A Dialog with Mr. Sunil Tyagi, Director of ICON Preschool

An Unique Interview with Mr. Sunil Tyagi, Director at ICON Preschool

On this insightful interview, Mr. Sunil Tyagi, Director of ICON Preschool, shares his imaginative and prescient for nurturing younger minds by means of creativity, care, and modern educating.

His dedication to constructing a powerful basis for early learners displays the varsity’s mission to form assured, inquisitive youngsters prepared for the long run.

As a civil engineer by qualification and now a number one parenting skilled and educationist, how did your journey evolve from establishing buildings to shaping lives? Was there a defining second whenever you felt this calling?

Sunil Tyagi: My shift from civil engineering to parenting and schooling wasn’t a dramatic flip—it developed naturally by means of on a regular basis conversations and a deep inside calling.

I spent a few years establishing high-rise buildings, malls, and roads—guaranteeing that each construction stood sturdy. However after marriage, these quiet morning teas I shared with my spouse, Abha, started to alter one thing inside me.

We regularly talked about life’s function, saying, “We didn’t come into this world simply to exist; we got here to do one thing significant for society.”

After which at some point, instantly it hit me— “Why not use my expertise of constructing sturdy foundations to assist elevate completely satisfied and emotionally sturdy youngsters?” My mother and father had all the time instilled in us a way of function, and when my brother Mukul added his concepts, ICON was born in 2005.

There was nothing grand about it—only a easy household dream taking form. After I checked out these little youngsters, I believed, “They’re my youngsters too.”

In the present day, that engineering mindset helps me clarify youngster psychology to oldsters and lecturers in easy, sensible methods. I’m nonetheless constructing foundations—solely now, they’re emotional foundations.

ICON is about creating areas the place youngsters can develop safely, lovingly, and joyfully… the place they discover ways to be completely satisfied. That morning dialog with Abha nonetheless evokes me each single day.

With over three many years of expertise throughout authorities and personal sectors, what key classes out of your skilled journey have influenced how ICON Preschool operates as we speak?

Sunil Tyagi: These 30-plus years—together with 5 with the Delhi Authorities and the remainder in personal setups—taught me one profound reality: actual power lies not in self-discipline or deadlines, however in empathy and emotional connection. I noticed how understanding individuals—their worries and joys—can flip chaos into readability. At ICON, these classes are mirrored in all places.

Our ISO certification displays the self-discipline and techniques I discovered managing massive initiatives. However the soul of ICON is far deeper—it lies in our “Kids First” method. Secure environments, NCF-aligned studying, and emotional bonding outline us.

We aren’t right here to construct extra faculties; we’re right here to construct belief. That’s the reason, throughout 100 + branches, our focus is on creating environments the place innocence can breathe freely—the place innocence can stay completely satisfied. This lovely mix of self-discipline and coronary heart is what makes ICON really feel like dwelling day-after-day.

You typically say “Training should proceed, not simply in lecture rooms, however in hearts.” How does this perception replicate in ICON Preschool’s method to educating and guardian engagement?

Sunil Tyagi: That line, “Training should proceed, not simply in lecture rooms, however in hearts,” got here straight from these robust days of the pandemic, when all the things shut down however life didn’t cease. At ICON, we reside it day-after-day: studying isn’t a guidelines. It’s about touching souls.

Our lecturers begin with the kid’s smile. Via video games, tales, and quiet chats that spark marvel, all tied to NCF steps, so it feels pure, not compelled.

Lecture rooms resemble cosy corners of dwelling, with gentle lighting and open areas the place children can merely be themselves, constructing belief one chuckle at a time. Mother and father are proper in the course of it.

We pull up chairs for actual talks, sharing suggestions over espresso, watching milestones collectively, so that they carry that studying dwelling.

I all the time say, each youngster is my youngster, so why not deal with households like our personal? It turns college right into a bridge, not a boundary. When hearts join like that, happiness sticks round, confidence grows quiet and powerful. That’s ICON: classes that linger lengthy after the bell. 

Your books—“Profitable Parenting,” “The 5 Secrets and techniques,” “Shoonya Se Shikhar Ki Ore,” and “Galti Kiski”—have impressed many. What motivated you to write down them, and what core message would you like each guardian to recollect?

