On Friday 14th November, Vishakha Despande, the Head of Curriculum and Operational Manager for Gokul Kidz Nerul, Navi Mumbai, was invited by the TV channel IBN Lokmat as guest speaker to mark the occasion of ‘Children’s Day’. The show was ‘Special Talk Time’. The interviewer was Aditi Joshi. The topic was ‘Nursery to Level 9—New Horizons’. It was a live show where the viewers were asking their doubts & questions on line. Most of the questions came from viewers in the interior parts of Maharashtra.
In the discussion, Vishakha emphasised that if children are encouraged to follow simple principles of life like self-reliance, self-learning, independence, co-operation, creativity, and aesthetic sense, the path to success will certainly be enjoyable and pleasurable. They should develop an inquiry approach and an organisational attitude. Parents should be more like mentors rather than authoritarian guardians.
One thing becomes very important for parents, that when they chose a school for their child they need to see whether the above principles will be practiced in the school and imbibed in their child. Adults can insure a positive learning environment is developed by making sure:
Experiences are:
• Connected with the day to day life of children.
• Presented from concrete to abstract.
• Challenging.
• Activity based.
• Variegated.
• Brain compatible.
• Self-exploratory.
The talk was very enlivening and well received by the interviewer and viewers. Vishakha displays a deep knowledge and realization about the subject matter of early years learning. She is well known and respected amongst her contemporaries for her contribution to early years education in Maharashtra. Vishakha has appeared on many talk shows on TV and radio and has presented nationally and internationally to educational conferences and forums.
