The parents very particular, they have high standards!
They insist we only hire teachers (junior teachers) who graduated from high school. That is hard to find! Only 1/3 of India's children pass on to secondary school, and most of those cannot pass the final exams.
So, despite being illiterate for the most part, the parents want only the most qualified teachers.
The second demand from the parents is for strict discipline; this means corporal punishment. Back in 2005, on the very first day of school, the parents requested we use corporal punishment. No, no, no is always our answer.
Even after two+ years, the parents are completely convinced we need to use "the stick." It comes up at EVERY parents' meeting. Finally, one parent took matters into his own hands. He brought us a huge bunch of palm tree branches, stripped down into lovely "sticks," he was more than happy to provide us with loads of sticks for the next few years.
We all had a good laugh! And threw them all away.
We are convinced that child-centered teaching methods leads to children that are happy, relaxed, and engaged in learning. Happy kids are easy to teach; they are calm and focused, just like Marie Montessori described in her first studies so long ago in Rome.
Below is an picture of the "bridge classroom" children (migrants who come to the slum for less than six months, usually without prior schooling). The children are learning about plants by collecting specimens from around the school and then making presentations to explain to the class.
They insist we only hire teachers (junior teachers) who graduated from high school. That is hard to find! Only 1/3 of India's children pass on to secondary school, and most of those cannot pass the final exams.
So, despite being illiterate for the most part, the parents want only the most qualified teachers.
The second demand from the parents is for strict discipline; this means corporal punishment. Back in 2005, on the very first day of school, the parents requested we use corporal punishment. No, no, no is always our answer.
Even after two+ years, the parents are completely convinced we need to use "the stick." It comes up at EVERY parents' meeting. Finally, one parent took matters into his own hands. He brought us a huge bunch of palm tree branches, stripped down into lovely "sticks," he was more than happy to provide us with loads of sticks for the next few years.
We all had a good laugh! And threw them all away.
We are convinced that child-centered teaching methods leads to children that are happy, relaxed, and engaged in learning. Happy kids are easy to teach; they are calm and focused, just like Marie Montessori described in her first studies so long ago in Rome.
Below is an picture of the "bridge classroom" children (migrants who come to the slum for less than six months, usually without prior schooling). The children are learning about plants by collecting specimens from around the school and then making presentations to explain to the class.
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