In "Getting Ideas from
Kids" (page 8, What's Up January 2014), we read that
students at Riverside School in Ahmedabad, a city in northwest India, have a
unique way of learning. For example, they do not have a fixed timetable during
a school day. Instead, it is up to each child to decide what and how much he or
she wants to learn daily.
In one case, students in a primary two class decided to create an audio
tour for visitors of the zoo when they realised that the information found next
to the animal enclosures was often too difficult for kids their age to
understand. In this way, visitors to the zoo could simply put on a pair of
headphones to learn more about the animals. The project taught the children the
most important lesson of all, which was the realisation that they had the power
to achieve almost anything they wanted.
The founder of the school, Ms Kiran Bir Sethi, believes that children
should be encouraged to make their own decisions without fear. In 2009, she
started a contest called the 'Design for Change Challenge'. It simply asked
children to think up solutions for problems that worry them. To her delight,
hundreds of children wrote in with their plans. It proved so successful that
the movement has now spread all over the world, from Australia to Uruguay.
Post your comments on or more of the following questions:
1. Do you agree with the way of learning in Riverside School? Why?
2. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of
having such a learning in
Singapore?
Taking it a step further:
1. What is one thing that worries you the most?
2. Can you think of a solution to this problem that worries you?
