Hope everyone had a great first week of the calendar year 2023! Over the holidays and in the new year, I have been trying to be a more present person – both in my home life and through dedicated work periods where I’m aiming to be less distracted by email and phone. I came across some of the writings of Jiddu Krishnamurti – an Indian philosopher, writer and speaker. Krishnamurti was groomed to be the new World Teacher – an “advanced spiritual entity appearing on Earth as a World Teacher to guide the evolution of mankind.” He later rejected this and claimed to have no loyalty to any one group, nationality, religion, philosophy, etc. He became a renowned author and speaker, commenting on topics ranging from the nature of the mind to human relationships.

It’s admittedly not usually the type of reading I’m interested in. But I came across this quote over the December break and couldn’t help but learn more about him.

There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.

For me, this particularly resonated. Growing up, I was a very good student – but I was always looking for the end. I was always looking for the test to be over, for the paper to be finished, for the term to let out. And I always thought that “learning” was something you checked at the door when those things finished and you could go back to regular life. But growing older, changing careers, and trying to cultivate curiosity in my children made me rethink a lot of those goals. And it made me want to strive for something better for myself, and for our scholars in Zambia.

The intrinsic desire to learn is something that is so hard to teach inside classroom walls, but it’s something that resonates through every aspect of our work with Impact Network. Last week, we held our weeklong teacher training in Zambia, and we are kicking off our first week of the school year next week. So, it is of particular note this week for our teachers and staff. Our incredible team in Zambia embodies this fundamental desire every day – and there is no better role model for our students. We always ask for teacher and staff feedback during our monthly training sessions, and for as long back as I can remember, the team has shown a thirst for knowledge, and asked for more – more training, covering a wide range of topics, learning a deeper skill set. I am so proud and grateful to work alongside them each year and am excited to see what 2023 brings!

-Reshma

"There is no end to education..."