About
Hi, This is Mihir Pathak aka learningwala
I am passionate educator.
I never been to formal school after completing 10th grade. Later, I completed my 12th grade and pursued a BA in Sociology as an external student. I am working with children since the age of 18.
Instead of going to school, I spent time exploring website & software development, sales & marketing, theater, writing, design, technology, entrepreneurship and many more interests.
I started working with children through sharing how to use computer inspired by Hole in the wall project - Sugata Mitra, exploring ‘MIT Scratch’ , making Arvind Gupta toys, telling stories, playing games and more.
Slowly after lots of experimentation I realized that :
-
I like being with children & young adults, I can be my self.
-
and I can do creative experiments & explorations with them, which I can’t do in school or university.
I started volunteering in different schools, meeting inspiring, passionate educators and children, visited different learning spaces across India, read books & attended workshops.
And that’s how my journey started as an educator, which is evolving every day.
During this decade long journey, I worked in a formal & informal learning spaces across India. Did friendship with many children & educators.
I create transformative learning journeys for children, young adults and educators using experiential methodologies, including theater, nature-based explorations, and interdisciplinary projects.
My programs, workshops and intervention are just an anchor. My strong intention is to create a space of dialogue and co-creation.
A space which act as an incubation center for everyone. Where we learn, experiment, challenge ourselves, and thereby break barriers and grow in our lives.
My current core interest areas are
- Understanding the role of love & Relationship in education
- Project based learning, Self directed learning & non formal learning spaces
- Child development & learning
- Language pedagogy, children literature & theater in education
- Life skills education and ecological consciousness / nature education
- Citizen Science Projects, Environment, Civics, Cultural projects for larger good
My work is deeply inspired by the philosophies of J. Krishnamurti, Martin Buber , and the science of brain, learning, and child development.
Currently,
I am working with formal and informal learning environments in different capacities. Where I work directly with children, young adults, educators, researchers and learning experience designers.You can read about my current engagements at ’now’ page
I am part of the faculty team for the ‘Child Development, Learning & Special Needs’ course at Eklavya Foundation, Bhopal. And a proud recipient of the Earth Educator Fellowship (2022-23), supported by the Youth Conservation Action Network.
As an amateur writer, I enjoy crafting poetry and aspire to write stories, poems, and plays. So far, I have self-published two books in Gujarati.
When I’m not with children or educators, I immerse myself in writing poetry or documenting my ’learning experiments’.
Music, long walks, bird watching, singing, and sketching are my favorite time accelerators.
Short bio
Mihir is a writer, educator, and barefoot philosopher based in Ahmedabad, with 13 years of practice across formal and informal learning spaces in India. He facilitates transformative learning experiences for children and young adults through nature- theatre and project -based experiential pedagogies. He loves writing poems for and with children. He has self-published two books in Gujarati. He is a recipient of the Earth Educator Fellowship, and is part of the faculty team for Eklavya Foundation’s course on Child Development, Learning and Special Needs. His work is rooted in a deeper question: what does education look like when our collective purpose is to live together harmoniously?
→ My personal educational philosophy
→ CV / Portfolio / Reflective Notes / Recommendations