EPISTEME report

EPISTEME – 2022-24 – An HFS International TOK Exhibition

“I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think.”

- -Socrates

Any TOK educator shall, without second thought, concur. I am no different.

After an intellectually invigorating academic session of TOK lessons with the HFSI IBDP cohort of 2022-24, it was time to revel in the beauty of moving from the plane of theory to practice – the result? A successful Theory of Knowledge Exhibition – Episteme 2022-24 – intended to help students explore their TOK exhibition prompts vis-à-vis dialectical discourse. Held on February 28, 2023, the exhibition was a blazing testimony to the spirit of enquiry sparked by TOK as an integral component of the curriculum.

Designed to align with the tenets of the IBDP requirements for the TOK exhibition, the ideation, conceptualization and the execution of Episteme 2022-24 was rightfully, both a labor of love and a point of pride for the DP cohort.

After months of careful deliberation and research, the students of the IB diploma programme had picked their individual exhibition prompts from an extensive list of 35 IB-prescribed prompts and come up with novel and inventive ideas to justify their choice of objects and their real-world contexts in relation to the prompt. The protracted brainstorming sessions with their TOK facilitator and peers had resulted in incisive, penetrating commentaries on their prompts alongside distinctive stances and diverse perspectives that acknowledged and celebrated the beauty of plurality of meaning/s in a course component like TOK.

Inaugurated by HFSI Head of School, Mrs. Kalyani Patnaik, Episteme 2022-24 saw the IBDP cohort engage in animated and passionate dialogue with the principal to uncover divergent streams of thought, even if they were different from their own stances on the prompt. The same verve of critical thinking and healthy debate was seen as the students presented their work to their teachers, parents as well as students from grades 8 and 9. It was interesting to see how every now and then, a visitor from the audience would make an alternate contention and the DP student on the other end of the table would, with remarkable and impressive patience and dexterity, offer piercing and perceptive insight on the matter championing both their stance and accommodating the contrasting opinion with unequivocal respect and humility. In fact, some of the kids even offered examples and real-world contexts in which the differing contention would be valid, thereby, attesting to the wondrous appeal of a subject that celebrates multiplicity of meaning and consequently, the complexity of life itself.

“We started our TOK journey about a year ago knowing little (if at all) but progressing onwards to know more and acknowledging (somewhere on the way) that we may never fully know everything there is to know! It is a world where you both know and know there is always more to know,” said Maanya Lal, a student of the presenting IBDP cohort.

“It is surreal to see the response this edition of Episteme has received. I was extremely nervous about the event and the anxiety was nerve-wracking. I am great when I have to write a commentary but being vocal about my line of thought has always been a challenge. Episteme helped me face my fear head-on and I am glad that it did. All those hours of endless planning and discussion have paid off – and how!” added Shivanshi Singh, pinching herself at the response received by the feedback section of her booth.

An amalgam of creativity, critical thinking, contextual learning, collaborative effort and communicative competence, EPISTEME 2022-24 at HFSI was, undoubtedly, a stepping stone towards the students’ journey towards becoming responsive and responsible citizens of tomorrow.

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