EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION

The famous quote from Confucius, "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." is the heart of learning. Learning is a continuous journey of multi-sensory experiences and joyous discoveries. It is the ‘learning by doing’ that allows opportunities of questioning, discussing, discovering, analyzing, synthesizing, creating, thus stimulating the mind to develop academic thought with deep logical considerations. The Saturday Club is a realization of this theory of learning.

 

The Saturday Club programme is an extension of the Learning Centre that aims to concertize academic concepts through experiential learning integrated into co-curricular activities. This is a joyous space where through art and origami, tabla and songs, dance and drama, chess and pictionary, books and movies, windmills and Egyptian pyramids, children imbibe aesthetics, rhythm, diction, expression, historical, environmental and cultural sensitivity and a volume of intangible life skills which mould what we call the ‘character’ of a child.

 

The different clubs such as the Science Club, Around the World Club, Book Club, Dance Club, Music Club, Sports Club, Environment Club, and India Club are led and conducted by volunteers and subject experts who are provided with clear objectives, curriculum and logistic plans for each of the clubs. With a period of 13 Saturdays in every term, each class is assigned different clubs in a term, one being academic the other being co–curricular. After 12 joyful Saturdays, each club presents its learning through an interesting mode of presentation, with the help of their Didis and Bhaiyas.

 

An Insight

 

Each Saturday children are brought to Gopal Sharma School, where they immerse into the different clubs from 3 pm to 5.30 pm. A week before the commencement of the Saturday Clubs, there are animated discussions amongst the students about which new club will be introduced this year. When the clubs are assigned to each class, you can hear squeals from some classes and protests from others.

 

In the first few weeks the children learn about the content of their club through concepts, stories, demonstrations, movies and audio-visuals. After that it is time for learning by doing: Cardboard, chart-papers, colours and clay are provided and every group disappears behind closed doors to translate their learnings into models or presentations. Children and volunteers passionately put together their miniature wonders of the world or solar system or a demonstration of folk dance and classical music. On the final day of presentations, some children transform into well-informed presenters explaining the mysteries of the Egyptian mummies while others present the grace and beauty of Bharatnatyam Danseuse or sing ‘Akla Chalo Re’ in a sonorous voice. The volunteers in the background watch their students with pride and satisfaction.

"I enjoy the Science Club the most.  Through activities and experiments we are taught concepts of science which otherwise I find difficult to understand. We learnt about pressure by doing an activity of creating a fountain and also about magnets and force through  experiments." 

 

Vivek Singh, Grade 8

Udaan Learning Centre Student