Initiation of Improvement of Quality of Teching-Learning Methodology In Schools

We present a brief work for improvement of quality of teaching learning methodology in school to meet the local and global standards with the passage of time. We are no longer in the phase  of Gurukul education, even though the methodology of learning hasnt seen any significant change. Gurukul system has been modernized in present day as form of boarding schools and in-residential schools thus we shall plunge directly into the subject matter without any further treatise on it, as we all are familiar on that subject matter.  We shall discuss on few key factors.

 

Infrastructure of school:

Every parents do demand state-of-art facility irrespective of geographical barrier or any hindrance in location, however those very same factors do determine what particular state-of-art structure can be provided for parents so that advertisement done to seek students meets the expectations and choice of parents for successful enrollment of students in the school.  Here we highlight some key features to be followed seriously in order to maintain the meaning of school by means of its routine task to provide quality education to students. 

Paintings on wall:

It seems absolutely rudimentary to discuss on the topic of color of buildings of schools, however our eyes are lured as well as distracted by the intensity and concentrations used on the interior and exteriors of the buildings,  particularly in the case of small kids then in comparison to teens. However peoples of all age groups are susceptible to the vulnerability of colors hence color chemists can be consulted before pouring investment on paintings of the walls as it determines the atmosphere and the peacefulness at least for our eyes to maintain focus on class during teaching as well as for the sake of peacefulness of mind. Arts can be drawn in walls relevant to the course structure to provide them pictorial knowledge as we all do know that a picture speaks a thousand words. 

 

2. Ventilations:

Childrens are taught about importance of sunlight mainly for the photosynthesis in plants, however, they are equally taught about melanin to slightly the importance of vitamin D in our body. Thus proper ventilations, as well as doors and windows are necessary to let students feel the cool breeze and to maintain natural environment under the shelter of roof. Ventilations, doors, and windows are subjected to the change of seasons, which further impose a challenge, particular due to variation in geographical region, as in the case of Nepal, we can see it in the sector of Himalayan, Hilly, and Terai region. An example of challenge is, schools in Terai region needs cool breeze during summer where as schools in Himalayan region  too needs warmer breeze as per the temperature variation due to altitude. A.C can be used however it is costly when running cost is further included. Thus ventilations plays an important role for classroom activities. 

 

3. Playground and Halls:

Experts to foretell that if a child doesnt prefer to play, then serious disorder can arise in their physical and mental development as it is a general nature and tendency of a child to be involved in playing activity. Hence every school must maintain a sufficient playground to allow students, at least, to let them roam freely, whereas meeting the criteria of sports in the ground would be an added advantage. Similarly there must be proper development of Halls, and stages to conduct programs as well as seminars where students can show their performance among the audience, either be of same school or during other programs where visitors have their presence. The only difference between an open playground and hall is the shelter provided to the students. In the case of open playground students perform under the open sky whereas in the case of hall, students do perform under some shelter. This entirely depends upon the nature of investment of any school and its works to maintain its goodwill in terms of standards required by the infrastructures to provide a general showcase of school. 

 

4. Cafeteria and Transportation:

Every academic institution must maintain  a well-managed cafeteria. Its obvious that a cafeteria inside a school premise is not a hotel to provide a variety of menu, however nutritious foods can be provided by them as per the local needs and preference of foods by the childrens in school. Seasonal fruits can be included which develops a culture among students to use fresh and organic diet which would serve them lifelong. It is in the school where, childrens do learn things. Prevention of junk foods is important, but that itself poses a serious challenge as we all prefer packaged foods and flavoured foods for the sake of naughty tongue. Hence not only being a teacher, but even being a school administrator isnt a easy task when we try to find if things taught in schools are implemented in our very own school or not. Similarly transportation plays an important role for attending schools. Thus school must maintain proper transportation facility to students so that students can attend school on time, unless it is a residential school. 

 

5. Playing Materials and Afforestation:

Besides maintaining a good playground, playing  materials beginning from early child to late teens are needed in schools to kill their boredom, to entertain them, as well as to allow them to be involved in some sort of physical activity. Use of swings can equally be provided to late teens too, which in a means of sense of humor wouldnt make them necessary to wait Dashain and Tihar to enjoy. Who doesnt want to play? As argued in earlier paragraph it would result in seeking disorder among the fellows who doesnt involve in playing activity. Similarly use of plants, trees and flowers would contribute towards generating a mini-habitat and ecosystem to allow childrens learn in a natural environment allowing them to put questions on the surroundings they do see, and to seek answers developing a holy curiosity among them, which would then generate a generation of curious mind. 

