What happens when children are given the freedom to imagine their school experience?
Astha Ryal
Lead, Pathshala Learning Centre
What Happens When Children Become the Teachers?
"Ma'am, where should we build the library?"
"No, I think the dance room should be here."
"Let's make a space where everyone can do yoga every morning."
For a moment, I looked around, wondering where these voices were coming from.
Then I smiled.
They weren't teachers.
They were children.
During a Performance Task (play-based assessments to understand growth in 21st century competencies) is one of the schools we work alongside in the hills of Uttarakhand, we asked children a simple question:
"If you were the teacher of this school, what would your school look like?"
The classroom changed almost instantly. Children stopped calling each other by their names.
Instead, they began addressing one another as "Ma'am."
Some took the lead. Others listened carefully. Everyone had something to contribute.For the next hour, they weren't just completing a classroom activity. They became teachers, architects, planners, and decision-makers.
One group designed an open library where every child could read freely.
Another created a shaded assembly space because, as one child explained, "Standing in the sun every morning isn't comfortable."
Someone added a dance room with a dance teacher.
And one child quietly drew a swing. Not because it would make the drawing look beautiful, but because it was something they wished every child could have.
When I was around that group, I realised that I wasn't looking at a poster. I was listening to children's experiences.
Their drawings reflected what they valued—not only classrooms and books, but also belonging, movement, creativity, comfort, and joy.
That day reminded me that Performance Tasks are much more than assessment tools.
When children are trusted with meaningful questions, they reveal far more than what they know.
They show us what they notice.
What they care about. What they dream of.
And perhaps, what schools can become when we genuinely listen.
Sometimes, the best ideas for improving schools don't begin with adults.They begin with asking children one simple question:
Aastha Ryal, leads the Pathshala Learning Centre in Uttarakhand. She is a champion of student-led learning and has been instrumental in driving SEF's work in the rural Uttarakhand.