MGS is:
-400+ happy students from the poor village 'Mucherla' in Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh - Central East India, age 5-16, primary to 10th grade with equal numbers of boys & girls, from all castes and backgrounds, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Tribals.
-22 qualified Indian teachers
-1 Indian principal
-Stimulating environment for children to develop physically, intellectually, emotionally,
spiritually, and needs YOUR SUPPORT! When did MGS begin? In 1994 Ruth Ann Schneider from the US came to Mucherla with a little money and the dream to put up a school for deprived children. Since then the school grew slowly and she was able to implement a curriculum based on both the state syllabi and Robert Muller’s Core curriculum. Her idea to make MGS a school based on showing and teaching ‘a way of living’ is summarised in the ‘9 rules of granny’:
Remember to: be kind - be courteous - do your best - be honest - respect others - dream big - be happy - respect yourself - thank God. A great loss was her passing away in early 2000. Until 2003 Paul David Rees has been able to keep MGS running with funds from the US but also these have now dried up. With great effort and minimum resources he tries to keep MGS going and has been successful to date. But support from outside is vital, as the fees raised from the parents cover only approximately 50% of the running cost. Where is MGS? Mucherla Global School is located in the village of Mucherla, close to Khammam and 200 km east of Hyderabad, state capital of Andhra Pradesh in south-central India. Andhra Pradesh is a relatively large Indian state (surface and population comparable to France). It is an arid, rather poor and low-literate area mainly based on agriculture and low industrial development. In recent years Hyderabad became an important city due to its booming IT sector, and therefore these days also dubbed as High-tech City. Why was MGS set up? MGS gives a very valuable opportunity to village children to develop physically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. For admission, the school’s principal makes no difference between gender, caste and religion. Admission fee is small and depends on parent’s ability to pay, with the poorest no fee. In the village only a government school is present, with 50+ students in one classroom and teaching based on memorising state syllabi. MGS offers a stimulating learning environment and is the only English-medium school in this area. In India mastering English is crucial in further education opportunities. More importantly the students are offered various ways to learn and develop (see ‘how’) to become self-confident citizens of the greater Indian and global community. Over time the (ex-) students will play an active role in development of the local community: generating more income, breaking down social barriers such as gender and caste bars and bringing a general positive message. We also aim to replicate the ‘MGS model’. There has been interest from officers and teachers from all over the district in how the school works. They are positively surprised by the self-confidence and excellent behaviour of MGS students. Also many parents from surrounding village send their children to MGS. Who is MGS? MGS has steadily grown over the past years with now over 400 students from kindergarten up to 10th grade, or ages 5 - 16. Between 15 and 30 students are in one class. They come from various backgrounds: poor, rich, outcaste to Brahmin, Hindu, Muslim and Christian families and equal numbers of boys and girls. While in the village such social differences between families lead to inequality and other problems, within the school’s boundaries the students accept it as being a non-issue. In fact with MGS a local mixing place for all religions and castes has been created and this development also slowly has its positive impact on the village. Currently 22 qualified Indian teachers from the village and nearby town Khammam are teaching the compulsory subjects maths, science, social studies, English, national language Hindi and state language Telugu. Paul David Rees is the principal, a well-educated Indian also with experience abroad. How does MGS achieve these objectives? MGS stimulates its students to develop to become self-confident members of the global community on several levels based on Robert Muller’s Core Curriculum:
Physically - students participate in sports and exercise, but also their health is looked after by means of a snack programme (mostly fruit and porridge) and health checks;
Intellectually - students are stimulated to learn by asking questions and by being presented challenging problems;
Emotionally - students have to work independently as well as in teams, and are encouraged to write about and discuss their feelings;
Spiritually - students naturally respect each other’s religions and the natural environment, and in morning sessions moral and philosophical stories are discussed. The principal is well endowed with knowledge and experience with Robert Muller’s philosophy and practice. MGS’ teachers are contributing to these goals using their own experience and skills. There is an extensive library with easily accessible books used by the children. Also there is a large playground with cricket and volleyball grounds and gardens for all students from class 3 up to 8. However, maintenance of the school’s properties and the gardens is always under threat due to lack of resources.