 

6. Labs and Library:

Academic institutions without laboratory and library are a shame in themselves, as they are the first question and the first place any conscious person would seek besides the classroom. Yes, it is an honest fact that investment in library is more costly then the investment in lab in the long run. Labs are the workplace where students can demonstrate their ability of understanding about the subject matter they are taught, and each and every single subject that are taught requires their separate lab. Libraries must be vast containing all types of necessary textbooks within and out of syllables including periodicals, magazines, newspapers and to keep students updated with the everyday global events as well as national and local events. When students know the importance of labs and library, and seeks time from academic institution to be busy in labs and library then no doubt, anyone can hit a phrase, Students are without a doubt, future pillars of nation.

 

Glance of Students: 

It is a general rule that academic institutions maintains a strict rule for discipline. However we shall try to incorporate ethics along with discipline to let students have maximum freedom. School uniform, neatness, tidiness and all these factors when are introduced to students, then, students can choose their own clothing and fashion including their outfit to  preserve their generality while learning. In brief, what we want to say a short hair student might seem disciplined for the sake of school rules however it can be fairly argued that the same student would be happy to learn in the same school and environment even if he has long hair and he wants to have long hair. Author would say the peoples who rely on discipline as a tool to avoid fashion in school as conservative minded peoples, as ethics do plays its role irrespective of discipline, fashion, or economic barrier. Thus students must  be taught in maximum freedom provided that they must be awared about misuse of freedom and consequences relying on moral principles and ethics. 

 

Glance of Teachers: 

Like students, teachers are expected to be in the formal uniform, however same like as earlier paragraph, they too must be provided full freedom to come and teach on the subject matter that they have got expertise. 

 

School Administration:

School administration must be well managed in itself so that entire school can function properly. This includes performing all routine duties on time as per calender. A weekly meeting among all staffs is a mandatory to discuss on the various factors including school as well as trends in their fields so that an school can initiate works to keep students updated as per the global demands. Potential problems can be discussed as well as progress and regress of any particular student can be discussed so that entire school administration can come up with feasible solution for improvement. School must conduct weekly meeting consisting presence of all staffs and each weekly meeting must endorse previous meetings and their results, as well as plan for another weeks meeting. Conclusions drawn from meeting should be addressed by means of publications, immediately or in schools annual report. Schools management is equally responsible for conducting works as per laws to maintain legal status like as clearence of tax and other demands. School management must take care of courses and should complete it in due time along with revision works and supplementary exercises to boost-up learning. 

 

Schools output to be seen: 

 

For parents. Stakeholders, and students of another academic institution, school must show their output whenever required. Author suggests that each school must have their own website duly managed so that traditional classrooms can be transformed into digital classroom with the passage of time, so that students can learn things even if they do miss their regular class due to certain circumstances. An online news portal, as well as  a school magazine can be introduced so that day by day volume of submission on varying fields and interests increases. Website serves as an online notice board for outsiders and students too, whereas physical notice board is mandatory in the name of traditional beauty even if its entire school opts to be digital. Homeworks, assessments, and evaluation must be duly checked and should be made transparent to concerned persons. Audio-video lectures can be initiated so that all concerned persons can gain knowledge, and whoever requires knowledge can access it. Yes it is not a good idea in terms of investment as rivals would be benefitted too by using same resources, however it is a evident fact that when such methods are brought, academic institution progresses more rapidly as need of new lectures is sought immediately and no teachers would like to give lecture on same topic, time and again, even if it is their duty and necessity. Methodologies used in school for teaching and evaluation must be transparent. 

 

Students and Organization:

Academic institution must teach team work to the students, so that leadership capability can be developed in the students to do any particular task or to solve a problem. Clubs can be formed in schools to let students know about an organization. This would include art, cultural, music, literature, science, sports, dance, engineering, and architecture and a lot more depending upon the interest of students. A club must consist of a male and female to maintain gender equality and to provide equal opportunity and voice, depending upon their interest. Each club has to have a student mentor and a team of students to conduct activities supervised by teacher to maintain coordination with school administration via weekly meeting. Number of clubs can be determined by academic institution depending upon the number of students in any school. This would showcase the hidden talents of students so that they can decide on their own regarding the career they would like to choose to pave their very own future. 

 

Holistic Environment:

 

School must maintain holistic environment. It is a need of every academic institution. Courses should be flexible and new courses should be introduced so that even only a single person willing to learn a particular subject can be addressed. Salary and benefits must be paid to teachers in due time whereas parents must  be conscious about the fees to be paid to the school.

 

Conclusion:

It would be bad humor to say that peoples would seek very similar school, but at free of cost in the name of free education which itself is a challenge. This is a preliminary work to be followed by other works for completion. Here word School refers to generalized academic institution where as Childrens refers to generalized student. 

 

Arjun Dahal

Mental Asylum of Education

Post Box No:1 

Gauradaha-3, Jhapa