It has been one year since I left Cisco to support my kids and family during the pandemic. Being in the industry & working for around 18 years, I was certain that I cannot be idle & I should not be idle. So, when I took the critical decision of leaving a great company like Cisco, I also had the plans of what I am going to do in the coming years, like
1. Enrich the thinking process of NOT ONLY my kids BUT kids at large.
2. Spend dedicated time to understand & imbibe our Indian Shastras from revered Guru Pujyasri Swami Omkarananda ji.
3. Volunteer and give back to society.
The first plan of enriching the thinking process of kids did not occur all of a sudden. Being a curious kid during my childhood, I used to scribble down many math patterns, small findings about shapes, formulas etc in a red colour diary! Unfortunately, I did not get a handholding or environment on how I can build that math interest further. So after few years, the board exams & marks took over & my interests faded slowly. During my Engineering studies, the math interest sprung again, however I could not relate my interest with real life or subjects I learnt. With the advent of Internet, I slowly built my passion on math over a period of many years.
Thanks to open resources offered by many renowned Universities, Educators around the world, I understood how math concepts are linked to real life and how it can be shared with children in an engaging way. The main goal of making kids "Think and Enjoy Math Learning" paved way to start "The Growing Young Mathematicians Foundation". The focus of the programs offered by GYM is to make kids think systematically; enjoy exploring and finding patterns & formulas on their own; get the skills & confidence to solve math problems. The monthly once open to all "Math Everywhere" event showcases how math concepts are related & applied in the environment around us.
It has been 10 months since I conceived the idea of GYM Foundation and took it to execution. Thanks to the parents and kids who believed in the STEPS in MATH concept (Systematic Thinking Exploring and Problem Solving) and enrolled their kids. When I hear below messages from the kids, I am glad that GYM Foundation is serving its purpose of cultivating "The Joy in Guided Discovery Based Learning" among kids.
From kids own words,
"I found this pattern & came up with the formula by myself & enjoyed the AHA moment!"
"I never thought Math is related to Music! Math pattern can be seen in plants! Now I want to know more about Math & how it's seen in Nature!"
Personally my transition from Building Great products @Cisco to
Building Great Minds @GYM has been a satisfying & enriching experience.
If you are interested to Volunteer or Share your knowledge with GYM Community; Support this cause and help in taking it to wider kids community & build Great Young Minds, please comment or send mail to thegymfoundation@gmail.com
