Imagine you’re living a peaceful & delightful life at a seashore village. And one day, unexpectedly, a mammoth storm hits your life and takes everything away from you. The only thing you are left with is hope. And determination to get out of it. Today, we’re in the exact same phase resulted out of the corona pandemic that stormed in our life and unsettled our entire ecosystem. Right from small ventures and big organisations to renowned educational institutions and schools, every single entity shook from its very core during the pandemic. A ray of hope finally appeared when an unlock phase declared by the authority. Gradually, everything started to open with safety stipulations & measures. Everything else is getting back on track, but schools don’t seem to find their way out to the normal. Initially, schools got underway through online classes through video calling apps like Zoom, Google Meet, MS Teams, etc. Even though online education is quite feasible, it doesn’t have the gist of the traditional education system, and maybe that’s why it hasn’t been prevailing to be the alternative education system. There was this news floating around that post-Diwali, schools may reopen, but parents haven’t yet made their mind to allow their children to go to school.
While every other school and college is struggling to reopen, a small school in Nandurbar broke all the barriers and started functioning out in the open-air atmosphere. The school with a capacity of 9 classrooms in Vikharan, a tribal-dominated & remote village brought in a paradigm shift in the education ecosystem. In the view of the unlock phase, the authority of A D Deore school in Vikharan decided to onset the school with the 322 students of standard 9 & 10. While doing so, the school authority sanitized the entire premises of the school and regulated the essential safety precautions to ensure complete safety of students and school staff as well. But this time, lectures weren’t held in classrooms of 4 walls and a roof but the school decided to go back to the roots of wisdom, where it decided to shift every classroom to an open space under the shadow of 850 trees. This applied innovation by the school gave its students a refreshing learning experience where the students are not only safe from the risk of COVID-19, but they’re also enjoying learning while indulging in sunbathing & pleasant wintry aura. Plus, students will breathe fresh air & get vitamin D from the sun that ensures wellbeing of students & teachers. This innovative method of schooling is pragmatic in a true sense since a majority of students of the school belong to the tribal community. For them, to buy things like a laptop, smartphones and internet connection which are essential for online classes are like a mirage. They just cannot afford to live a technology-enabled life. Besides giving a unique and refreshing learning experience, the school administration put forth their efforts to ensure the complete safety of every student. The school authority allotted a single bench for a single student and ensured physical distancing. Moreover, every student has strictly asked to sanitize their hands before touching any objects like benches, notebooks, etc. in the premises.
This novel act by A D Deore school is commendable, and the school authority deserves more than just appreciation. But what this school discovered for us is a new lease of life in these tough times. Every business must get inspired by such kind of lateral thinking to get back on track. As they say, if there is a will, there’s a way is proven to be true again.
