By:- Anamika Dasgupta, Director, The Wonder School, Pune.
“2025 has been a year of quiet but significant shifts in education. More schools and parents finally recognised what we have known from our own civilizational wisdom for years – that children don’t thrive in pressure cooker classrooms, they thrive in environments of belonging, agency and real-life learning. We saw a renewed push toward experiential learning, mental wellbeing and flexible pathways that honour how each child learns, not just what they score. My hope for 2026 is that we move from conversation to courage. Courage to trust children’s inner drive. Courage to prioritise foundational skills over inflated marks. And courage to embrace our own Indic learning traditions and rebuild community – bringing parents, mentors, and elders back into the learning ecosystem. The trend I see emerging is a return to the basics of the indigenous Indian way: curiosity-led classrooms, project-based learning rooted in the community, and intergenerational mentoring as a serious pedagogical force. If 2025 made us rethink education, I believe 2026 will be the year we begin to rebuild it – slowly, intentionally, and in harmony with our own roots.”
