Sri Ramacharan Charitable Trust is proud to announce that it has successfully completed one year since the implementation of the Montessori Method of education in the KG sections of the Corporation School at Mylapore. The members of the Trust are extremely grateful for the financial support of Child Vikaas International in this revolutionary charitable venture. Although the project of introducing the Montessori System in The KG sections of the Corporation School at Mylapore was started on a note of diffidence and trepidation it has since proved to be a very viable and successful endeavour.
The progress and events of the academic year 2005-2006 are briefly sketched below. Photos can be viewed at http://photos.yahoo.com/nithyavmr. A short film on the project has been sent by post.
Materials
The teachers purchased only the very basic material in the beginning being doubtful themselves of how the children would respond to this new system. But, the children took up to the system beautifully. New Wave, a company based in Kolkata was identified and approached for supply of low cost Montessori materials. Slowly and steadily materials were accumulated keeping pace with the progress of the children and today we are proud to say we have almost the entire set of Montessori Materials, although there is no limit to the amount of material that can be purchased/ prepared and presented to the children. Their capacity to gather information and form impressions is tremendous and it is in our hands to provide as rich an experience/environment as possible for their absorption.
Assisting Staff
At the outset the corporation staff were not too pleased with our interference in the existing set up. The trust teachers even felt that they were being ridiculed behind their backs about the new system. It took much persuasion to get permission to unite the LKG and UKG into a mixed age group. However, it did not take long for the corporation staff to accept the Trust staff into their fold. In fact the corporation staff have grown to love the new system and are whole heartedly supportive.
Cleanliness and orderliness
The Trust teachers with persistent efforts have been successful in maintaining clean and orderly classrooms. The restrooms are also kept washed and clean always. The Trust is giving the ayahs a small allowance to ensure and appreciate their support in this effort.
Even the children are having a bath everyday and coming neatly dressed.
Visitors
We have had a stream of visitors starting with Mr.Bharath from Child Vikaas International (CVI), who came as early as July 2005, when the project was just a month old. Ever since there have been several visitors including Mr.Rajagopal also from CVI, Mr.Balaji, Chief Coordinator, AID INDIA, Tamilnadu, Aruna, from UNICEF and several other visitors. All the students from The Centre for Montessori Training, Chennai came for observation. They were very impressed with how successfully the system has been implemented. They thought the effort of the teachers is commendable. Many of them were moved by the good work being done for the under privileged children and have given in their resumes to the Trust! Everybody without exclusion has given us a very positive feedback.
The most noteworthy visit of course has been the visit of the Chennai Corporation Commissioner Mr. M.P. Vijayakumar, in January 2006. His visit proved to be a turning point. He was extremely impressed with the work being done and has asked the Trust to extend the work to all the corporation schools. He assured support from his side in providing the necessary infrastructure. On his orders the Corporation School at Mylapore has got a face lift. The school has been painted, toilets tiled, the play-area rejuvenated with fresh new sand and drainage problems have been rectified.
Parent Meetings and Views
The teachers conducted two parent- teacher meetings to explain to the parents the essence of the Montessori System. In the first meeting held in September 2005 Ms Uma Shanker, an authority on the Montessori Method was invited to speak to the parents and she spoke about the basic tenets of the system. In the second meeting held in March 2006, a more elaborate presentation cum demonstration was done in each and every aspect of the Montessori Method. The parents were educated on how Math and Language are presented to the children, with demonstrations by children using the material. After this meeting, in the course of the following two months the teachers met the parents of each and every child individually. Feedback was given on the progress of the child and parents were also asked to give their feedback about the Montessori Method. The comments of teachers on each and every child and the comments of each and every parent have been recorded.
Initially many parents were worried that we were not giving writing to the children. They even wanted us to give home-work! We have explained to the parents that writing is given a little later when the child is ready for it. There is much preparation to be done before the child is introduced to writing. Today many children are writing and most parents are now convinced that writing will happen naturally and that the child must never be forced to write before he is ready for it.
All parents without exclusion have commented on the refinement in the manner and behaviour of their child. They have said that their children have become calmer, more orderly and expect orderliness even in their homes.
Children
Contrary to the expectations of the Trust and the teachers the children have settled into the new system beautifully and have progressed tremendously
The number on roll has reached an all time high of 66. There are 2 environments each having 33 children. Dropout rate has drastically come down. Only a few children left because they were moving out of Chennai. There was almost full attendance on all days.
The children have developed a taste for constructive work. They do not want to sleep in the afternoons. More importantly they are happy to come to school as school interests them and they enjoy the freedom and the respect for individuality that is given.
They have become more refined and cultured in their ways. They have absorbed etiquette and good habits and social behaviour and above all they care about personal hygiene and care for the environment around them too.
A lot of learning has taken place in all areas. The teachers have proudly reported that a few children are even doing multiplication and mental math in basic addition.
The progress in Language has been slow. Only a few have progressed to the level of building and reading words phonetically. However a lot of English has been introduced and today the children know names of vegetables, animals etc only in English!! Nouns, action words and prepositions have been introduced. Yet children are unable to talk full sentences in English though they understand. There is bound to be more progress next year with more exposure to the language.
The children have shown keen interest in the areas of Science and Geography and involve themselves enthusiastically as the matter is presented attractively.
Celebrations
Independence Day was celebrated by flag hoisting and cultural programmes by the entire school. Krishna Jayanthi, Saraswathi Pooja, Pongal and Christmas were celebrated exclusively in the KG sections in the traditional way and the children were told about the significance of these festivals.
The children along with their mothers were taken on an excursion to the Children's Park (zoo) on March 10th. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience for the teachers, parents and the children.
Annual Day was celebrated on March 17th, and the KG children staged a show too. Gifts were distributed to the children.
The Trust staff and the Corporation staff went on a staff picnic in the month of December and have organized several staff get-togethers that have served to increase the camaraderie among the staff.
Birthdays of all staff members were celebrated in the school along with the children by cutting and sharing cake. Expenses were pooled by the staff.
Scholarships
The Trust was able to procure scholarships for 5 deserving students to help them pursue their studies in good English medium schools in the vicinity.
Publicity
The project has been receiving a lot of attention lately. As mentioned earlier, there have been numerous visitors to the school who have appreciated the work being done. Articles have come in the newspapers on various occasions. The first article appeared in The Hindu on February 26 th. Other articles have appeared in The Hindu on April 2nd and April 3rd and in the Indian Express on April 3rd and April 14th. The reports have been scanned and attached herewith
On the whole the project has been successful, fruitful and has brought about a lot of good feeling.