The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Learning everyday and loving every moment

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 18, 2006

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Learning everyday and loving every moment

WHAT I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I understand." The administration, teachers and students of Glendale ardently believe in this Chinese proverb. Anjum Babukhan, Director of Glendale, says, "We emphasize on Brain Compatible Learning. Brain Compatible Learning is when a school, its creative curriculum, engaging methodology, physical environment and psychological dynamics are designed and carried in a way that complements and accelerates the functioning of the brain in learning knowledge. When students are made to do what they learn, there seems to be no difficulty in understanding. They understand the lesson in no time."

Many schools focus on the three Rs - Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic, but Glendale claims they teach three additional Rs - Respect, Relation and Reasoning. Respect for the world deals with environmental awareness and unity in diversity. Relation deals with character development and value education. Reasoning deals with `multiple intelligence to enrich, educate and empower the students to face the multi-faceted world.

When explaining a lesson, the teacher makes use of multiple intelligence skills. Every lesson has a topic web which stretches into seven to eight types of intelligences namely language, science, mathematics, social, rhythm, naturistic and artistic. For example, when students learn about Helen Keller, they are blindfolded to know how she must have felt, how sounds are produced, how we hear etc, which makes a lesson far more interesting and knowledgeable.

The school believes in developing a holistic personality. The different studios, namely home studio, arts and crafts studio, music studio, exploratory lab and a computer lab teach them artistic skills and also give lessons on daily living.

The home studio has a bed, dinning table, mirror and other things found in a home. Here children learn how to keep the room squeaky clean and decorate it for different occasions. "Apart from academics, children have to learn basic survival skills too. This is the main motive behind setting up these studios," says coordinator Neelima Bassi. A well equipped, child friendly library makes reading fun. They are also exposed to creative and entertaining activities like drama, music, painting and handicraft. The kitchen garden that the kids have created makes them marvel at nature. The school cafeteria provides mid-day meals - both traditional and continental fare. The Glendalites are taught basic cooking skills in school and they love to make different kinds of sandwiches in their exploratory lab.

The school has a large playground, a courtyard with a huge lawn and a gushing cascade and a serene atmosphere. No wonder students love the place so much. In this school, teachers are given as much scope to develop as children. There is a stock of imported teaching aids and resources that teachers can refer to upgrade their skills. No wonder the Glendalites love each moment of their learning experience.

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