Maharashtra School Offers Classroom Under Tree, Syllabus Converted to Music for Special Learning

In a bid to make children attend classes, a school in Maharashtra’s Nashik has resorted to many out of the box measures. The school is offering classes under a tree and has decorated its library to look like a train. The move is induced to provide learning to special needs children.

Sachin Joshi, Principal of Espalier Heritage School, Nashik told news agency ANI that school has been constructed “in such a way that children will themselves want to come to school.” The train-like library was inspired by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi’s memoir ‘Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window’ where schools were built in train in Japan.

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Talking about the unique aspects of the curriculum of the school, the principal said that not only does it include outdoor classrooms beneath the trees, but children also need not wear any uniforms. Every 15 minutes children are also allowed to have entertainment breaks and enjoy extracurricular activities. More than 70 per cent of the syllabus has been converted to music, Joshi told the news agency.

“We believe uniforms in a way restrict and limits children’s abilities, therefore there are no uniforms in the school. We also don’t believe in punishing children, instead, we tell them to cycle for 30 minutes, which in turn generates electricity,” he said.

The principal further that it is the formative years that make the makes or break the child’s mind. “It is the initial 10-12 years when a child’s brain fully develops and hence it is crucial to stimulate it and induce positive images to have a constructive mindset. Setting up of group learnings, night schools, etc are among other activities that the school uses as a part of its comprehensive curriculum,” he added

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The school also has a mud party where children can play with each other and their teachers. Instead of addressing the teachers with sir or ma’am, the children call them ‘Bhaiya/Didi’. There are farms as well where children indulge in farming, drama classes, amphitheatres, an in-house record studio, and a science park to provide practical learning.

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