Top Bengaluru schools’ mission: Catch ‘em young & educate them right

Kumaran P | NT

Bengaluru is another melting pot of India, with citizens from across the country as well as overseas living here, even as they pursue their career. Schools in the city are proud to teach their children values, moral lessons and set examples on how to live a happy and harmonious life in the school campus without any discrimination. News Trail reached out to some of the top schools in the city and this is what they had to say.

Shweta Sastri, Managing Director, Canadian International School, said, “Diversity is something that we always celebrate at Canadian International School (CIS). In an ever-changing global scenario, it has become imperative to equip children with adequate exposure to be worthy citizens of the country in the future. CIS is a top international school in India and has students and faculty members from over 40 nationalities. As a culturally rich mosaic, utmost importance is given to diversity and sociocultural awareness. Students are taught to share space with a diverse group of individuals from around the world in a multicultural classroom for a truly international experience.”

“To promote diversity along with educating students on the importance of equality, CIS hosts a symposium on inclusivity every year, which is aimed at understanding biases prevailing in the society and sensitising students on various societal issues. We have also been actively conducting other workshops and roundtable discussions involving participation from high school students and faculty members to educate students in areas of neuro-diversity, race, social class, disability diversity, LGBTQ, and gender as we live in a world of diverse cultures, languages, beliefs and customs. With a myriad of cultures and ethnicities, it is important to learn to accept all – irrespective of social class, caste, gender or sexuality. With such a large and diverse population, we believe that inclusivity helps students become a part of our community, develop a sense of belonging and become better prepared for life in the community as children and adults. We strive to create a community in which each individual is treated with dignity, compassion and fairness,” she added.

Sastri said they also have CIS Allies, a high school student-led group, a club that also tries to educate students to be more inclusive and morally responsible citizens. “We also organise a Multicultural Day every year to celebrate different cultures at the school, which is also a great way for the entire community to come together, share and celebrate the cultural diversity at CIS,” he added.

What is more important nowadays is that sense of responsibility that needs to come in the younger generation, say experts. Niru Agarwal, Trustee, Greenwood High International School, said, “We believe in encouraging intellectual and cultural diversity and aim at developing our pupils’ sense of responsibility towards the wider community. We also offer a dynamic environment where each student is encouraged to become a critical and compassionate thinker, dedicated learner for life, a contributing member of the local and global community, showing respect and understanding for other cultures and acknowledging that others can be different and also right. We also conduct various activities that enhance the moral conduct of the students and our teachers impart knowledge on moral science.”

“We always try to educate young people in ways that prepare them to be active, free-thinking and socially responsible citizens in a democratic society. Our mission is to develop the intellectual, moral, social and emotional potential of the students among others. We have built an ambience that fosters the allegiance of our students to their cultural heritage and promotes respect and tolerance. The students are rooted in their culture and are ready to accept any new challenge with a fresh approach towards learning,” added Agarwal.

Teaching students about culture, unity in diversity

Ms Pravitha Nair (Middle School Academic Coordinator, CMRNPS)

“Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Those are the powerful words by the Father of our nation. We are citizens of the powerful country India, enriched as it is with diversified cultures, traditions, practices, races, castes, creeds, languages, religions, and unending empowerment. In that sense, undoubtedly we are responsible to build a generation that understands the importance and passes on the heritage to young minds. That’s the belief we educators in the National Public School carry on our sleeves.

In this present day, our school has a beautifully designed and structured curriculum that not only focuses on the exploration of new ideas but also on imbibin