Heaven on earth

Swaroop Devaiyya runs a Montessori school in my locality. It is named 'Priyadarshini Montessori School'.

This Montessori school is a 'Pre-school or Play-school'. As Madame Montessori envisaged, there is no force or pressure on children here.

Children love going to school in the morning. Their mothers don't have to cajole them into going to school. They don't have to sit down to study immediately. There is no homework. Children are free to take their own sweet time to settle down. They have a marvelous time in this school.

It's an expensive school. Not everyone can afford it and children from priveleged families attend this school. Any doting parent would love to have his child a good education and this school provides a good, solid foundation. An ideal base for a child to have a good start in life.


There is no school uniform. Children in bright clothes ride to school with their parents and pass time among various educational and play devices. They learn to spot colors, point out animals and make clay figures. Some children are slow in settling down, whilst others take the transition easily.

This school has a good reputation. Her children have done very well in their middle-school years and high school.

A Montessori child is a poor specimen for analysis, says the Principal Swaroop Devaiyya.

The parents are delighted. Children look forward to going to school every day. They imitate their teacher and chant 'Swaroop Aunty says this or Swaroop Aunty says that'. Children get job satisfaction going about their tasks in school.

At snack- time, they relish the delicacies sent lovingly by their mothers. They relax by watching cartoons on the video. 'Play-time' follows and a long walk in the neighbourhood.

But all is not play. The teachers keep their eye on the children and their progress and prepare meticulous reports about each child's activities. Some children do very well , others lag behind. They learn their numbers on the abacus.

All the children who come to this school confess to love it. They look forward to coming to school every day. Birthdays are special affairs, each child is made to feel good. As everyone knows, a good 'self-esteem' does wonders for one's well-being and this school purports to do exactlly that.