Dear Rishabh,
First of all, huge congratulations on your first author talk! It is incredible to see your book, What I See Now, shaking up the traditional rooms that shape the future of education. When you asked what we should tell a mainstream school principal who claims they want to do better, here is the unvarnished truth to take back into that room and disrupt the comfort zone: Stop hiding behind the addiction to paper. The mainstream schooling industry has an unhealthy obsession with printed material and stationary—take a physical book away from them, and it is no different than pulling a pacifier from a baby. It is time to break that crutch. Every single learning material past the 5th grade must be digital and accessible by default. Digital-first learning isn't just about convenience; it is the ultimate equalizer, instantly unlocking access for students who are blind, deaf, or otherwise marginalized. Next, let's stop running a compliance factory disguised as an education system. Exams must be strictly digital, online, and open-book. We are trying to build critical thinkers, not professional memorizers who regurgitate facts like a parrot onto a piece of paper just to pass a test. Finally, stop treating disability awareness as an assembly-line checkbox or a special-ed afterthought. Real, daily exposure to students with disabilities in mainstream classrooms is the only way to tear down ignorance at its root. Let printed books remain a niche option for those who specifically want them, but let's stop letting outdated traditions dictate an exclusionary future. Shift the paradigm to a tech-forward, open, and universally accessible environment, because incremental tweaks will no longer cut it. Take these thoughts straight into the lions' den with those educators and policymakers. They are too comfortable maintaining the status quo, and your voice is the exact disruption they need to hear. Warm regards, <https://www.blogger.com/profile/04580049257592982490> Mister Kayne Author: <https://www.mister-kayne.com/> The Somebody, Nobody, Anybody & Everybody Blog! <https://www.mister-kayne.com/p/be-awesome-show-your-love-for-somebody.html> SHOW LOVE | <https://www.amazon.in/?&linkCode=sl2&tag=misterkayne-21&linkId=551b8e93e78c38c5ed1d03fe84332eb1&ref_=as_li_ss_tl> SHOP LOVE | <mailto:[email protected]> Contact Me From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Rishabh Gupta Sent: Saturday, August 1, 2026 2:17 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [AI] Mainstream schools asked me what they should do differently — I told them I needed to ask you first Yesterday I gave my first author talk. The audience was not from the disability sector. They were principals, educators, and school owners — people who run mainstream schools designed for sighted students. They came because of the book. They stayed for the conversation. In the Q&A, one of them — a policy maker — asked me something I was not expecting: "What changes or best practices would you recommend that mainstream schools should follow to become truly accessible and inclusive for students with visual impairments?" I gave her my honest answer. But I told her what I am telling you now: the most important answers to that question do not come from me. They come from the people who actually sat in those classrooms. Who navigated those corridors without anyone designing them with us in mind. Who found ways to learn in systems that were not built for us — and who remember exactly what was missing. These school owners and educators are willing to listen. That is not something we always get to say. --- I shared one thing from my own experience. Beyond the tools — the screen readers, the accessible infrastructure, the accommodations that schools are beginning to understand — I said what I think is still missing in most mainstream schools is something simpler and harder to mandate: Real contact between students. Not awareness programmes. Not disability sensitivity days. But actual peer-to-peer collaboration — a project, an assignment, something with a shared goal — where students work together and figure each other out through the work itself. Where a visually impaired student's strengths become visible not because someone pointed them out, but because the project needed them. Where a sighted student's assumptions get quietly corrected not through a lecture, but through a deadline. Empathy built in a classroom tends to fade. Understanding built through working together on something real tends to stay. I do not know if this is the most important answer. It is the honest one from my experience. --- Now I want yours. If you were speaking directly to the principal of a mainstream school — someone who genuinely wants to do better and is willing to act — what would you tell them? It does not have to be a policy recommendation. It could be a specific memory. Something small that made an enormous difference. The one thing nobody ever thought to do but should have. Or something that was done well that more schools should know about. I will compile the responses and take them back to the room where the question was asked. Your experience deserves to reach the people who have the power to act on it. Rishabh Gupta Author, What I See Now | Managing Partner, Anant Resources | Co-Founder, Green Energy Feeders Raipur, Chhattisgarh -- Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list.. 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Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "AccessIndia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/00c701dd21b0%240a994340%241fcbc9c0%24%40mister-kayne.com.
