Why are extra-curricular activities an important part of the school syllabus?

Success of an individual depends more on how rounded his/her personality is, how balanced the thinking is and how well he/she is able to handle adverse situations in life. The measure of success is definitely not related or confined to the marks scored in any particular exam. Emotional quotient or EQ, is being given its due share of importance now rather than only harping on IQ-the traditional form of gauging a person's caliber.

As most modern schools recognize this aspect and strive to equip the students to face the real world, a host of other activities apart from academics have sprung up as a part of the school syllabus. Most international schools are designed to suit the interests of the NRI clan and thereby follow a similar method of training as in the western parts of the world.

Skills like swimming, karate, cooking, gardening, are being integrated in to the main stream. A variety of games are being taught under the sports category. Students are encouraged to take up any kind of fine arts that suit their interests and aptitude. So, now, a child can explore his/her interests in areas like keyboard playing or singing in a choir. 

A glimpse of Exotica 2013 @ Lawrence High School

We can see a paradigm shift in how the annual celebrations take place at schools. A decade ago, only the cream of the students would be cherry picked and polished for performances on stage. The introverts almost always got left out. However, now we see that all students are given equal opportunity to show their presence in front of a large audience. They are encouraged and trained to shed their inhibitions and come out of their comfort zones.

An environment that is energizing in all ways, that enables to sharpen the mind in many spheres, and gives the students a huge platter to choose from is definitely a right and progressive way to create future leaders and a generation of responsible and sensitive human beings.

Lawrence High School takes pride in doing all of the above and making a mark in the world of school education.

Lawrence High School, located at HSR layout, Bangalore, focuses on educating children with traditional values to adapt and excel in the world. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/ 

Are children today overburdened with activities? Lawrence School

“What is this life, if full of care, we have to time to stand and stare..”  These famous lines of W.H. Davies holds true for most adults in today’s time where everything is paced at a break-neck speed and the number of activities outdo the time we have on our hands. However, the unfortunate part is that this is also fast becoming a reality for many children.

With competition closing in from all quarters, children these days are not only expected to excel in studies but also bring in trophies and accolades in myriad other spheres of life ranging from drawing, sports to public speaking and management skills.

It is common practice amongst parents to compare the busyness quotient of their children’s lives and use it as a sort of scoring point at social gatherings. It is degrading to admit that the child doesn’t attend any “classes” of sorts and spends time at home instead. How unfortunate then for these kids who perhaps will never realize the importance and joy of playing silly, or doing nothing!

Children need as much unstructured time as structured to enhance their thinking and growing. A lot of activities that seem like a waste of time are actually instrumental in unleashing their creativity and undiscovered talent. We as adults love the tag of “being busy” and try to fill in all our waking hours with “doing something”. As a natural progression, this attitude gets shifted to our parenting style and towards our children.

Rushing from one class to another hardly leaves any time for kids to think constructively. While it is true that extra-curricular activities are needed to give a well-rounded personality, an over-dose of such “classes” might actually rob the child of any genuine interest. There is a fine balance that needs to be maintained between nudging and pushing. Nudging a child into pursuing hobby classes is needed but pushing a child into cramming every possible extra skill in their free-time is a huge no-no.

Lawrence High School, located at HSR layout, Bangalore, focuses on educating children with traditional values to adapt and excel in the world. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/ 

An educational visit to Mysore - Lawrence School

Educational visits are an important part of the school curriculum since the children get to learn a lot from the field trips that may be missed in a classroom environment.  History becomes more interesting when we actually visit the places of importance and experience the beauty of the historical monuments.

Two busloads of happy teachers and students of classes of 5^th, 6^th and 7^th left for Mysore on the morning of 8th November 2012 for an educational tour of the Mysore palace and Brindavan Gardens, stopping en route for piping hot breakfast. Bus journeys on such field trips are always memorable as they are spiced with fun, laughter, merry-making with the students dropping their guard around the teachers and the teachers too joining in the fun with equal fervor.

Our first stop was at Tipu’s Gumbaz where the guide explained to us the significance of the structure. The fine architecture was proof of how skilled the builders were.

Refreshed with the tour of the Gumbaz, we proceeded towards the Mysore Palace, art gallery and then the famous Mysore Zoo. The Zoo was quite an amazing experience for all of us since it is not every day that we get to see such varied, colourful birds and magnificent animals at such close quarters.

Brindavan Gardens was our last stop late in the evening. The whole place was lit up so well that it was literally a festival of lights!

We returned to school almost at midnight, tired and aching, yet our spirits were soaring and our hearts filled with energy. We had such a wonderful time that we wished the day didn’t end so soon.

Some pictures from the trip: 

At Lawrence we believe in holistic learning and lay emphasis on extra-curricular activities that enhances student learning. Check out our website for further details about our institution  http://www.lawrenceschoolicse.in/