On 12/20/2011 I awoke early and as was with each morning could hear the crows outside squaking about the arrival of the sun.
On the previous day Rahul took me to Prasanthi School for special children. The children at this school were full of bright smiles, laughter and curiosity. I could tell, right away, they were cared for.
The care began with the atmosphere of the building. The architecture allowed for a cool breeze to pass through, light filling the halls and heat to stay out. Next, was the teacher to student ratio, six children per teacher, in addition to aids for support. Also, in the classrooms the students were observed to be working at their own pace without trying to slow down or speed up to match the other students.
Unfortunately, I did not take photos in the school. Mostly out of respect for the children's privacy and so I could just be there as a witness. However, the road to the school was like Eden.
The man running the school is one of Rahul's old professors, Ramakrishnan Palat. This is a man who had a successful career as a professor and could easily just have retired and chased around elephants on his plantation. But no, this man chose to create a place for special children.
Very few of these kinds of places exist in southern India. The goal of the school is go get the children accepted into the main stream schools.
I was honored to meet a man with such a kind temperament and a true example of altruism.
Here is a link to an article in The Hindu http://www.hindu.com/2007/05/20/stories/2007052000750200.htm
about how Dr. Palat became interested in helping.
On the previous day Rahul took me to Prasanthi School for special children. The children at this school were full of bright smiles, laughter and curiosity. I could tell, right away, they were cared for.
The care began with the atmosphere of the building. The architecture allowed for a cool breeze to pass through, light filling the halls and heat to stay out. Next, was the teacher to student ratio, six children per teacher, in addition to aids for support. Also, in the classrooms the students were observed to be working at their own pace without trying to slow down or speed up to match the other students.
Unfortunately, I did not take photos in the school. Mostly out of respect for the children's privacy and so I could just be there as a witness. However, the road to the school was like Eden.
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| The Road up to the School |
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| Random Puppy Seeks Children |
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| Rahul and the President Ramakrishnan Palat |
The man running the school is one of Rahul's old professors, Ramakrishnan Palat. This is a man who had a successful career as a professor and could easily just have retired and chased around elephants on his plantation. But no, this man chose to create a place for special children.
Very few of these kinds of places exist in southern India. The goal of the school is go get the children accepted into the main stream schools.
I was honored to meet a man with such a kind temperament and a true example of altruism.
Here is a link to an article in The Hindu http://www.hindu.com/2007/05/20/stories/2007052000750200.htm
about how Dr. Palat became interested in helping.
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