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Keywords
Alternative school, urban, mixed, language, peace, conflict resolution
Geographical Location
Bangalore, Karnataka
Languages
English, Kannada, Tamil
Philosophy/Beliefs
Poorna Learning Center began in 1993 when some parents felt that mainstream schooling was not giving their children what they needed. They felt that learning that didn't go beyond reading, writing and stuffing the children with mindless facts and did not help them to build a relationship and bonding with nature was having a detrimental effect on their development. Poorna Learning Center was an attempt to return to the basics where kids can explore and begin to understand the entire gamut of human existence. This attempt tried to bring meaning to the process of learning, especially de-linking it with the purely material gain end.
Now there are about 36 children coming from very mixed and culturally diverse family backgrounds such as farmers, NGOs, architects, software engineers, doctors, performing artistes, scientists, astronomers, technocrats, company executives, etc. There are also active and ongoing student exchange programs with tribal schools, village schools, etc. in order to enhance the child's ability to understand better the meaning and joy in the diversity of human existence.
Poorna aims at developing intellectual ability, values of compassion, humility and respect for each other, (respect for) earth, joyfulness and quest for excellence in whatever we do.
Poorna believes that working together without reference to boundaries of religion, language, caste, race, affluence, sex and skin color enhances better understanding of the human spirit. Built from low cost, recycled and waste material, the center attempts to bring back the joy of learning through a deeper bonding with nature and its processes.
Poorna’s working philosophy:
- Respect for every one.
- Enable everyone to develop inner harmony.
- Stress on self-learning (with the) child working at his/her own pace. (There is) not much imposition on curriculum, timetables etc. These are decided by sitting together and discussing what works and what does not.
- Unconditional acceptance of the child. We try to bring learning closer to lives of a child. We ensure that children have control over what they want to learn. They can choose what they want to learn.
- Scholastic needs of every child are understood by the teacher.
- Peaceful resolution of conflict
The school works in small group settings of 10-15 children. Communication skills through free interactions, free writing, story telling, free range of books, reading is emphasized in the area of language development,. Mathematics is treated as an adventure. Learning of science is seen as an experiential process. Creative activities are part of school and not considered extra curricular. The whole process of living, learning and being together is integrated.
Lot of time and thought goes into conflict resolution. Whenever groups of people are working together, there are bound to be conflicts. Poorna has a clear policy against verbal, physical or emotional violence of any sort. Conflicts are usually resolved through dialogue. Interactive conflict resolution and self-esteem building sessions have become a part of the routine of the school. No formal religion is taught in school. Children are encouraged to explore about various aspects of religion. Poorna doesn’t encourage casual comments based on religion, gender and caste to pass unchallenged. The most important thing a school should do is develop inter and intra personal harmony. The school believes that effective education needs to be holistic – activities with head, heart and hand have to be addressed.
Children are enrolled from the age of three and are given the freedom to explore and develop. The school has developed many innovative methods and teaching aids appropriate to the age and abilities of the students. The learning aids are used in games and often in a self directed manner by the students. Activities around language development, music, art, science, math and conflict resolution are some of the key areas of concentration at the school.
Contact Information
Indira Vijaysimha
Poorna
Kodigehalli Main Road,
Next to Sterling Apartments
Sahakaranagar,
Bangalore
Phone : 9886233471, 080-23620364
Email: indira502 at hotmail dot com
Website Links
Poorna Learning Centre
Presentation at January 2003 conference