Material Education
A Child is a Material Being

'A conscious human being will use personal wealth and resources for the service of others and society'

Education has mostly been about Material Education. It is assumed that with a good education, a child can get a good job and therefore lead a more comfortable life than without such an education. For economists, education's purpose is to create personal and social wealth.

A child is a material being. There is no doubt s/he needs to prepare for a life of responsibility beyond school, get married, raise a family and provide for them. A conscious human being will also use his / her personal wealth and resources for the service of others and society.

In Broader, Bolder education schools focus more on inspiring and preparing human potential for greater service to the world of humanity and to assist them to become leaders and job creators before followers and job seekers. A school must also view every child as capable of becoming a successful member of a family, a community and the world.

'Education must be personalized and aim to inspire every single child'

Study of Science and Religion

A Broader, Bolder education also embraces both science and religion. True science and true religion are never in conflict. They are two mechanisms to understand reality. Religion without science leads to superstition and science without religion leads to materialism. Both are relative truths and depend upon interpretation and understanding. Scientific view is not always correct, neither is truth limited to what science can presently explain. Knowledge must be obtained through the interaction of the insights gained from both. The learning of the sciences is to be encouraged even more, as a vehicle to discover the inner mysteries and spiritual realities of life.

Local, national and international science fairs and science and cultural exchanges, astronomy exhibitions and fairs can be organized so that children may learn more about nature and the vast universe and learn to wonder about its mysteries and beauty. With such exposure and concrete experiences, children will begin to articulate and understand more of the complex realities of life.


Every Child is Special

Our visualization of the child matters. What we expect from the children, we will get. Therefore, we should expect more of human potential and figure out ways to provide for every child's success. Every child is special and one size ethics of the past do not fit all. Education must be personalized and aim to inspire every single child.

Through its myriad activities, CMS education focuses on excellence in all things. When children are engaged and happy, more learning takes place. When their hearts are connected to a purpose, they feel more motivated. When they find life more meaningful, they take more interest in their studies. They are more curious and creative. When education is personalized, every child feels empowered. These are some of the maxims of a Broader, Bolder education as implemented at CMS.

As attitudes towards life and learning are formed in early childhood, CMS education program places increased attention to this age group. Its program for the child from the very beginning is mix of three philosophies. The cognitive foundation is laid through Dr Maria Montessori´s Montessori Method in which a child learns through the senses. A child´s spirit is addressed by many of the school´s programs as incorporated so beautifully in Dr Rudolf Steiner´s Waldorf Method. Finally, a child´s multiple intelligences are guided by an understanding of Dr Howard Gardner´s Multiple Intelligences Theory that promotes that all children are smart in different ways.


The CMS Innovations Department

'Broader Education develops a child's body, mind, heart and spirit'

These methods, materials and guidelines are prepared by the CMS Innovations Department that takes leadership in guiding CMS staff working with children and in setting new standards for the development of each and every child. CMS is has an Innovations Department with a dedicated staff of some fifty teachers who constantly research, innovate, develop and adapt new teaching techniques. They study alternative methods and trends and innovations in education worldwide. These methods and means are continually researched, tested, improved and applied. New teaching materials are also prepared. The Innovation Wing plays, therefore, a stellar role in pursuing the CMS vision of making every child good and smart. In addition, this department has developed many tools for supporting a child´s development in all aspects: body, mind, heart and spirit through innovations in all fields academic, social, extra-curricular, physical, emotional and spiritual.

The Innovation Wing of the City Montessori School, a mini ministry of education equivalent, is at the center of quality creation and its sustenance at CMS. While it is not easy to create and run a school, it is even harder to keep innovating and improving and to keep raising the bar of expectation and performance on all fronts.

CMS sees its role in four main dimensions:

  • In service training and re-training of teachers and most importantly, encouraging them, empowering them and creating in them intrinsic motivation.
  • Supervision of teacher work and follow-up based on laid out standards.
  • Creating vision that leads to focus on the individual child's success and recognition that every child is a gem.
  • Setting of quality assessments and standards for all classes from I to XII.

Following the system of 'Continuous Evaluation' for Classes I and II, it prepares assessments in the core subjects of English, Hindi, Mathematics and Computers. These are conducted by CMS campus each month. Several months' results are then presented in an innovative Report Card twice a year that acknowledges every child is a star. One good quality of every child is highlighted.

The Innovations Wing follows-up on improvements wherever required.

  • In service training and re-training of teachers encourages and empowers them and creates in them intrinsic motivation to do their best for each child.
  • Supervision of teacher work and follow-up is based on standards that are jointly discussed.
  • Support leads to focus on the individual child and his success, with recognition that every child is special.

An ongoing research laboratory of a school has further supported the hypothesis that when a child's spirit is nurtured, children take greater interest in their studies and also showcase greater level of excellence. A Broader, Bolder education gives meaning to learning, brings out human nobility and enhances creativity, love and beauty. It releases capacities, develops creative and analytical abilities, creates a sense of purpose, and appreciation for the mystery and wonder of the universe. It develops thankfulness, prayerfulness, self-confidence, character, will power and goal setting competencies. It instills the spiritual vision that enables a child to become, in time, a self-motivated agent of social transformation, serving the best interests of family, society and the world.

An average student upon entering CMS, begins to accomplish extraordinarily because of a highly motivating and encouraging atmosphere. Such an inspiring atmosphere nurtures the spirit of a child and creates a positive "Yes, it can be done," attitude. It creates a climate of success as witnessed in the virtually 100% success rate of CMS students in national examinations. In National Talent Search Examinations (NTSE), for example, in which the Government of India funds a child's entire education on the basis of performance, CMS success rate has been significantly more than others. For example, out of a total of 702 students selected for the NTSE from Lucknow since 1997, 415 students were from CMS while the rest of Lucknow had 287 combined.

'Broader Bolder Education releases capacities and develops creativity'