Best School in Gurgaon, Shikshantar School

Open and inclusive spaces that reflect openness to learning.

Enduring respect for children as thinkers and explorers.

Structures and processes ‘led’ by children, experiential education, collaborative work and skilful feedback.

Choices with a purpose that define children as individuals far more than their abilities.

VISION/ PHILOSOPHY

We believe all beings inherently love to learn. Children learn by sharing their discoveries with each other, their teachers and parents.

The vision of the school is to create and nurture a learning community of students, teachers and parents – a community that believes in the possibility of progressive development of children and adults through change in education. Each child is recognised for her own strengths, creating an environment free of judgement and conformity.

It’s a place where ‘I can be me’; true for a facilitator as much as for a student! Our Vision is to enable each child to develop a character that engages with the world with self-worth and acceptance of the other.

Drawing inspiration from the philosophy of Integral Education integration of physical, mental, social, emotional and psychic self of children is emphasised. We believe that acceptance of the self and conflict resolution through dialogue opens pathways to peace.

In the school children and facilitators are both learners; together they discover and construct knowledge. Collaboration is not limited amongst humans; we believe in co-existence and learning to live with and from Nature.

We believe in the philosophy of inclusion and facilitate an inclusive environment for children with varying abilities and from different socio-economic backgrounds.

Curricular Practices

Class– II Theme : Houses

During the nature walk in Shikshantar, children observed different types of houses that animals live in, such as ant hills, nests and beehive. Their curiosity arose as to know how are houses built and why. Looking around, they observed various buildings made up of different materials in different shapes and sizes. Children also interacted with their grandparents enquiring about the kind of houses they used to live in. They excitedly shared their observations and research with each other during the Circle Time. Out of school visit to the National Crafts Museum enriched children’s understanding about different types of houses and gave them a glimpse of how construction of houses depend upon weather and regional conditions and the landform/water bodies around them. Children came back with minute observations and logically reasoned the purpose of salient features of the houses such as slanting roof and stilts. Children;s senses came alive when they saw, touched and felt the coolness of the mud houses with folk arts depicted on the walls. Children’s imagination and curiosity took wings in the form of a creative write-up ‘मेरे सपनों का घर’ as all their dreams came true on paper. Finally, the children worked together and exchanged their innovative ideas to create 3D models of different types of Kuccha and Pucca houses. The aesthetic display of the houses near the fish pond area lent it a scenic charm. The theme culminated with an interactive quiz on the same with the children.

Coming together for each other Class-I

The theme ‘Coming together with family’ recently explored by Class I children created an opportunity to understand the different family structures around them. Children drew their family portraits which included their parents, grandparents, pets, didis and bhaiyas. Through guided visualization, children reminisced about the meaningful time spent with their family that filled their heart with joy. It was a delight to see the children relive their precious moments in the form of an art expression. Children’s close observation of their family members was also replicated in the ‘घर-घर’ role-play, where they enthusiastically enacted as a family.

The togetherness of family further merged with the festival of Diwali. Through guided meditation, children reflected on the ‘inner light’ that guides them in different situations. They further pondered on the different qualities, aspects and places which they would like to illuminate, such as “I have placed my diya on my tongue so that I can say good words to my friends and family”. Carrying the light within them, children joyfully participated in the preparation of the festival of lights. They thoroughly enjoyed creating Diwali decorations ‘Toran’, painting diya, cleaning their space and celebrating the essence of Diwali by spending time together with their loved ones.

The three goals of education in Shikshantar are:

1. development of the inner and interpersonal self
2. scholarly development, and
3. creative expressions

To help each child achieve these goals, the curriculum at Shikshantar follows the principles of integrated education.
Integrated education is a method of teaching and a culture. It enables the development of the physical self with the development of the mind, the emotional, social and inner self.
Integrated education makes overt connections between the questions of the mind and learning experiences such that knowledge is approached as a whole rather than as compartmentalised subjects.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE INNER AND INTERPERSONAL SELF
The goal of balanced development is best achieved when a child lives free of judgement and conformity. This also requires nurturing individual talents and strengths.
Development of the inner self best occurs by recognising one’s own nature and that of others. An awareness of the self is necessary for engagement with society and the world of knowledge.

SCHOLARLY DEVELOPMENT
Every child has a curious mind. The purpose of education is to nurture that curiosity and to establish linkages with the development of knowledge.
Generation of new knowledge can only emerge with courage, sharing and endless enquiry.
• Why do some birds fly the way they do?
• Can scientific thinking help us understand historical and social phenomena?
• Why do we learn to build robots from scratch and not modular kits?

Scholarly development is about making overt linkages with received knowledge and the processes of constructing new knowledge.
Students are regularly encouraged to conduct research at elementary and complex levels. The school infrastructure and curriculum enables the active use of school laboratories, the library and activity rooms, and allows adequate time for students and teachers to read, collect data, construct, discuss, analyse and present their findings to each other on a regular basis.
Scholarly development in Shikshantar is about the development of knowledge, the ability to question, sensory experiences and integration of creative expressions.

CREATIVE EXPRESSION
Aesthetics establish connections between the self, society, the spiritual and nature. In Shikshantar, the aesthetic sense is evoked in every physical and interpersonal space.
It begins with a connect with Nature, the origin and reservoir of all that is aesthetic.
Aesthetics in the curriculum is enabled through art, music, drama, physical fitness, creative writing, circle time and in asking simple questions about why we do what we do and how it helps us connect with our inner nature and that of all living beings around us.
Students of all classes weave in and out of academic classes and non-academic classes that include the performing arts, the visual arts, the fine arts and sports.
The outcome is the nurturing of the “whole person” the development of the individual child who is in tune with her own thinking and creative self as she is with the people and world around her.

Best School in Gurgaon, Shikshantar School

VISION/ PHILOSOPHY

Curricular Practices

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