Life at Umang
Where learning is fun!Umang believes that no learning can happen if students are not free from fear. Fear of punishment, judgment, isolation, etc can have an adverse impact on a child’s mental faculty. Here, students are encouraged to question and learn from their surroundings to enhance their critical thinking.
Life at Umang is dedicated to instil in them democratic and secular values. For instance, morning assemblies are organised every Saturday. It comprises of songs without any religious affiliations. This is followed by a meeting where any student or teacher is free to raise any concerns in-front of the whole school. They learn to face challenges in the future, from all walks of life, through exposure to various experiences.
Learning at your own pace, connected to peers and self
Umang believes in learning at your own pace. So, we have opted out of the traditional methods of school-bells and fixed routines to lift the constraints on learning which often comes when there are time limits.
To promote cleanliness among students, various health camps, sanitation drives and hygiene awareness camps are organized at Umang. This exposes children, at young age to the concerns around them, which provides them with a space to choose to become the future change agents of the world.
Consensus building and conflict resolution in the spirit of equality
Every decision is taken by a majority voting, where each student and teacher has one vote. Committee members have representatives from all age groups.
Umang believes that self sustainability must be one of the key attributes of a person and we help our students to get a sense of this attribute by dividing responsibilities which are instrumental in building a model school, in which they have as much ownership as any other member of the school.
How do students take ownership of their actions?
The school has an active student council body. The council is an elected body of students. There are six committees that have been formed by students to make Umang a democratic space where teachers and students come together to express their concerns and suggestions. The committees strive to build constructively teacher-student relationships. It looks at the Committee proposals that can be put forward for approval in the school council meetings. These proposals are then voted upon, by students and teachers together; each with a power of one, and the decision is then taken by majority voting. The aim of this practice is to promote the spirit and understanding democracy. There are currently 10-12 members serving in the council.
Learning through new perspectives
For exposing students and teachers to new perspectives, Umang invites guests from different disciplines to deliver lectures on various themes.
Students can stay back at the school and practice sports, work on personal or academic projects, receive guidance, or simply play. For students to build their hobbies and co-curricular interests through games and recreational activities, Saturdays are especially designed for this pursuit. Students learn sports, dance, theatre, and so on.
