The Gurukul - School Ranking

October 26, 2004

Ms. Asha Panickar,
Director The Gurukul,
Madathil Lane Mukkolakkal,
Kallayam P.O.,
Thiruvananthapuram,
Kerala, S. India, Pin - 695043

Dear Ms. Panickar,

Thank you for the tour of The Gurukul during my recent visit to India. As I had mentioned to you, yours was one of numerous schools I visited on this and previous visits to India. As a schools professional, I have consulted and lectured about modern educational principles in 10 countries on four continents and visited well over 300 schools over the past 18 years. I have also published numerous articles and two books on school planning.

Over the past couple of years, I have begun to develop a rough "ranking" system for schools based on the extent to which they are in consonance with the research-based principles that define the 21st century school. On a scale of 1 to 10, I rank the so-called factory-model school with its rigid discipline and mass-production mentality as a 1 and the most progressive student-centered school which instills confidence and pride in children while motivating them to perform better as students and citizens as a 10. Sadly, a vast majority of the schools I have looked at in India fare very badly on this scale - scoring anywhere from 1 to 4 with most schools actually falling closer to 1 than 4.

That is why I was pleased to see the caring way in which the Gurukul has been set up. I observed: 1) The learner-centered principles that define your school, 2) The happy smiles on your students' faces, 3) The care and interest that your teachers take in their job, 4) The homely and stress-free atmosphere you have managed to create, 5) The student-created decorations (as opposed to the corporate look of so many private schools which have very little to do with students and even less with learning), 6) The collaborative and activity-based learning that your students were engaged in (as opposed to the rote learning in the highly stressed, competitive environments of most schools), 7) The connection with nature through views and vistas from the building and ample outdoor areas for active learning, 8) The small scale of the school itself which research shows has major benefits for student performance and success, 9) The small number of students in classrooms which allows teachers to personalize each child's education and last but not the least, 10) The non-institutional look and feel of the entire school which is exactly what students need, particularly at the early grades, as they transition from their home to school.

These factors, taken together, provide a wonderful environment for learning and one that is far superior to the majority of schools I have seen. Therefore, I'm pleased to tell you that I would score your school quite high - 7 on my school rating scale. Needless to say, this is one of the highest scores I have given to any school in India. As you move into new facilities that are designed to be even more aligned with your vision of a quality education for every child, I suspect that you may be able to score even higher.

But learning is not only about scores and marks, it is much more subtle and much more powerful. And so, I encourage you to keep doing what you are doing and continue to build and grow your school upon the sound educational principles that define it today.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via email at Prakash@DesignShare.com.

With best regards,