Vijay Singh
New Delhi [India], January 6: Not all schools can attain success in terms of marks and ranks. Success is also identified in confidence, curiosity and student capability to think independently at the Mount Zion School in Sikkim. The school has gradually developed a learning environment that is oriented towards actual knowledge and life preparation.
The development of the school represents a definite opinion that the school should be relevant to the everyday life of a child. The school, under the chairmanship of Sony Virdi, discarded the inflexible teaching methods and strived to make the process of learning more practical and interesting.
And the introduction of the Play Way method was a significant step along this path. As compared to the memorisation of the lessons, students started to learn in the form of activities, interaction and exploration. Teachers noticed the increased involvement and the understanding, in particular among younger students.
Mount Zion School took a progressive step and adopted the use of tablets in the classrooms under chairman Sony Virdi, which were previously unavailable in the region. This transformation assisted students in becoming conversant with technology at an early age. Electronic learning aids facilitated the interactivity of the lessons and their interest to learn; students were permitted to research on their own.
Another area that the school emphasised was equipping children with skills that would help them to face their adult lives. Financial literacy and entrepreneurship made students have knowledge about money and decision-making. Sports and life skills assisted in teamwork, discipline and communication. The parents commonly observed some positive changes in the way the children talked and the way they managed their duties.
The other characterising attribute of the school is the Green Campus. The project will also establish a culture in which sustainability will be the norm in everyday learning. There were difficulties associated with the construction of such a campus, such as landslides and delays. Nevertheless, the project is pursued with perseverance.
Mount Zion School is one of the examples of balanced education in Sikkim nowadays. Its story emphasises the role of intelligent leadership and child-centred planning in the development of schools that help children not only pass exams, but also become better people.
