Footprints

Anweshana Montessori, A
place to self-learn and
thrive!
Every time I think of Anweshana
Montessori, I think of a quote from
Dr. Maria Montessori, “The child
has a mind able to absorb
knowledge. He has the power to
teach himself.” It is because, I
have realised that only the skill of
self-teaching, stays forever with us
and helps us succeed in any
environment. We thrive in those
moments when we have discovered
something on our own and that
discovery stays with us forever!
This is the foundation of
Anweshana Montessori. I was told
about this school by one of my
cousins, even before I become a
mother. She had described this
school to be a thriving place for
children where children could be
what they are and flourish without
the pressure of learning. This was
a new concept and opposite to
what little understanding I had
about the happening at any
nursery schools where they stunt a
child's growth by giving them strict
instructions to follow. From that
day onwards, I decided that when
time comes, it will be this school
that my children will go to!
Oh! It was a treasure hunt and
pulling teeth for me when finally,
the time came to seek admission in
this school for our firstborn son. It
took several calls to friends of
friends and cousins to find the new
address and even a telephone
number. But it was worth the
trouble, finally we started our
relationship with this earthy school
that showed more human centric
values and ethos, which are fading
away in our fast-paced society
these days.
From a simple activity of cutting
vegetables or sieving the flour to
difficult activity of working without
materials in the higher grades, I
observed that children are all time
aware of their surroundings. This
awareness makes them connect
with their own inner feelings. When
one connects with their feelings,
the brain automatically performs
the required task with ease. The
teachers in the school put every
effort to push a child’s mind in
discovering the outcome of any
activity in an individualistic
experience that no one can
prescribe for them.
No two children are same while
they do the same activity, the
impact is a world apart. I have
witnessed this in my own children,
hence find the philosophy of
Montessori even more appealing
now than ever before.
This also applies to the child who
may be comfortable and inclined
towards receiving clear instructions
than exploration. But in
Anweshana, eventually that child
also reaches the stage of
independence and explores new
ways to learn. The idea is never to
give-up, if an educator had to give
up on that child, the child would
have never bloomed. That's why
it's important to be a partner with
the educator and implement such
things back home.
What I always loved about
Anweshana was a must-have
observation time. These
observations are not for you to
observe your child, but also to see
how various other children are
Footprints
performing different tasks without
being distracted by their
colleagues, who are at a very
different level and happy in their
own zone of activity. Rarely we see
these happening in the real life, we
often get bogged down by
competition in normal schools.
The beauty of Anweshana
Montessori in not only in nurturing
and brining up happy, self-aware
and responsible children of
tomorrow, but also the families,
who have been part of this
journey. These are like-minded
individuals who have provided their
full support in keeping their
children until primary grades.
Anweshana Montessori has
provided the best foundation to my
children Gerard, Joshua and Jaden,
their current teachers appreciate
the quality of self-teaching and
connection with surroundings. And
the full credit goes to the educators
at Anweshana staring from Ms.
Sumana, Ms. Lakshami, Ms. Hajira,
Ms. Anupama, Ms. Anita, Ms.
Dhanashree, Ms. Rama, Ms. Dunly,
Ms. Jayashree and above all the
leadership and guidance of Ms.
Bharathi.
- Hema Santosh,
Parent of
Gerard,
Joshua and
Jaden
If education is always to be conceived along the same antiquated lines of a mere transmission of knowledge, there is little t o be hoped from it in
the bettering of man's future. For what is the use of transmitting knowledge if the individual's total development lags behin d? - Dr Maria
Montessori