Some good Schools

Viraj Naidoo takes a few of the participants of the PGS retreat 2017 on an interactive tour of PGS. He explains what makes PGS different from other schools. It turns into an open and honest discussion of the philosophy of PGS. He stresses that in PGS, students are encouraged to explore, think for themselves, learn and grow into fine, sensitive and aware human beings. Some of the highlights of the delightful interaction between Mr.Viraj Naidoo and the PGS retreat participants are; 1) Teacher:Student ration - less than 1:4 2) Open air classrooms - studies under the trees depending on the lessons 3) Weekly compulsory reading hour when everyone on the campus is reading - a rarity indeed 4) No uniform - dress code for the students decided by the students 5) PGS was started by Sri M in 2006 6) No exams till Std 8 7) Cell phones and electronic gadgets not allowed 8) Computer usage by students allowed only for research, always monitored by a teacher. The need for the computer usage always questioned so that it's fruitfully utilized. 9) New students made to feel at home by older students 10) Students encouraged to write and post articles on the bulletin board 11) Bird watching treks 12) Overnight camps in the hills for the older students

In this interaction with the students and teachers of The Peepal Grove School, Sri M addresses questions around the ease and complexity of comprehending the Upanishads and exposure to the Upanishads in schools.

Pictures of the building of Mirambika Free Progress school in New Delhi. This seems to be an ideal building architecture for a SoM school/college. It is closed enough to protect students from the sun and at the same time, it is open enough to connect students to the surrounding nature. One drawback is that dust, insects, and extreme temperatures could be a real problem. But the school has used this building for more than 20 years near IIT Delhi.

A detailed study on how Mirambika Free Progress School works on day to day basis. For SoM, there are many great learnings from this book. How Mirambika handles Project Based Learning is the greatest takeaway from this. Also, student-teacher relationship, teacher training, and how the whole school functions, are the other takeaways.