THESE 5 EXTRAORDINARY SCHOOLS ACROSS THE WORLD

are teaching children in unusual ways or surroundings

EXTRAORDINARY KINDERGARTEN IN TOKYO, JAPAN

At this school in Tokyo, fiveyear-olds cause traffic jams and windows are for Santa to climb into. Meet: the world’s cutest kindergarten, designed by architect Takaharu Tezuka. Watch this TED talk to know more about the kindergarten and it’s design process that really lets kids be kids.

The Boat Schools Of Bangladesh

A nonprofit organization called Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha operates almost 100 boat schools in Bangladesh since 2002. The schools are solar powered and have a laptop computer, Internet access, and a small library. Whenever there’s a flood and while every other business or service is closed, the boat schools are still operational. They pick up the students from docks or riversides and then anchor somewhere else so class can begin.

After the lessons, the boat school returns the students to their homes and yet another group of students is picked up. Approximately 70,000 children have benefited from the boat schools.

THE TRAIN PLATFORM SCHOOL, INDIA

Inderjit Khurana, a school teacher from Orissa setup the Ruchika School Social Service Organization (RSSO) and subsequently the Train Platform School in 1985 to ensure that education is available to children who she saw begging on train platforms. She began her project with just one school and today more than 4,000 students are being educated around India through the program. These schools cater to the educational needs of street children, child laborers, and children from poor families.

The children gather between train stops to learn to read and write, and they learn through the use of field trips, flashcards, songs, drama, music, and puppetry. The RSSO also provides food and medication as it would be difficult to educate children from this social background without meeting the needs of their entire families.

MICROSOFT’S SCHOOL OF THE FUTURE, PHILADELPHIA, USA

The West Philadelphia School of the Future opened in 2006. In this High tech school, students use computers instaed of books. Mathematics is taught with OneNote, a note-taking app from Microsoft. The teachers use computerized smart boards instead of traditional whiteboards or blackboards for instruction. Students use digital lockers that open with the flash of an ID card. Familiarity with Microsoft Office and other programs gives students of this school a higher chance of employment after graduation.

Schools In Finland

Finland’s education system is one of the best in the world. To further improve the schooling system, Finnish officials and educators have decided to create schools which cater to the wholesome learning of students and do not just test your knowledge and assign marks. Major reforms like no fixed subjects, changes to the classroom structure and cohesive learning through an interdisciplinary format are underway and are likely to be completed by 2020.