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Keywords
Alternative school, arts, craft, music, rural, primary, upper primary
Geographical Location
Mysore, Karnataka
Languages
Kannada, English
Philosophy/Beliefs
The Poorna Pragnya Shishu Vihar at Alanahalli in Mysore is better known as Tarakka's school. Tara Gopinath, her sister, Malathi, and a friend pooled in their resources and started a school to cater to education of needy children in their neighborhood, in 1984.
The name Poorna Pragnya signifies all round development to children. The school gives a lot of importance to self-development and individual skills. The school stresses good teacher-child relationships. Tara Gopinath, who has been through the formal education system herself as a teacher, received training Malathi of Vikasana and David Horsborough.
Work Description
Poorna Pragnya started with only 17 children to give them what they liked to learn while ensuring joyful methods of teaching in subjects including music, dancing, pottery, gardening, a variety of cultural programs and exposure trips outside the school. The students range in age from four to fifteen and study in groups. Each study group is comprised of seven to eight students. There are a total of 31 students and 4 teachers currently.
Fine motor skills development is given importance in the beginning years. The school doesn’t pressurize to immediately learn reading or writing sentences. Instead art work like using crayons, clay activities are emphasized. This helps in color identification, hand and eye coordination and finger movements. The process of what they do, how they do, what the model is used for – is what is given importance, not the end result. Creativity is encouraged and music is given lot of importance. Learning gradually happens naturally in this environment. Language development is encouraged via flash cards. Letters are introduced via phonetic sounds instead of alphabets. Activities and games are used regularly to encourage joyful learning.
Once language development is underway, the children read books themselves and answer their own queries. The teachers are just guides. If there are any mistakes, the teacher helps in clarifying. A lot of importance is given to self-learning. Reference books are also available. To encourage self-learning we have our own books to guide the child. The regular government syllabus is introduced only when the student is mentally prepared.
Contact Information
Mrs. Tara Gopinath
404, Alanahalli
Lalithadripuram Post
Mysore, Karnataka 560011
Phone: 0821-2471569
Website Links
Presentation at January 2003 Conference