Educating Hearts and Minds: The Holistic Approach of Pehchaan The Street School

James K. A. Smith said, “Education is a holistic endeavor that involves the whole person, including our bodies, in a process of formation that aims our desires, primes our imagination, and orients us to the world- all before we start ‘thinking’ about it.”

Do you believe an education is complete by only passing tests in schools? Just by knowing all three laws of Newton, all formulae of mathematics, and the molecular mass of CaCO3? Of course, knowledge of subjects we learn in school helps us build a career and earn a living, but having only bookish knowledge won’t get us anywhere further in the long run if we don’t know how to live a life that matters. In practical life, there is a lot more to know, and a lot more to learn, especially in this 21st century. Unfortunately, many schools across India focus only on bookish knowledge and encourage only those children who do well in exams. Not many schools heed the importance of extracurricular activities as much as studies. This may be one of the reasons why our youth generation is mostly unemployed since they don’t have enough skills for a job or at least to maintain a job. Skills like time and money management, arts and crafts, writing, sports, music, etc. are essential as they can be turned into a career in future rather than just a pastime activity or hobby.

This was about children who get proper schooling, but what about those who cannot afford it? Many children in our country are underprivileged and are deprived of their Right to Education. Forget about holistic development, who takes care of their education in the first place? That’s where Pehchaan The Street School plays a significant role. It is an organization in Delhi that aims to provide free education to underprivileged children regardless of their backgrounds and circumstances, genders, races, etc. Pehchaan The Street School has over 1500 children under its care and a team of 500+ offline and 600+ online members. It values empathy, inclusivity, innovation, and responsibility. It has been 9 active years for Pehchaan The Street School and its team, changing the lives of underprivileged children and opening the gates of a brighter future.

Before I discuss how Pehchaan The Street School has helped in the holistic development of its children, let us first see their biggest drive in 9 years- ‘Pehchaan ki Diwali’.? It is an event organized by Pehchaan The Street School, in October, to celebrate Diwali 2024 with its 1500+ children across its centres in Delhi by distributing hampers of happiness in the form of Diwali Kits. These kits contain new school bags, stationeries, eatables, and gifts for the children. As each kit costs INR 300 and it is arranging all the kits without sponsorships, any help from your side means a lot. Yes, it is an open opportunity for you to make this Diwali a special one by showing care for these innocent children. Donate whatever you can, (links given below) and help bring joy to this festive season.?

Now, let's see how Pehchaan The Street School achieves its goal of overall development of its children:

Teaching methods

Pehchaan The Street School provides engaging teaching methods that keep the children interested in studies at the same time as enjoying the lessons. These methods comprise learning through creative projects, story-telling, role-playing, etc. The children are taught in an open environment where they are comfortable to ask any questions and doubts. This helps children to participate in the learning process and involve with their classmates and teachers, and they look forward to attending these classes. They also teach important skills like time management, problem-solving and critical thinking.

Vocational Education

Vocational education means teaching skills that can be related to a career, like training in arts, computers, etc. with hands-on lessons. The importance of vocational education has been acknowledged by Pehchaan The Street School and therefore they have arranged a centre in Delhi to give computer lessons to its children. We are living in a digital era that is rapidly growing and computers are the ‘present’ and the ‘future’ in many industries. Hence, it is a very wise decision by Pehchaan The Street School to teach them computer skills.

Health and Awareness

Childhood and teenage is a very sensitive period in anyone's life, both physically and emotionally. Pehchaan The Street School understands this very well and has provided these children with many opportunities for self and health awareness. It has collaborated with organizations like Team Theia to arrange awareness sessions on ‘Good Touch, Bad Touch’. It has also conducted workshops on menstrual health which has created a safe space for children to discuss their health and not hesitate to ask questions regarding their health and body.

Personal Growth

Pehchaan The Street School has collaborated with folks like The PsyK Life to conduct personality development sessions for children. This is very important because a person’s personality molds and shapes during their teenage. It also arranged sessions on teaching children the impacts of bullying and how to behave with your fellow classmates, etc. Most individuals are not taught manners and behaviour in public situations which leads to bad personality. Thus, it is an important lesson to be taught at an early age.

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“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”

~ Aristotle

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To donate, visit:

????????? Official website: pehchaanstreetschool.org

????????? or Impacc Link: https://www.impaac.org/fundraisers/celebrate-diwali-with-1500-children-in-need-a-pehchaan-the-street-school-initiative/66b9cb49fa98805d83edbfec

????????? Share this message with your friends, family & social media. Help us arrange at least 1 kit per person.

????????? Fill out this form to get a certificate for all donations: https://forms.gle/VLBeCerbsvvYi9py7

????????? Email id - [email protected]

????????? YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXd4gnTazJh3JugKENt5yog? ?

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