The woman our Foundation is named for – Latika Roy – started the first Montessori school in India, right here in Dehradun. She was trained by Maria Montessori herself, whose then-revolutionary, now-mainstream approach to education was developed for children with mental handicaps! When parents of typical children saw how well it worked, they demanded it be more widely available, proof of our core belief: when you make the system work for the most vulnerable, you make it work well for everyone. Here’s a good example of how it goes: Abhishek is encouraged to choose his own puzzles from the well-stocked cupboard, made easier by the pictures indicating what is where, and, very important, to put them back when he is through. This helps him develop independence and responsibility and makes his teacher’s job a whole lot easier into the bargain!

Parents in Boston, USA  are discovering the beauty of the Montessori system all over again (it comes into vogue every generation, like clockwork! Each new wave of parents discovers it all over again) and are now pushing for it to be put into practice in the government-funded schools there (called Public Schools). Maybe we could do the same here in India? Tried and true, and test scores improve dramatically too. Read more here:

The following appeared on Boston.com:
Headline: Montessori moves in
Date: February 18, 2008

“CAMBRIDGE – In one corner of the classroom, two students, ages 4
and 5, knelt on a rug and learned to add and multiply by playing a game
with glass beads. Across the room, a 3-year-old scrubbed a plastic
dolphin in a basin filled with water she had poured herself, taking
care to mop a small spill on the floor.”