EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION

A regressive sequence of lack of quality education leading to school dropouts creates a mass of uneducated and unskilled youth, which is responsible for the vicious cycle of illiteracy and poverty in low-income communities.

 

The Udaan Learning Centre is an after-school programme, which aims to provide a solid and holistic educational foundation to children from low-income communities to bridge the learning gaps and ensure the children stay in school. Following the principle of empowering through education our teaching does not focus only on academic education but also on non-academic learning to mould and nurture confidence, self-esteem and self-awareness amongst our students.

 

The Learning Centre follows a structured curriculum for English, Math, Hindi, Science and Social Sciences from Grade 1 till Grade 10. A vertical progression of learning objectives for each subject ensures a steady and logical unfolding of learning at each level. Upholding the principle of holistic learning, the curriculum is implemented through a dual approach of ensuring conceptual understanding through lecture, demonstrations and experiments as well as experiential learning through celebrations, events, field trips and workshops. From moments of sheer joy at riding the fire brigade truck at the fire station to learning opportunities of understanding the vast universe at the Nehru Centre, from wearing new, festive clothes during Diwali to understanding constitutional rights through special assemblies, every exposure is about providing opportunities.

 

Assessments are conducted on a regular basis with the purpose of adapting the curriculum to meet the students’ needs. This allows us to record students’ performances on monthly intervals on an assessment matrix. An analysis of the student’s performance indicates the gaps in the teaching-learning spaces and the cycle of curriculum management is revisited so to teach students the way they learn best. It is such analysis that enables us to identify students with remedial needs; students with learning disabilities and students who need a teacher’s stern eye and create solutions within the environment of the Learning Centre such that each student achieves their true potential.

 

The Udaan Learning Centre is an effort towards instilling the faith, belief and culture of “empowerment through education” in the minds of children from  low income communities to ensure that they pursue the path of knowledge, skills and values needed in order to break the restraints of Illiteracy. 

 

An Insight

 

Children in their crisp green-checkered uniforms, proudly wearing their Udaan ID cards and carrying their school bags wait at 2.30 pm every day for the Udaan bus to arrive and take them to the Udaan Learning Centre at Pawar Public School, Sangharsh Nagar, Chandivali. Learning moments start with an assembly where all the children pray together and teachers share the news of the day. This is followed by a healthy and nutritious snack to ensure the children get energized to take on the lessons. After the assembly, teachers and volunteers armed with lesson planners and worksheets lead the students to their classroom. For the next two and a half hours students and teachers are seen pouring over books and concentrating, sharpening pencils and writing, discussing and debating. At 6 pm, the tired but happy children are dropped back to their homes, where hopeful parents park their dreams of breaking the cycle of poverty through their child’s journey of empowerment.