https://csim.in/conversations/Conversations-April2013.pdf

Ashwita, 4, was playing with her toys that was scattered all over the room. While her mother was busy preparing the Sunday lunch, her father Ramu gave her company.

“Appa, why is school closed on Sunday?” she asked.

Bemused by her question, Ramu replied saying, “Because, you should be at home, at least twice a week, to play with us.”

The reply did not comfort Ashwita, and she continued to play with her toys.

Like Ashwita, there were many more children who raised similar questions to their parents as they were feeling bored staying at home during weekends.

Ashwita studies at the Montessori section in Chennai School run by Chennai Corporation at Saidapet. In the recent past, this school has gained much recognition amongst others as it was the first amongst the other schools run by Chennai Corporation to introduce the Montessori system for the underprivileged children free of cost. Following this, the Chennai Corporation started nursery classes in 40 schools in the city.

About 160 children study in the nursery section at the elementary school and they all come from varied socio-economic backgrounds.While the school infrastructure has been provided by Chennai Corporation, Sri Ramacharan Charitable Trust provides Montessori education for children aged between 3 to 6 years free of cost.

Sri Ramacharan Charitable Trust was founded by a group of women headed by Smt. Padmini Gopalan in 1999 with the purpose of providing quality education to underprivileged children.

The Trust sources funds from individual donors and provides Montessori training for teachers. They also bear the salary costs for 11 teachers who are employed in the Chennai School at Saidapet and provide all the required learning materials for the school.

One has to see to believe! So, when Latha and I heard about this school, we decided to spend a day with the children, parents, and teachers to learn what was different and interesting for the children here.

We first met about 30 parents of these children who were assembled for the monthly meeting in the school premise. They had arrived ahead of time and welcomed us warmly. Our impression that only families belonging to the low income group would educate their children here was wrong.

“When I re-located to Chennai, I spend considerable time researching about schools in the city. I found this school way better than the others, and so decided to educate my daughter here,” said Archana, an employee of Cognizant Technology Solutions.

While some parents were proudly sharing anecdotes about their children, few were getting excited and not waiting for their turn to speak.

“My daughter said that she will not play with me when I return home, if I did not come to her school today.That’s why I am here now.Although her mother was free, she insisted that I attend this meeting. I am happy that I am here for her sake,” said Nathan, Raji’s father.

Following Nathan’s statement, there was a chorus from other parents stating similar reasons.

When we asked the parents what was interesting in this school, prompt came their responses. “My daughter Shobha keeps the house very clean. She will not allow even a paper to be strewn on the floor. She knows how to cut vegetables and handles the knife like a pro. I am happy that I enrolled her in this school. The school teaches my child everything,” said Usha, who works as a domestic maid.

“Anu, my daughter is the first to have her bath at home. She insists that I drop her at school, and because of her I am early to work,” said Shekar, a mechanic.

“Balaji, my son, never uses his shirt to wipe his running nose. He waits and asks me to get him a handkerchief. He also tells me to close my mouth when I yawn or sneeze,” said a proud Uma.

Latha and I were overwhelmed hearing their comments and exchanged smiles.The discipline of the children and the cleanliness of the classrooms were extraordinary.

Jayanthi Karthikeyan, Trustee of Sri Ramacharan Charitable Trust joined us in our discussion.

“We select only teachers who have a passion to teach the underprivileged children. Although they are offered lesser salary when compared to the government paid teachers, they have shown much interest and satisfaction working here,” said Jayanthi.

After spending about an hour with the parents, we went around the school visiting the nursery classes where Montessori Method was adopted.

In one of the classrooms, Miss Prema was seated amidst six to seven children. She was teaching Shanti how to write the letter ‘ka’ in Tamil by gently holding her hand and tracing the letter. While she was teaching, the other children were observing her quietly. Our presence did not seem to distract either of them.

As lunch time neared, the children were getting ready to return home, and were organising the play materials back into the respective racks. While Jothika was sweeping the room with a tiny broom stick, Sapna was holding the dust pan for her. They all seemed like adults, independent and efficient.

We lost track of time while clicking pictures and headed back home with a heavy heart that we missed educating our children here