The schools have only shifted places but have not made a shift in their approach to educating children. In this land, early schools were in the form of Gurukul, where children pursued their dreams and interests in their own way with a guidance of a teacher known as ‘Guru’ establishing a well-knit society of learned scholars creating a fabric of unity that was thick and beyond any social destruction. The advent of English as a medium of instruction with the start of the British rule completely eradicated the existence of Gurukulams and replaced them with schools of British Boards.
These schools were having a British prescribed curriculum that was more theory oriented and also had examinations as means of evaluating the progress of the students. Every subject has their own books that was compiled according to the grades that were categorized on the basis of the ages of the students. This was also the advent of teacher centered education which also created programs for training of teachers according to the British standards. The schools became another place where students learnt subjects only from books with limited source of information, obstructing their creativity.
The need for a change in the system of education has been felt for a long time and an alternate concrete learning platform has been elusive from the think tank committees that comprise the education boards. The learning of students in the traditional schools has reached a point of saturation that has rendered children completely ineffective of performing innovative tasks which is now beyond even their simplest of imaginations. This and other anomalies present in the modern day schools have to be eliminated for a refreshing education to take hold in which the children will find joy in learning.
The Montessori Method of Gardenia reaches out to these difficulties in the children’s learning process by its principles in laying the foundation for a new type of schooling sans classrooms, blackboards and teacher centric approach. The holistic development of the child is the formation mantra of Gardenia and also accords the greatest of respect to the activities of the child and its needs. The concrete learning which forms the spine of the Montessori stream on which Gardenia runs, is proved to be the best form of learning. Bonding with nature and its elements, absorbing their presence and their role in our daily life, learning the art of co-existence with the treasures of nature and fellow humans are some of the greatest virtues that are inculcated in this new type of schooling.
All these activities are centered on the unfolding of the true potential of the child without disturbing their independent nature or innovative intellectual development. This new type of schooling which follows the Montessori philosophies to the core will undoubtedly change the face of the Indian societies to be able to accommodate changes, appreciate accomplishments, discourage the exposure of weakness and strengthen the dynamic intellectual flow of every individual.
The advent of this type of schooling will usher in a rejuvenating era in the education system of the country, setting benchmarks that will be par excellence setting new heights of achievements in the international recognition of quality education. The new type of schooling will really bring in the joyous and intrinsically satisfied atmosphere into the schools of new era.