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Keywords
Alternative School, Rural, Language, Glenn Doman, Primary, Elementary, Flash Cards, Environmental Sciences, EVS, Social Sciences
Geographical Location
Kumbakonam District, Tamilnadu
Languages
Tamil, Marathi, Hindi, English
Philosophy/Beliefs
We believe that education is the process by which centuries of knowledge and wisdom can be transferred in the shortest possible way to the next generation. Training of the senses is important for learning and assimilating data and information, which then leads to knowledge and wisdom. Our belief on physical education comes from that of Glenn Doman, from Philadelphia, who bases the entire growth of the child on growth of brain which starts from cord to the cortex. The most important aspect of the approach of education provided at Shikshyatan is the attitude of the teacher, which is that learning is a form of play that fosters the blossoming of the child's natural development. Learning can be made interesting, enjoyable and fun. A large portion of the teaching materials are produced at the school by the teachers, who customize their teaching aids to suit the interests and knowledge levels of the students.
Objective/Mission/Goals
The Anugriha Charitable Trust was established in 1993 by Mrs Aruna Raghavan and Mr.M.R. Raghavan with the intention of evolving and demonstrating alternative educational methods in India. In 1992 they established a primary school at Arasavanangkadu, a village of 1500 people situated ten kilometers from Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu. The school, named Shikshayatan, started in mid-1994 with 15 children aged 3 to 3 1/2 years to the first class and now has over 100 children.
Work Description
First attention is given to the health and nutrition of the children to ensure that they have the physical energy and natural attention span needed for learning. Nutritional and medical supplements are provided to under nourished children from low-income families. Exercising and play are encouraged to build strength and stamina.
Children learn spontaneously when their interest and curiosity are awakened. 'Teaching' is confined to brief periods according to the natural attention span of each child, which is normally 15-30 minutes daily during the first two years. It is never extended beyond the child's span of interest. The student-teacher ratio is kept very low to enable the teacher to work with small groups of 4-5 children at a time while the others are absorbed in learning games or recreational play.
The act of teaching consists primarily of presenting sensory images, objects and information to the child in a pleasant and interesting manner and permitting the child to observe and inquire about the subject, without compelling the child to memorize. Coloured flash cards with large images are utilized as convenient, low cost teaching aids.
Rapid acquisition of basic reading and verbal skills in multiple languages occurs naturally by exposing the child to whole words as objects repetitively for very brief periods. In this manner, at a young age, even children of illiterate parents learn several languages as effortlessly as they normally learn to speak their native tongue. Story telling is used to make learning fun and to communicate basic values of goodness, beauty, harmony, responsibility and right conduct. Information on people and other living things, places, history, geography, and other cultures are presented to the child in the form of stories, pictorial information and explanations combined together to present facts in a living, integrated context rather than as a series of separate divorced subjects. Rapid acquisition of basic math skills is achieved through the use of number line method, which enables the child to physically experiment and act out different combinations of addition and subtraction.
Resources Available
Workshops and Training on the Glenn Doman Method
Contact Information
Aruna and Raghavan
Anugriha Charitable Trust
3/31 Anugriha
Arasavangkadu, via Sembangudi P.O.
NQM District, Tamil Nadu - 612 603
Phone: 04362-269478
Website Links
Description of the Glenn Doman Method
Minutes from the Jan 2003 conference
Developing Your Child's Senses - Article from Revive 2003
Integrate Learning - Article from Revive 2003