Learning begins from playing 

quintessentially school about ‘The School’, like the  little plastic pool set in the front entrance where kids frolic mindlessly. A teacher looks on as they splash water onto each other and soon all of them are drenched, their excitement palpable.  

The School, a pre-school and kindergarten started by Murdoch University  former lecturer Aji Divakar and his Singapore-based wife at  rural Paravoor is mainly about such moments and  learning here begins from playing. Their aim is simple: create genius minds.

Sans classrooms, desk-chairs and blackboards, kids here huddle around their  teacher (or facilitators as they are called here), learning things. While a few comfortably lie on the floor scribbling words, others take quick play  breaks before rushing back to their teacher. Most of them are below four and  display reading and writing skills beyond their age.

The start
It was in 2014 that Aji Divakar and his Singapore-based wife Chiek Chin Shyan flew down with their two kids to Paravoor. The dream of ‘The School’  where an alternative system of education will be practiced had taken wings long before that. By 2015, ‘The School’ began its operations for pre-schoolers and LKG with eight students.

“In 2010, our dream of a school, where an alternative approach will be practiced, took wings. So, I began saving  money and constucted the building.  We were adamant that there will be no classrooms or classes as such. Every child will be given a training that suits his or her caliber. Basically, our focus is on peer-to-peer learning,” says Aji Divakar. His wife Shyan trains the kids too.  

 
Aji says over the years, he has found the traditional education system futile. “What I follow in The School is a combination of Steiner and Montessori system where children are encouraged to be intelligent thinkers,” says Aji.

However, thinks weren’t easy. Following alternative education system meant challenges galore. Parent’s needed to be convinced. But, once results were seen, more parents approached them. Today, there are over 40 children at ‘The School’.

SOURCE:http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/2016/dec/28/learning-begins-from-playing-1553938--1.html