize that it was time to take on a new role in my life. The checklist I had made was exhausted and I couldn’t thank my stars enough that I accomplished all I had to within 2.5 years instead of the target of 5 years that I had given myself. It was then that I started pondering what I wanted to do ahead. I knew I had a bright career even in the corporate but somehow it did not fascinate me enough! Going forward, only my team size would increase but I wanted to something not just challenging but also that would be very satisfying.
It was December 13th and I was again supposed to take session with children at IES, Dadar. However, due to some last minute alterations we fell short of volunteers and I had to combine 3 classes into one. Basically I had to address 150+ students all by myself. Now these were children aged 11-12. The number didn’t frighten me but I knew that this is the age where their attention span is the least. I was so sure it was going to be disaster but still went ahead to take the session. I altered my way interacting with the kids this time around and to my surprise and delight it was a super hit session! So much so, that at the end of it I was literally mobbed by the kids who wanted me to sign for them in their books so that they could remember Karishma Miss always! I was shocked, moved to tears and completely taken aback at their sheer gesture! Few of them even said they found a new role model in me! It was then that I realized I had to do something in the education sector for India. The next six months after I got back from work each day I would explore the Education sector and realized that we may have the best resources in the country, however they are not being utilised to the fullest! I left Deloitte in July, 2013 and conceptualized The Finishing Touch. It is an education venture brought about purely to maximize the results of the efforts and the resources being directed in the education sector of India! My father whose Entrepreneurial experience and my Mother who was a teacher by profession have supported me by not just giving me their skills as inheritance but have been anchors in my journey from Corporate to Entrepreneurship. They stand with me in this venture and bring the necessary diversity in my core team at The Finishing Touch. It is my dream that we provide Education in a manner that no student has to move overseas because a particular course is unavailable here or because there are no resources! Let us become a country self-sufficient to provide Global level of Education with the right blend of Technology, Academics & values to enhance the current education system in India. I am not an Educationist but I know that Education is my passion and I utilize my skills, education, experience, resources and knowledge to work towards making a better Education Ecosystem in India. So once again I have my checklist ready that I want accomplish from my Entrepreneurial stint. Having accomplished my first goal off that checklist of reaching out to over 2000 children in a span of 2 years through The Finishing Touch, I finally launch my website to the world. Looking forward to continue working in this sector and growing more with each passing day!

Karishma Wadhwani -
Founder at The Finishing Touch

This morning, the founder took part in the Mumbai Marathon

Nelson Mandela once said ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world ‘. The Finishing Touch is an education consulting venture conceptualized by people belonging to strong educational, entrepreneurial and corporate backgrounds.
We at ‘The Finishing Touch’ strive for excellence by enhancing the quality of education by meeting expectations of students, parents, educational institutes and NGOs. We offers customized solutions to meet the varied needs of the education space right from play schools to universities. Few of the services provided by us include teacher training and mentoring, admissions, academic management, human resource management and many more.
To know more about us, visit our website - http://thefinishingtouch.co.in
Contact Us @ 9773910716
Or write to us @ [email protected]

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