Mobile Creativity Labs: Scaling STEAM Across India

Mobile Creativity Labs: Scaling STEAM Across India

Author: Ethical Schools May 15, 2025 Duration: 40:31

We speak with Dr. David Penberg and Adhirath Sethi about Agastya, a unique educational ecosystem serving students and teachers in 22 Indian states. Agastya has a hub-and-spokes design, with an elaborate 172-acre campus outside Bangalore and a fleet of mobile vans and bicycles delivering science and art programming to poor and rural children in far-flung towns and villages.

Overview

00:00-00:43 Intros

00:43-03:26 Agastya’s programs

03:26-04:51 Arts and interdisciplinary learning environment

04:51-07:58 Teacher training

07:58-11:10 Young Instructional Leader program

11:10-11:52 Ages of girls who started the YIL program

11:52-13:33 Where the YIL do their work

13:33-17:02 Teachers learning in the ways that students learn

17:02-18:43 Alignment with Nell Noddings’s “ethic of care”

18:43:21:48 Relationships with animals other than human

21:48-24:09 Common elements with schools like Central Park East in different settings

24:09-26:14 Agastya relationships based on trust

26:14-27:27 Agastya as a source of inspiration

27:27-29:07 Agastya’s vision of reaching more children

29:07-30:33 Relevance to U.S.

30:33-35:49 Measuring success

35:49-38:19 Adhirath’s book about Agastya: The Moving of Mountains

38:19- Outro

Transcript

Click here to listen to the full transcription of this episode. 

References

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear


Conversations about education often focus on test scores and curriculum, but there’s a deeper layer that truly shapes a student’s experience. Ethical Schools digs into that layer, exploring what it means to build a learning community grounded in integrity and care. Each week, hosts Amy and Jon sit down with educators and innovators who are actively reimagining schools. You’ll hear specific, grounded discussions about the practical work of creating environments where every student feels safe and respected. The dialogue frequently addresses how to support young people dealing with trauma, moving beyond theory to share actionable strategies that teachers are using right now. More than just problem-solving, this podcast highlights how to empower students themselves to become advocates and changemakers in their own communities. It’s a series that connects philosophy with daily practice, looking at the social and cultural structures within schools through a lens of ethics. For anyone invested in the future of education-whether you’re a teacher, administrator, or simply a concerned community member-this podcast offers a thoughtful and necessary perspective on the foundational values that make education meaningful.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 240

Ethical Schools
Podcast Episodes
Reframing masculinity: Stopping violence against women and girls [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:09
Quentin Walcott (“Q”), a leading NYC and international anti-violence educator and activist, creates programs that help transform men and boys — even batterers — into activists against violence. He focuses on the intersec…
Ed schools as allies to new teachers of color [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:30
Dr. Harriet (“Niki”) Fayne of Lehman College School of Education describes strategies to support new teachers and “second stage” teacher-leaders. She discusses ways to attract teacher candidates, reduce early-years attri…
Paula Rogovin: Creating a social justice early childhood classroom [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:32
We speak with Paula Rogovin, who taught kindergarten and first grade in NYC public schools for 44 years. Paula empowered the youngest students to become researchers and activists. She encourages students to ask questions…
Jesse Hagopian on bringing Black Lives Matter into schools [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:00
We speak with Jesse Hagopian, an editor for ReThinking Schools and a long-time teacher in the Seattle Public Schools. He is a co-editor of the book Teaching for Black Lives. Jesse discusses the groundbreaking annual Nati…
Adjoa Jones de Almeida of the Brooklyn Museum on art as experience [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:45
We speak with Adjoa Jones de Almeida, Director of Education at the Brooklyn Museum. We discuss the significance of “art as experience.” Ms. Jones de Almeida describes art’s transformational power to educate and empower s…
Melissa Rivers on Community-Based Education in Rural Alaska [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:30
We speak with Melissa Rivers, Principal of the Scammon Bay School in Alaska’s Lower Yukon, a mile from the Bering Sea. The isolated, tight-knit Yupik Eskimo community is subsistence-based, harvesting moose and salmon. St…
Mark Santow on Suing Rhode Island for Educational Equal Protection [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:45
We speak with Dr. Mark Santow, Chair of the Department of History at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Dr. Santow and his middle school son, along with 12 other plaintiffs, are suing the state of Rhode Island in…