Learning Companions Approach to Education
Learning Companions Approach to Education

Learning Companions Approach to Education

Why This Page Exists

This page is not here to list topics. It’s here to help you lead with vision—to hold and pass on the radical clarity that Learning Companions stands for: Children do not need a 10-year career plan. They need space to respond to what matters right now.

Our curriculum begins here. With this clarity.


Rethinking Time, Motivation, and “Career”

❌ Old Assumption

Education is a 16-year pipeline. You start young and follow a fixed path to a narrow goal.

✅ What We Believe Instead

  1. You don’t need to prepare for anything more than 2–3 years in advance.
    Most real career shifts and mastery are built in short, focused cycles.
  2. At 11, what matters is what the 11-year-old cares about now.
    “Think about your future” is not a useful motivational frame. Drive, interest, and curiosity matter more.
  3. Careers are not narrow roles.
    They’re universes of opportunity. A child who loves space might not become an astronaut, but they can become a researcher, a communicator, a technologist—or create something entirely new in that domain.

A missed step does not close the door. The universe remains open.


What Does This Mean for Curriculum Design?

We don’t start with topics.
We start with children’s drives. Then we:

काय (What) – Componentका (Why) – Purposeकसे (How) – In Practice
Emergent CurriculumResponds to current drives, not abstract future pathsReflection & goal-setting with children; Riyazghar-style flexible learning
Core Learning SkillsEnable access to any universe of opportunity laterLanguage, math, tech, reasoning taught through purposeful use
ABD (Adventure, Belonging, Dignity)Human needs children must experience nowActivities that let them explore, connect, and feel valued
CRR (Courage, Reflection, Relationship)Inner resources for shaping one’s own directionDaily interactions, 1-on-1s, fellow-child dialogue

Examples That Anchor This Philosophy

  • Riyazghar’s “major actions” list: 10th prep is not assumed—children decide if/when it’s needed.
  • Career support: We guide children to reflect on what they want now, and prepare for just the next leap, not the whole staircase.
  • Past fellows: Many found their direction after the fellowship, not during it—because we made them ready to respond to life, not just execute a plan.

So, As Program Team Leaders…

  • Don’t ask: How do I prepare this child for 10th or for IIT?
    Ask: What are they moved by right now, and how do I deepen that?
  • Don’t push long-term plans.
    Build reflection practices, so children can notice and name what they care about.
  • Use the curriculum not as a map, but as a compass:
    Let Core Skills build capacity, Means Goals guide process, and ABD define what thriving feels like.