Sunil Tyagi: These books have been born from those self same morning tea conversations with my spouse, Abha—my biggest inspiration. We regularly heard tales of fogeys burdened with guilt, pushing their youngsters too onerous simply to maintain up.

It touched me deeply. I noticed that if a toddler receives the best upbringing, they continue to be motivated for all times, regardless of the circumstances.

So, I started writing—to remind mother and father that parenting isn’t about perfection, it’s about presence. My core message is easy—“Don’t chase perfection; construct connection.”

In as we speak’s fast-paced world, love issues greater than strain. My books emphasize this—hear extra, keep affected person, and lead with kindness. I firmly consider, “Each human being works for happiness.”

This perception displays in all the things we do at ICON. When mother and father internalize it, their youngsters flourish—freed from strain, filled with pleasure. That’s the quiet success I search.

Emotional intelligence is central to ICON’s philosophy. What’s your happiness mantra, and the way do you guarantee emotional studying receives equal significance as teachers?

Sunil Tyagi: At ICON, emotional intelligence isn’t an additional—it’s our basis. I consider each human being’s final aim is happiness. And we’re blessed that God has given us the chance to nurture harmless minds with the best route and angle.

That’s the reason everybody round our “ICON” youngsters—lecturers, didis, safety guards, transporters, and most significantly, mother and father—is skilled to deal with youngsters with heat, empathy, and the best language.

For youngsters aged 1.5 to five.5, play is the medium of studying. Via easy video games, they study sharing, resilience, and emotional sensitivity. Our NCF-based method makes this pure and joyful.

Even our surroundings helps this—gentle corners, acquainted routines, and calm transitions assist each youngster really feel safe, not rushed.

We monitor emotional progress as fastidiously as teachers—observing how youngsters open up, smile, and join deeply. Mother and father are guided by means of workshops to acknowledge emotional cues at dwelling, preserving the circle full.

Kids who really feel heard develop into people who hear and uplift others. That’s our aim—vibrant minds with mild hearts, day-after-day.

Your imaginative and prescient of constructing a “Despair-Free India” by means of aware schooling is inspiring. What are the largest challenges you face in reaching this, and the way do you propose to beat them?

Sunil Tyagi: That imaginative and prescient, a “Despair-Free India,” comes straight from what I maintain expensive: each particular person, particularly our youngsters, has the best to real happiness. However getting there, it’s not simple.

The largest hurdles hit near dwelling: mother and father stretched skinny by jobs and expectations, children buying and selling playground hours for homework piles. Then there’s this complete push in society for marks over moods. And don’t get me began on how screens and solitude pile on the quiet hurts.

Spreading it broad, even with our 85 branches, means reaching corners the place assist feels miles away. We deal with it head-on, one household at a time.

We’re rising these franchises, however solely with coronary heart. Coaching lecturers to identify a downcast eye and weave in easy mindfulness, like respiration breaks or sharing circles. Mother and father get pulled in by means of these no-pressure chats, the place we swap tales and construct that web of assist proper at dwelling.

Our NCF curriculum retains it grounded: play that builds bounce-back, not simply e-book smarts. I preserve reminding the staff, “Training should proceed, not simply in lecture rooms, however in hearts.” Persistence with a aspect of affection, gradual steps, positive ones. That’ll elevate a era mild on their toes, heavy on pleasure.

ICON Preschool was born from a deeply private household dream. Are you able to share a second together with your spouse that really formed ICON’s id?

Sunil Tyagi: ICON was born not from a marketing strategy, however from a shared heartbeat of a household, as I’ve talked about earlier than. Every day discussions with my spouse, Abha, and the restlessness to seek out function in life impressed us to create one thing that might unfold happiness in society.  For that, nothing was higher than a play college.

We even named the varsity society after our mother and father, honoring our roots. With their blessings and God’s grace, ICON has now grown throughout India, nurturing “Happiness Ambassadors” in all places.

My dream is that by 2047, when India celebrates “Viksit Bharat,” the kids of ICON will stand tall—contributing to the creation of a Glad India. That would be the true achievement of my mission.

You’ve been a pillar of power and motivation, particularly throughout tough instances just like the pandemic. Is there a specific story of hope or transformation that stays with you?

