READ
Responsible Adolescence (acronymed READ) is a structured co-curricular programme that helps adolescents to mature into more self-aware and socially responsible individuals.
READ offers 32 modules, approx. 52 hours of learning, annually.
The main programme will have 24 modules of 90 minutes each.
The continuing programme for selected students (READ Plus) will have 8 modules of 120 minutes each.
At READ, the adolescents get to:
learn, without the pressure of grades, more about their body, mind and social being by listening to, and interacting with, qualified subject matter experts from across the globe; and
engage, albeit online, with their peers.
READ tries to virtually recreate the fun experience of a conventional summer camp through a series of online sessions designed to impart the skills and knowledge that are not ordinarily available to the adolescents through their curriculum.
The READ faculty consists of, amongst others, paediatricians, nutritionists, gynaecologists, psychiatrists, lifestyle specialists, psychologists, lawyers, social workers, IT experts, educators and management consultants.
The successful participants of READ are inducted into the READ Army and given opportunities to further learning and leadership.
NEWSPAPER REPORTS
READ 2020 Programme to Develop Skills among Adolescents (The Hindu)
Here is a virtual workshop to mould responsible adolescents (Manorama - English)
ഉത്തരവാദിത്തമുള്ള കൗമാരത്തിനായി റീഡ് 2020; സെപ്റ്റംബര് 25ന് തുടക്കമാകും (Manorama - Malayalam)
Idea of READ
READ germinated from the understanding that our adolescents need more than what they learn from their curriculum to be ready for life.
That they need to know how their bodies and minds work so that they can better cope with the physical and mental challenges they face as they transition from childhood to adulthood and understand and be sensitive to others around them. That they need to be made aware of how society functions and their civic duties so that they stay socially responsible and help build a better society. That they need help to develop life skills so that they can "deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life".
That they need to be initiated into discussing contemporary issues in a sober set-up so that they can start formulating their own political positions on issues that matter without fear or favour. That they need to be unsettled where necessary so that they can recondition themselves as appropriate. That they need to be happy.
And, that they need to be taught by specialists using pedagogic methods that are less usual in a school setting so that they get different perspectives together with a refreshing experience.
The READ Philosophy
READ is not in the business of preaching personal values, but it does not shy away from taking a position on moral issues of political significance.
READ encourages its participants to develop "scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform" and formulate their own views on the classic as well as contemporary social issues.
Title & Logo
The title READ, pronounced as /riːd/, is used as an acronym for Responsible Adolescence, although the broader meanings of the English word "read" and even of its old English origin "rǣda" are not entirely lost on it.
The READ logo brings together the passion and intensity (the deep red colour) and the free sense of movement (the circle) associated with adolescence, and the protective yet non-imposing frame (the curved tagline outside the circle) that READ aims to provide the inclined. The READ logo sometimes omits the tagline for brevity.
The tagline simply reiterates the purpose of READ.