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| Life's
first audition, with a difference! |
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Life's first audition is different
at Gurukul! Here the tiny tots,  instead
of being bogged down by interviews, just walk
in after their parents complete the necessary
formalities. No apprehension for the child or
the parents! Started in 1996, the uncommonness
of the school is its structure. It's neither in
a building nor in the open. It's in a train! Unbelievable
but true!
Excerpts from Poonabest's interview with Ms
Bhave, the principal of Gurukul:
Why this concept of a train?
"The idea cropped up because of the shape
of the land that was available. This place was
one of the less salubrious places of the city.
The land was very soggy and marshy and a concrete
building could not be erected. Also, we were not
very well funded then. In fact, we bought this
train in an auction organised by the government,
and brought it here by road!
What teaching strategies have you adopted?
We believe in letting the students learn their
way. There  are
open sessions, project works and the like. To
acquire information about these, they have to
sometimes surf the net, refer to books from the
British Library. This gives them enough exposure
to the outside world. Eighth
standard upwards, the school follows the syllabus
laid down by the Central Board of Secondary Education,
Delhi.
How do you assess the students?
We appraise the students' work not by marks but
by their creativity! There are various subjects
besides Math and English - like cooking, stitching
and appliqué. Through these subjects, their talent
and dexterity can be judged! Then there are presentations
which help them in public speaking.
With the uniform worn only on two days, how
do you maintain the decorum of the school?
According to us, uniform restricts
the child from expressing himself/herself fully.
Dressing up is one aspect of expression and giving
them the freedom is very important, especially
in the formative years!
What makes your school so different?
From breakfast to supper; from
attention to care, we provide the children with
everything! They love to be with us and school
is a pleasant experience for them rather than
being a compulsion!
Encouraging proactive attitude. . .
These are days of nuclear families, and with
both parents working, children might get neglected.
And it is very essential to give them prime attention
when they need it. Otherwise, with overbearing
teachers even in school, the children really get
very suppressed and sometimes develop a complex.
To maintain a better child-teacher relationship,
we have kept the strength of each class limited
to 35 seats. We strive towards achieving a healthy
student-teacher-parent relationship.
Address: Range Hills Road, Behind
Ashok Nagar, Pune 411 007 Phone: 553
7421
- Vaishali Deshpande
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