Letter from Papa -- "Best school in the world!"

Dear Ratna,

The kids are on vacation but come every day. The ambiance of the early morning class in the park was heavenly - I got the same feeling as I get when I drop you early mornings at Flint Hill.

You may not have been here for a while, but they are sitting in this park, and enjoying what very few kids in India are able to experience, because of YOU.

Love,
Papa


To Gyaan Ghar's supporters, this message applies equally to you. 54 students from underprivileged backgrounds in a small industrial town across the world are enjoying an enriching extracurricular education with your encouragement and support. Thank you so much.

Letter from Papa -- "Your kids are so precious!"

Good morning! - though it is still 4:30 am your time when I write this.

Just spent 20 minutes talking to about 10 of your kids - a few more than those you see in the picture. They are simply amazing! Tremendous confidence, joie de vivre, enthusiasm to learn, and positive energy. I felt totally rejuvenated after the interaction. They asked a lot about you, and when I showed them a few group photos on my BlackBerry with you in them, they made it a game to see who is first able to find you on the small screen.

Have a blessed, awesome day.

Loves,
Your Poppy


Multi-cultured Masterminds

In the month of November, students were given a research project focused on promoting leadership, honing public speaking skills, and encouraging diversity.

Each child was to select as her topic either Abdul Kalam, Jawaharlal Nehru, or Guru Nanak, and write a piece on the figure, to be presented to the class.

After sharing their first drafts, students explored the process of revising their writing by taking their essays back home, having received suggestions on both content and presentation, to brush them up a bit.


Final drafts will be presented in December.


In selecting the research topics, Gyaan Ghar teachers took care to choose figures each well-known but from very different backgrounds. Allowing the students to take their pick regarding whom they researched fostered an open-minded, diverse environment in the classroom.

I look forward to reading the final products, and maybe even watching some presentations via webcam. Keep up the great work, guys!