Sunil Tyagi: The pandemic examined us all, but it surely additionally confirmed me how a lot energy there may be in easy connections. I jumped on social media again then: reside chats with lecturers, fast calls to oldsters, simply to maintain spirits up when all the things felt locked down.

One that actually sticks with me is that this mother who reached out, voice shaking. Her little boy, simply three, was fearful of the display time all of us needed to lean on. He’d cover underneath the desk on the sight of it, and she or he was at her wits’ finish, feeling like she’d failed him. We talked it by means of over a name, no massive fixes.

Simply me suggesting they step again to fundamentals: flip classes into video games, perhaps chase a ball across the room earlier than sitting down, give him time to ease in with a hug first.

A couple of weeks later, she messaged with a photograph: him grinning ear to ear, scribbling his first letters with crayons, asking for “extra story time.”

That turnaround, from tears to that pure child pleasure, it hit me proper within the chest. It’s precisely what I imply after I say, “Training should proceed, not simply in lecture rooms, however in hearts.”

Her thanks, that quiet “You gave us our mild again,” it grounds me nonetheless. Moments like that remind me why we preserve going at ICON: love doesn’t give up, and neither will we. It turns darkish days into the beginning of one thing brighter.

As a pacesetter and mentor, what qualities do you consider each instructor and guardian ought to domesticate to assist youngsters develop into assured, completely satisfied, and compassionate people?

Sunil Tyagi: Main and mentoring at ICON has proven me again and again that it’s the quiet strengths that make the actual distinction for teenagers: empathy, persistence, and simply being totally there.

Empathy means moving into a toddler’s sneakers, catching these little worries earlier than they snowball, so belief builds like a heat hug. Persistence means letting them unfold at their very own velocity, no timelines or robust love, simply regular arms guiding the best way.

And presence, effectively, that’s the magic: placing down the cellphone, locking eyes throughout a narrative, so that they know they’re the middle of your world proper then. It sparks that inside confidence, the sort that lets pleasure bubble up naturally.

It’s a nudge for lecturers to lean into our NCF setup, turning circle time or block-building into possibilities to follow sharing and saying sorry with a smile.

For fogeys, it’s about that regular heat at dwelling, listening after a tricky day, serving to them identify their emotions so feelings don’t simply simmer.

I pull our staff and households collectively for these actual chats, strolling them by means of it, as a result of once we reside this out, each youngster walks taller, kinder, lighter. On the finish of the day, it’s love wrapped in understanding that shapes them, not into stars, however into good souls who carry the world.

Trying forward, how do you see your long-term imaginative and prescient for ICON Preschool and your  mission as a parenting skilled and educator? How do you view your position in shaping the subsequent era of emotionally sturdy and joyful learners?

Sunil Tyagi: Trying forward, I envision ICON as that mild in each small city and metropolis in India, a spot the place youngsters can merely be youngsters—laughing, studying, and carefree.

The aim is to broaden by means of extra franchises, reaching households far and broad. This imaginative and prescient is rooted in a single reality I maintain shut: “Each human being works for happiness,” and that guides each step I take.

As a parenting skilled, my path is evident: to share heartfelt steering—by means of my books and conversations—equipping moms and dads with the instruments to boost youngsters who bend however don’t break.

Personally, I see myself as that quiet guiding hand—mentoring lecturers one espresso at a time, sitting with mother and father to navigate the every day ups and downs, exhibiting them how a listening ear can flip fear into marvel.

We are going to proceed leaning into NCF-based strategies, blended with emotional care and a spotlight, to strengthen our 100+ branches and past.

My actual legacy shall be seen if educators study to guide from the guts, not simply the handbook, and the kids rising up are the sort who naturally unfold pleasure: regular, variety, and filled with spark.

My dream is easy—to nurture educators who educate from the guts, not simply from handbooks—and youngsters who naturally unfold pleasure wherever they go. One open coronary heart at a time, that’s how we are going to construct a very Glad India. 

Mr. Tyagi’s method highlights the facility of personalised schooling and joyful studying experiences. His dedication to holistic improvement continues to encourage educators and oldsters alike, setting ICON Preschool aside as a pacesetter in early childhood schooling.

Learn extra Success tales of Indian entrepreneurs, Girls Entrepreneurs & startups tales at SugerMint. Observe us on Twitter, Instagram, Fb, LinkedIn