This rural school stands apart in imparting first-hand knowledge

TIRUCHY: A rural school in Nagapattinam has been adopting the play way method to give first-hand knowledge about the things around us and recently successfully conducted an event ‘mathiri sandhai’ (model market) for the students to learn currencies and its units.

A model market was established in the school for the Class 6 students as part of economics subject to get a real-life experience and understand better the topics - sales, demand and profit and money handling, said K Balashanmugam, a teacher from Oranthur Chidambaranar Middle School, Nagapattinam.

“The students were asked to bring vegetables and greens grown in their houses. Apart from the vegetables, boiled eggs, millet, and peas were also brought by the students for the sale. There was a remarkable response from the students and the day went on quite interestingly and valuably. The students understood the lesson better,” added Balashanmugam.

He also said that the students were also taught about healthy food habits. “The students explained the nutrient content in the vegetables while selling their produce. Students got hands-on experience in handling money. The unsold vegetables were given to the midday meals,” he stated.

This methodology has been adopted globally and the students will never forget the lessons as it is first-hand knowledge.

The same school has been organising several other innovative programmes. Recently, the school organized an awareness programme on first aid and how to be safe during natural calamities. The UNICEF sponsored programme taught the students how to handle electric appliances during monsoon.