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❝Education system in India gives more credit to the theory and result, than a very practical way of teaching. Influenced by the theories of Jean Piaget, Kausalya Srivasan found in 1992 the Akshara School in Madurai. A new way of teaching using activities and new technology started in Madurai, but she did not reckon with the power cut. Reportage.
By travelling some few kilometers out of Madurai, we enter in rural area. On the middle of nowhere, surrounded by the road and few houses, there is Akshara School, a great institution with its unique way of pedagogy.
All we learn is tolerance
In the entrance, a class is sitting with their book on their lap, waiting the next instruction of an authoritative teacher. On a first blush, the scene looks like any other class of any other school. Though, in Akshara, no brutality even any kinds of violence are made to the children. No, in this school we learn to follow the child development, the development of all children.
While cutting us from our thought, R. Prabha, a teacher in Akshara appears suddenly, asking us to follow her on a “special class”. Although, there child looks like any other child in the school, sitting and doing their work seriously. Hence, what is the “special class”? Coming from different part of Tamil Nadu, [South India], some of them are suffering from dyslexia, others were diagnosed with autism. “This young boy comes from Chennai. He was on a regular class, and finished his first standard, but teacher came to know that her mother was actually preparing questions paper, and writing examination for him. Now, he just started to understand words and sentence.” Mrs Prabha explains.
Akshara is the only school on this area to accept child facing such a kind of difficulties from various part of Tamil Nadu. Students are step by step joining the common level but there is no question of mark on this class, explains Mrs Prabha: “There is no expectation from the child, and also no comparison as it is only provocating stress to the parent as they think ‘why my child is different?’. It’s difficult to accept from parents, on the mean time child need lot of support from their parent.”