Visiting Sundaravanam

The first day of the conference also included a field visit by the delegates to Sundaravanam, one of the seven satellite schools of Rishi Valley. The school was funded by a private German foundation, built on the land donated by the local community and is sustained by their active participation in its running.

As the MGML World Conference delegation arrived, they found the students grouped around four tables busily pursuing their various activities. The delegation observed the learning sessions that were in progress and spend time exploring the place. The school is made up of 38 students belonging to grades 1 through 5, whose learning is facilitated by 2 teachers. Originally a one-room school, it was upgraded to include two more rooms to be used as classrooms, with the old room serving as storage space for the students' art projects. 

Later, an engaging set of discussions took place in the old classroom on subjects ranging from the introduction and implementation of the MGML method in Government schools in Gujarat to questions surrounding the administration of the Right To Education Act and the responsibility of the state in providing education. The role of the private schools in the present educational scenario and the use of technology to motivate learning by creating a database that would ensure the availability of offline reading material and the possibility of gauging it periodically online were also discussed in great detail. The discussion was deferred as the delegates were invited to watch a puppet show staged by some of the students of the school.

As the bus carrying the delegation pulled out of Sundaravanam, the mid-day meal for the children- rice and lentils with okra- was being prepared by a parent from the village nearby, a member of the community that helped build the school. The smell of this meal wafts around the school as a symbol of the wonderful relationship around learning blossoms and flowers, just as Thomas Mueller mentioned in his welcome address!