དགེ་ལ། — A Teacher for Every Tibetan Child
Genla (དགེ་ལ།)—meaning "teacher" in Tibetan—is an adaptive learning platform designed to serve Tibetan children in diaspora communities worldwide. The platform bridges rigorous academic education with cultural identity, ensuring students excel in their adopted countries while remaining deeply connected to Tibetan heritage and values.
Built on New York State Core Curriculum Standards, one of the most comprehensive public education frameworks in the United States, Genla delivers a complete curriculum for Grades 1-8 across five core subjects: Mathematics, Science, English Language Arts, Logic & Critical Thinking, and Heart & Mind.
The platform employs research-validated pedagogical methods including inquiry-based learning, the Concrete-Representational-Abstract approach for mathematics, and balanced literacy instruction—all contextualized through Tibetan cultural narratives and examples.
What distinguishes Genla is its commitment to educating the whole child. The Heart and Mind program, inspired by SEE Learning's framework developed through collaboration between Emory University and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, integrates social, emotional, and ethical development throughout the academic curriculum.
This comprehensive approach includes attention training, cultivation of compassion for self and others, resilience skills based on trauma-informed care, systems thinking, and ethical discernment. These competencies are presented as universal human values compatible with all or no religious traditions, while simultaneously reflecting principles central to Tibetan Buddhist philosophy.
For diaspora children navigating multiple cultural contexts, this integrated approach provides both the intellectual tools for academic success and the emotional-ethical foundation for developing secure, compassionate identities. Students engage with mathematics through culturally meaningful contexts, explore science as active inquiry, and develop critical thinking skills grounded in ethical awareness.
Genla was created by Thupten Chakrishar, a Tibetan technologist and social entrepreneur, in response to a fundamental question posed by his wife, Phuntsok Dolma: could a learning system help their children succeed academically while instilling core Buddhist values of compassion, interdependence, and wisdom?
Over six months of intensive development, Chakrishar built an adaptive learning platform that addresses this dual need. Rather than treating academic rigor and cultural-ethical education as separate domains, Genla integrates them at every level—from the stories that introduce mathematical concepts to the collaborative problem-solving that develops both logic skills and awareness of interdependence.
Genla employs sophisticated assessment algorithms that identify specific knowledge gaps rather than assigning students to broad grade levels. Students complete topic-level assessments that pinpoint precise areas requiring attention, then follow personalized learning paths designed for efficient mastery.
This approach respects both student intelligence and time, focusing on genuine conceptual understanding rather than memorization or repetitive practice.
The platform operates on a completely free-access model. This decision reflects a commitment to educational equity within the Tibetan diaspora—communities scattered across continents with vastly different economic resources.
Currently funded entirely by the Chakrishar family, Genla serves as a public good, ensuring that every Tibetan child, regardless of family circumstances, can access high-quality education that honors their heritage.
While some families could afford subscription-based services, many cannot. Genla's free model removes this barrier, creating a truly global learning community for diaspora children.
Current development plans include expansion across multiple dimensions:
These developments will enable Genla to serve as a comprehensive educational resource for Tibetan children worldwide, adapting to the linguistic and cultural contexts of different diaspora communities while maintaining curricular rigor and cultural authenticity.
Genla represents more than educational technology. It embodies a vision of cultural preservation that refuses false choices—between tradition and modernity, between academic excellence and ethical development, between succeeding in new homelands and honoring ancestral wisdom.
For thousands of Tibetan children growing up far from their homeland, Genla offers a path forward that embraces both worlds fully.