From winter to spring—time moves; we learn and unlearn; there are questions and counter-questions; and yet the journey continues, and the second issue of The New Leaf is here. It is quite natural for people to ask whether a magazine of this kind can survive, whether it is just a product of temporary enthusiasm, whether it is a day dream that is bound to die very soon. We confront these questions; and we look at ourselves; and this reflexive quest makes us realize that The New Leaf is an experiment that must take place. There are three reasons. First, as educators we—teachers, parents, writers, researchers—ought to educate ourselves, and it is a continual process. Second, we need a magazine that rescues deep/serious thought from the monopoly of non-communicative ‘academic’ journals. Here our effort is to unite parents, schoolteachers, researchers and educationists, create a dialogic space, and publish their writings that carry the fragrance of authenticity, not the burden of ‘scholarship’— the articles that unite deep thoughts with actual experiments and practices. Third, here is a forum that sees education beyond graded learning, examinations and market relevance; instead, aesthetics and creative imagination, we believe, give a new meaning to education—the way we live, and relate to the world.
And it works. No sponsor. No financial support. No distributor. Yet, we take our magazines to our readers, and it is great to see that with us new readers—from university professors to schoolteachers, from young students to concerned parents, from educationists to researchers— too have been born; they read, comment, suggest, encourage, and no copy of the first issue is left with us. It is not an easy journey; it is difficult; but then, miracles happen only when you are sincere.See the nature of the second issue. As educators we must reflect on educational philosophies. No wonder, Paulo Freire strikes our imagination; and we carry a thought provoking article on the story of this engagement with Freire. A teacher plays a crucial role; the space she occupies is her own space; we publish a science teacher’s reflections on pedagogy. Art is about creativity and grace in life. We carry an article that narrates a beautiful experiment made by a young teacher/researcher on photography—how this art form encourages children to cultivate the fundamental faculties of learning. An educationist converses with our team, and an article emerges out of this meaningful dialogue. Furthermore, book review, debate, pedagogic reflections, viewpoints and exploration—this issue seeks to unite theory and practice, pedagogy and aesthetics, scholarship and poetic flow.Yes, dear readers, you are the ultimate miracle. You make it possible. Spread the fragrance. And make us believe that it is important to begin, and perfection is a process, not a product
