Looking back on Reflective Teens’ eventful decade

The idea that education brings equality is a common perception. On the surface, this viewpoint suggests that talent and intelligence are the only facilitators of success. That is if a student studies well and graduates from a reputed institution, it will open a window of opportunities for them.

Unfortunately, reality paints a different picture. For most students, their family's financial status plays a major role in determining their futures. Students from families who can afford quality education often perform better than their less privileged counterparts. As such, countless young minds find their potential stifled by a lack of resources.

Due to the nature of this problem, many NGOs and government organisations shy away from it due to the sheer scale of the issue. One organisation, however, has achieved widespread success in mitigating this educational divide using innovative methods.

Founded by Yusuf Munna, Reflective Teens, also known as RT, is a non-profit organisation that engages with over 600,000 students throughout the country. Reflective Teen's innovative methods to resolve educational inequality have received both international and national recognition such as the Diana Award and the Joy Bangla Youth Award.  Their methods have been replicated in eight countries.

BEGINNINGS OF REFLECTIVE TEENS

Reflective Teens' founding can be credited to Yusuf's experiences with trying to make young students' voices heard.

"My journey towards opening Reflective Teens began when I had the opportunity to publish my write-ups in a popular newspaper in my hometown," Yusuf, now the Executive Director of  Reflective Teens', explains. "Publishing something like this, especially as a young student, was a landmark event for me."

Following the publication of the article, Yusuf explains how many of his classmates expressed their interest in publishing many of their passion projects on a bigger scale. With such a massive outpour of enthusiastic students, yet very few opportunities for them to express their talents, Yusuf realised something was amiss.

"I realised there is a gap that needs to be bridged between passionate students, and the world filled with opportunities. This was when I got to work, creating a virtual magazine where students from all backgrounds could come and publish their writings and art pieces."

Yusuf's journey towards creating a web magazine wasn't simple. At a time when computers weren't as widespread in the country, Yusuf would hop around in cybercafes and teach himself how to build a functioning website. Using his government scholarship money, he later bought an American Corner membership to solidify his efforts in creating this web magazine.

The web magazine quickly took off, and students from all over Chittagong Collegiate School, where he studied, poured in with numerous writeups, art pieces and much more. Its reach eventually extended far beyond the walls of his school, receiving nationwide attention. Yusuf then decided to transition his efforts into creating Reflective Teens.

"My time working on my web magazine made me realise that there was a much more fundamental issue that needed to be addressed. I realised that the gap between proper opportunities and ambitious students was due to financial reasons. A child coming from a wealthy family studying at a top school could afford expensive exchange semesters abroad or state-of-the-art facilities, but for most Bangladeshi students, that was simply not the case."

"During my initial days, our school's headmaster often drew parallels to motivate students. In his words, we were walking across the same hallways and studying in the same classrooms where great changemakers like Dr Muhammad Yunus, Dr Abdullah Al Moti Sarfuddin, Dr Jamal Nazrul Islam once studied. That encouragement eventually became the spark that ignited Reflective Teens' founding" Yusuf added.

With his newfound cognizance, Yusuf founded Reflective Teens in 2013, and in the 11 years it has existed, Reflective Teens has changed the lives of many students across Bangladesh. 

TRANSITIONING INTO A NON-PROFIT AND IMPACT

The organisation leans towards offering innovative solutions based on the specific demands of individual institutions. In partnership with Elite Paint, they introduced the "Classroom Sidewalk Game Project", which involved redecorating and furnishing school corridors and entrances into vibrant, interactive play zones for children in schools without a proper field or play area.

Similarly, understanding a lack of diverse knowledge base beyond the academic curriculum, Reflective Teens partnered up with the Asia Foundation to introduce "Let's Read", a free digital library for students in under-resourced schools from Dhaka and Chittagong.

They also introduced "Bridges Not Borders", a three-week virtual after-school program that connects students from various cultures across the globe and aims to diversify and improve their skill sets.

STRIVING TO CONTEXTUALISE EDUCATION

Reflective Teens stands in a unique position where they have been able to gather first-hand data and insight on 300+ under-resourced private schools that they've worked with. Using this experience, they've narrowed down their problems into a few fundamental issues.

According to Yusuf, the current education system relies on a one-size-fits-all pedagogy for all students. Through his organisation, Yusuf intends to contextualise education based on where the students live and what kind of backgrounds they come from.

"For many less well-off families in Bangladesh, sending their children to school for a decade or more is not financially feasible. It simply does not make sense for them to shave off nearly a quarter of their day on learning when the family is unable to make ends meet."

He also emphasises the fact that teaching everyone all across the country the same thing will not lead to the same level of returns for them. As such, Reflective Teens is working on creating a supplementary curriculum where students learn what is necessary for them alongside their regular curriculum.

Reflective Teens exemplifies how a simple passion project can evolve into a catalyst for transformative change. What began as Yusuf Munna's effort to give his classmates a platform has grown into an organisation that champions educational equity and innovation at a global scale.