India's 1st School Integrating Education With The Five Elements of Nature

India's 1st School Integrating Education With The Five Elements of Nature

With a novel strategy that incorporates the five elements of nature into the curriculum, Sharda World School distinguishes out in the highly competitive field of education. Among Indian schools, Sharda World School - the top boarding school in UP, is unique in its adoption of this progressive paradigm.

It challenges preconceived notions of what is possible in education by incorporating the five elements—earth, water, fire, air, and space into its course of study. This essay explores the profound impacts of this unconventional approach, demonstrating how it fosters students' all-around development and assists them in developing a deep bond with the natural world.

Harmony with the Five elements

Sharda World School’s learning philosophy is based on the principle of Panchamahabhutas or the 5 elementsof nature. There is a belief that tosynchronize bodily energies with theinfinite pool of Universal Energy, plus toexpand and harmonizerelationships with all things, physical and metaphysical – the 5 elements are a critical component that one needs to master. Sharda World School’s pedagogy is designed in such a manner so that apart from gatheringthe knowledge, students can harmonize themselves with these elements.

Water

With over 85% of brain development taking place by the age of 6, SWS believes in providing appropriate care and stimulation of the brain in the early years to ensure healthy brain development and growth. This stage depicts the free-flowing nature of the water element and the same is depicted in their day-to-day activities. During this phase,the focus is on providing flexible, play-based, activity-based, and inquiry-based learning, comprising of alphabets, languages, numbers, counting, colours, and shapes. Drawing,painting, and other visual art, craft, drama, puppetry, music, and movement help inimbibing creativity and visualization. It also includes a focus on developing socialcapacities, sensitivity, courtesy, ethics, teamwork, and cooperation. One of the key features of this element is its natural healing quality, the same reflected in the learning environment that we provide for this age group. The kids are free from any negative elements which allows optimal development of the brain during this crucial period.

Earth

The next element that is introduced to the students is the Earth element. Being the strongest element, it provides an individual with the stability that is required both mentally as well as physically. When it’s in alignment, students feel grounded and secure, both physically and emotionally. By mastering this element, Sharda World School studentscreate a strong foundation both physically and mentally which helps progress through the next stages of development without any deviation from their path. Empathy, courtesy, cleanliness, the spirit of service, respect for public property, responsibility, equality, and justice are some of the qualities that are imbibed during this phase. Sharda World School conducts various outdooractivities that give them exposure to the external world and help them understand, and accept the rich diversity which exists around the world.Strong foundation is laid with focus on yoga, meditation, lessons and stories from theholy Gita and Ramayan. Nutrition also plays an important part in the development ofthe body and because of that, we ensure all the students receive proper nutritionduring the school itself.

Air

Once the students have mastered the earth element in the previous phase, they are introduced to the Air element. Air travels in all directions and is responsible for the movement of consciousness, therefore if an individual has not mastered this element the consciousness will be wandering in all directions. The Air element acts as a bridge between materiality, spirituality and is associated with intelligence and creativity, the same is experienced by our students in this phase. There are no hard separations between the subjects like arts & sciences and between curricular and extra-curricular activities or between vocational and academic streams. We also conduct industrial visits and workshops, summer camps, and community services so that our students can relate their goals with a bigger picture thereby making them more passionate about it. Students with an entrepreneurial instinct in are given a platform to share their ideas which can be nurtured in their senior years at the school.

Fire

The last element that the students will be mastering before graduating the school is the fire element. The element fire represents the heat that is generated within the human body because of the consumption of resources from nature. The nature of the fire is to move upwards by igniting the fire within. This helps in getting that additional energy to move forward. Identification, recognition, immortality, longevity, courage and power are the motivations of the fire element. If there is an imbalance in this element one might struggle with a lack of self-esteem, anger, and perfectionism.

By balancing this element, SWS ensures that the students feel more energetic, confident, productive, and focused.

The students who have mastered the fire element can work relentlessly and absorb a large amount of information. The schedule of these students is created in such a manner so that optimal utilization of their time takes place. This is complemented by the environment which provides a distraction-free environment that helps them to work on their goals or vision which they have developed in the water phase.

To balance this element, kids are supposed to enter into selfless service and because of this, we assign certain roles that help in developing their leadership, entrepreneurship, and critical and design thinking skills.

Space

Once a student has mastered the 4 elements - Water, Earth, Air and Fire, the next phase of their life is defined by the element Space, where all the elements that the child has mastered - water, earth, air, and fire are refined to their purest essence and dissolve into it. All the qualities that he/she has acquired during their schooling help them to move closer to their goals. The child is ready to enter the space of infinity with limitless opportunities to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor, engineer, artist, sportsman, musician, dancer, entrepreneur, scientist, anchor, social activist, or designer. Confidence, knowledge of nature, and consciousness are associated with this element.

Conclusion

By blending Finnish and British teaching methods and integrating education with the five elements of nature, the best boarding school in UP offers a unique and holistic approach to learning. This combination allows students to benefit from diverse perspectives and methodologies, fostering both academic excellence and holistic development. The emphasis on global perspectives further enriches the educational experience, helping students develop the skills and mind-set necessary to become future leaders.