School
as the Cultural Heart of the Town
Major
Rajesh Ranjit and his wife Nisha have joined Pushp
Niketan as the new principal and curriculum coordinator,
respectively.
Short
service commission in the Indian Army, STINTS AT ‘five
star’ schools in Bangalore and Delhi. How did Dhampur
happen?
 We
both have a background in alternative education, Nisha
was teaching at a progressive school called TVS academy
in Tumkur, near Bangalore. The other stints were for
experience and exposure. The long-term plan was always
to get back into meaningful grass-root level education.
The Pushp Niketan assignment is a dream come true.
What
do you both aspire to do with the school?
We
plan to bring in high-quality thematic/ inquiry based,
child-centered education methodologies to small towns
and rural settings. Pushp Niketan would be our pilot
venture.
You
have been here for a month now. What does it feel like?
It
feels like we have been here a lot longer. Things and
people seem so familiar. It’s amazing to work in a
small set-up where there is so little beaureaucracy
involved. There are nine teachers here apart from Nisha
and I, and we work in school all day, take a short break
in the afternoon, and get back together to talk about
school again. No one treats it like a job!
The
place is abuzz with activity…
Yes.
We have a cultural program here tonight. A dance recital
by Nisha and a sitar performance by some musician
friends from Delhi. The event is open to parents and the
public. We plan to do these things as often as we can.
Is
it to expose the public to new art forms?
Not
just that. It’s also to create a feeling of
camaraderie and oneness with the school amongst more
people than just the children who come here in the day
time. We would like the school to be like the cultural
heart of the town, where everyone comes together.
What
ARE the immediate challengeS in front of you?
Striking
a balance between providing children with an education
that is progressive even as it enables them to take on
real-life challenges. Not everyone comes from a wealthy
home with a family business to fall back on. These
children are going to have to go and take common
entrance exams and compete with children from mainstream
schools for seats in professional colleges. They need to
be ready for that, and we owe that much to the parents.
On
the administrative front, we are planning to convert the
old godown next to the school into a residential
facility for students who have to travel large distances
to get to school.
How
do you plan to address the need for teachers familiar
with enquiry-based learning? And what about teacher
development?
We
have initiated a small-scale training institute with a
view to induct local teachers into the school. Also in
the pipeline is a small-scale English institute, and a
resource pool of people who will visit Dhampur to
conduct workshops and share expertise. We’d like them
to meet as many people from outside Dhampur as possible!
n
|
