At School on Wheels, we deeply believe in the ability of each and every child to grow into a responsible citizen holding values close to their heart and achieving success in their endeavor. It is nurturing and education that a child receives that decides his or her path ahead. At School on Wheels, therefore, we design our programs in a way that addresses the child’s holistic development. We believe in the power of books, learning, joy, interaction, exposure, expression, extra-curricular, first-hand experience and much more. Through our programs, we try to give our students all of these aspects and much more.
A few ways in which School on Wheels engenders holistic education are below:
• Reading Workshops
The reading workshop is a very interesting and novel format that helps to address several of the above-mentioned educational needs. The School on Wheels staff visits a rural school or a group of schools and sets up a mobile library with several books on display. The students pick up one or more books that they would like to read, then disperse in serene natural surroundings and read the books in silence. Later, they write reviews of the books and also verbally share their opinions with their classmates. The whole workshop is conducted over a weekend. In the past, students from School on Wheels schools have participated in the Book Review Competition held by the State Government of Gujarat and won prizes. The reading workshops have proven to be one of the most effective tools in the dissemination of education.
We have completed about 97 nos. 2 days Reading workshops till date.
• Value Education
School on Wheels draws its deep-rooted belief in values from Sister Nivedita Educational Complex’s strong association with the Ramakrishna Mission and the endorsement of a universal secular humanistic order. We strongly believe that values are an indispensable part of education, especially in today’s world where corruption is rampant. To this end, we conduct value education workshops, with focus on great personalities and their lives so the students are inspired by them.
• Extra-curricular activities
We strongly advocate the concept of “joy of learning”, and such joy can only be experienced if a child is allowed to express himself/herself in multiple ways. At School on Wheels, as we travel from school to school, we conduct art exhibitions, drawing competitions, singing and dancing concerts, elocution competitions, sports activities and much more to always give the children multiple channels of self-expression and build a culture of camaraderie and teamwork.
• Science projects
There is no discounting the important role of technology in today’s world, and we believe that one’s association with science should be from the very childhood and experienced first-hand. To this end, we encourage schools and teachers to work with their students on as many science projects as possible. They could be simple low-effort projects, but when put together by children living in rural areas with little exposure, these spurn immense learning. These are also great exercises for teachers to get entrepreneurial and imaginative with their ideas, and to build healthy synergies between students and teachers.
• Field trips
Exposure forms an important part of self-development, and at School on Wheels, we strongly believe in giving as much of it as possible to our students. Twice a year, our yellow buses buzz noisily with children from our schools who are taken for trips to Rajkot city. They are shown the universities and colleges, museums, planetariums, major buildings and landmarks and much more. Every single time we do this, we are touched by the joy and excitement it brings to the children. We also screen educational films in the schools to expose the students to what they have not yet seen.