Alternative Schools - Poorna Pragnya

The Poorna Pragnya Shishu Vihar at Alanahalli in Mysore is better known as Tarakka's school.  Tara Gopinath, her sister, Malathi, and a friend pooled in their resources and started a school to cater to education of needy children in their neighbourhood.

Tarakka's school follows its own syllabus. The students range in age from four to fifteen and all study in groups. Each study group is comprised of seven to eight students. The regular government syllabus is introduced only when the student is mentally prepared. Even then the subjects are treated as simple stories. There are a total of 31 students and 4 teachers.

Educational Philosophy (Presentation by Tara Gopinath)

Ours is a non formal school. We have been working for the past 19 years. The name Poorna Pragnya is kept to give all round development to children.  One of the songs we sing in school is ‘Sahana Vavatu” which translates to mean that we the teachers are guides and the children and teachers both work together. This leads to a light which is actually peace. Prior to Poorna Pragnya I was working in formal schools for 12-16 years. Even though the committee and parents may have considered me a good teacher, I was not comfortable with what to teach or how to teach. I was not very happy there. During this phase my own children studied in a school started by a great educationist David Horsboro. From there, I started thinking of how learning process takes place without much pressure and how parents can be happy with children – happiness is important.  Slowly I started teaching this way. In spite of this I wasn’t happy with this environment.  I decided to give time to where education is necessary. I first got training from Malathi who is with Vikasana (who happens to be my sister) and from David Horsboro. We started the center in the village with only 17 children from poor economic conditions who were interested in receiving quality education. We gave the children what they were interested and what they wanted. We ensured joyful methods of teaching and taught a range of subjects including music, dancing, pottery, gardening, a variety of cultural programs and exposure trips outside the school. Some children took 7^th and 10^th std exams when they were ready. Some moved on to the university, some of them took diplomas in computers. One of our students Manju is here and has finished her diploma and is working with SVYM as a teacher. Another student is pursuing a degree in an arts college. After all these years we continue to feel that education should be joyful and for happiness. They should live their lives happily. Lot of importance should given for the self development of a child and individuality.  We had a school reunion where older students shared their happiness and (their feedback) how the school has helped them. They want to share it with fellow children and neighbours and want everyone to live happily. Mere economics status  is not necessary.  Schools like this should continue to guide children to live happy lives. Over the past two months the older students have been contacting past students of the school. They would like to re-iterate that it is possible for education to help children lead happy lives. They want parents to also accept this perspective and have been working towards this.

Lastly I would like to conclude saying that this education is continuing and people are accepting it.

 Educational Methodologies (Presentation by Manju – an ex-student of the school)

Tara akka introduced Manju, who was a student of the school. Manju is now working in SVYM using the methods she learnt through at Poorna Pragnya. Manju will make the presentation in Kannada and English. Our emphasis is a very good relationship with the children. We don’t feel the difference that we are teachers and they are children. We don’t have a formal chair and table for teachers. We have small desks and sit close to each other. The children call us akka (sister). We start the day with “Shuba Divasa”.  Manju will share her experiences about the methodology and what we do at school.

 Manju:

When I joined the school I was 3 and half years also. I had earlier joined the government school and was there only for 3 days. I had a lot of fear of roll calls and the schooling system.  My parents then looked around and felt more confident of the non-formal school that akka had started.  I started going to this school. When I entered the school I found the relationship between the children and teacher was very close. Calling our teachers akka removed the formality and made us closer. These things help in removal of fear.

In the beginning years, there is importance given to the development of fine motor skills. There is no pressure to immediately learn reading or writing sentences. Instead art work like using crayons, clay activities are emphasized. This helps in color identification, hand and eye coordination and finger movements. We were not taught what objects to make or draw. We just started making whatever objects we were familiar with. Our creativity is encouraged. Music is given lot of importance. Learning gradually happens naturally in this environment.

 When languages are taught, flash cards are used. In the beginning pictures are shown to the children. Familiar words are then shown using flash cards. English and Kannada are both taught at the same time and using the same methods. Everything is introduced as a game. Letters are not introduced in the beginning as alphabets. They are introduced using phonetic sounds. This way the relationship between letters and the sound of words becomes clearer. Capital letters are not introduced in the beginning. Only small letters are introduced and once all these can be identified we move on to capital letters. For identifying small letters, we use a game of bingo cards. There is a matrix of 6 letters in one card and each child is given one card. One person reads out random letters and the children are supposed to identify them in her card. Once all the letters have been covered by one child, he/she says bingo. And the game is over. We also use connecting cards – where words and pictures are to be matched to associate words and pictures. We use other games like dominos, pelvinism, etc in our learning. These are methods used for beginners. We also use a fishing game. Whatever we want to teach the child – we keep them in a pond. We give the children fishing rods and ask them to pick the correct number or alphabet or whatever we are teaching them.

 We try to make sure the children are very comfortable with languages. For the higher primary, once the language reading is well versed, the children can read books themselves and answer the questions. The teachers are just guides. If there are any mistakes, the teacher will help in clarifying. There is lot of importance given to self-learning. This is from class 1-5. Reference books are also available. To encourage self learning we have our own books that guide the child. A lot of importance for art and craft work is given. In everything we do the end model is not important. The process – what they do, how they do, what is the model used for – is what is given importance. Lot of gardening, music, cultural activities are integral to the curriculum. Music is taught. Songs are sung in all languages.  Every one sings. This helps in removing any fear.

 After learning from akka I am now working with SVYM. They also really believe in these methods and I am able to continue with my work there.

 Ques: What is the teacher, student ratio?

The teacher – student ratio in our school is 1:7. In the case of more children and fewer teachers, the older children help the younger children. The older children also learn and relearn what they learnt and this builds their confidence.

Contact Information  

Mrs.Tara Gopinath
144/2, Alanahally
Lalithadripuram Post, Mysore
Email: tara_champu@yahoo.com

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