Teaching for ‘Global Telephony’: A case study of a community school for India’s 21st century

Although controversial, perhaps no piece of legislation has the potential to transform India’s future more than the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE). Upon the passage and enforcement of RTE in 2009, the Indian government instituted a series of wide-ranging reforms to India’s education system. For example, the act mandates that all private elementary schools (Classes I–VIII) reserve 25% of their class strength to underprivileged children. Private schools have options regarding their adherence to this law. One option is to provide “Equal Opportunity Schools” where underprivileged children are provided a quality education but in a separate school building. In response to RTE, a number of private schools are considering the “community school” model as a possible way to meet the “Equal Opportunity School” provision. While many definitions exist for a “community school,” one defining feature of a community school is that it is more localized and often reflects the customs and traditions of village life. This article’s purpose is to examine a Bangalore-based private school’s response to RTE. Specifically, the article describes a case study of the creation of a community school with the mission to bridge the local and the global with the aid of laptop technology.