What is the Admission process?
- Please do read the FAQs page completely. Most of the questions you might want to ask us are answered here.
- Prospective parents are invited to visit the school to understand our approach. We clearly communicate the educational philosophy of the school and invite parents to share their views.
- We do spend a good amount of time with parents to understand their intentions, aspirations and their perspectives on learning. Understanding parents expectation is very important before offering admission.
What ages do you enrol?
- We enrol children between 3 years to 6 years depending on space. As of now, we are enrolling children beyond 7 years on a case-to-case basis.
Which curriculum do you follow?
- The core curriculum is designed based on the Cambridge IGCSE framework.
Will my child succeed later if he/she is in a non-competitive and non-comparative environment? Will they be ready for the outside world when they graduate from school?
- Children are competitive by nature. They feel the need to compare their strength and skills to others. We need to stop pushing them to be more competitive and comparative.
- At Walden’s Path, learning and succeeding is a ‘Non-Zero Sum Game‘. One child’s gain need not be bad news for the other. Indeed, children’s interests overlap and everyone wins.
With your learning approach, will my child succeed in competitive examination post 10th or 12th?
Yes, definitely.
Can Cambridge IGCSE students appear for JEE/NEET (Engineering/Medical) examinations?
Yes, IGCSE is a recognised board in India. Students who intend to appear for JEE or NEET entrance tests should take Mathematics, Physics & Chemistry in 11th and 12th grades.
How do you balance the need to cover the curriculum with your philosophy of learning?
At Walden’s Path curriculum is not a matter of pouring water into a bucket. It doesn’t matter what the curriculum covers. What matters is what the child discovers. In other words, if the child can learn how to discover, then it doesn’t matter what the subject matter is, the child will use that talent elsewhere.
What are the different school boards in India?
- Learn more about Different education boards in India.
What is Constructivist/Progressive Education?
- Learn more about the Differences Between Conventional Education and Walden’s Path Constructivist/Progressive Education.
Is your approach similar to Montessori or Waldorf Education?
- While there may be a few aspects which look similar to Montessori or Waldorf education, our approach and philosophy are very different.
What is Individualised/Personalised Learning?
- Individualised or Personalised learning is an approach that offers pedagogy, curriculum, and learning environment to meet the individual child’s learning ability and pace. In an Individualised learning environment, the learning objectives and content, as well as the method and pace may all vary from child to child. It is not to be confused with private learning (one-to-one tuition).
What is Pedagogy of Play?
- The play is central to how children learn: the way they make sense of their world; the way they form and explore friendships; the way they shape and test intellectual, social, emotional, and ethical ideas. Research has proved beyond doubt the importance of play in a child’s development. Yet little effort is made to put play at the centre of schooling. Read more about Playful Learning.
Where can I learn more about your approach to Higher Grades?
- From Walden’s Path | The Magnet School website.
Do you accept children with special needs/learning difficulties?
- As of now, we do not have special education experts to help children with special needs or specific learning disabilities. However, we do not automatically reject children with difficulties. Please feel free to call us to discuss further.
How about Languages?
- Students have optional and compulsory languages. Optional languages include Telugu (all ages), Spanish (all ages), German (grade 4 onwards) and Chinese (grade 4 onwards). Compulsory languages are English, Hindi, Special English/Sanskrit.
- We have designed an innovative approach that helps students learn languages effortlessly.
How about Mathematics?
- What we teach is not very different, but how we teach is very different. We love math and we use unique pedagogy to help children develop mathematics joyfully.
- Why is it important to make maths learning joyful?
How about Science?
- Teaching science is more of a process with mistakes and messiness. We adopted the Studio-based learning developed by educationist John Dewey at The Laboratory School.
How about Assessment?
Nursery – Grade V
- We have adopted various frameworks and tools developed by Harvard University Graduate School of Education that enable us to look at teaching analytically, develop new approaches to planning and make informed decisions about instruction.
Grades VI-XII
- Assessments will be both formal and informal.
What is the student-teacher ratio? And class size?
- Like other Jiddu Krishnamurti inspired schools, by choice, we decided to work with a small group of students and give our full attention to them. Classes are organised formally and informally in small groups of 5 – 9 children for a quality learning experience.
- We have ample space for outdoor and indoor activities. Rather than confining the child to a 2 x 2 feet desk for 10 or 12 years, we allow our children to have full ownership of the school premises and let the teacher/student decide when, where and how they want to use the space responsibly.
How about your teachers/facilitators?
- Our educators are passionate and creative, inspiring a love of learning in students every day. We are fortunate to have some of the best educators with us.
How do you discipline children?
“It is intelligence that brings order, not discipline.
The word discipline, the root of that word means to learn – not to conform, not to suppress but to learn. And learning demands an astonishing discipline – not the discipline of authority.
Discipline comes naturally out of consideration. Discipline is not resistance; it is really an adjustment. When you consider somebody, you adjust; and that adjustment is natural because it is born out of thought, care, and affection.”
– Jiddu Krishnamurti
Do you have Sports/ Physical education?
- Yes. Our students have physical education and recess every day and they enjoy both unstructured outdoor play and exploration as well as structured games and activities based on their interest.
How about Extra-Curricular activities?
- We spiral curricular and extra-curricular activities together to deliver a whole and complete learning experience. We adopted various scientifically proven activities such as the Feldenkrais Method of Awareness through Movements, Yoga, Pranayama, Meditation, Rough & tumble free play, sports and games.
- At Walden’s Path Magnet School, Art, Craft, Music, Theatre are part of the everyday learning process. We do field trips to Agriculture farms, Environmental study spaces, Engineering and Industrial areas, Science and Technology learning spaces all around the year.
Do you offer lunch?
- Yes, we offer healthy organic vegetarian lunch.
Do you provide transportation?
- Transportation from Gachibowli, Manikonda, Kondapur areas will be available from June 2019. We will cover other areas later.
Where can I find reviews or parent testimonials?
- Follow the link to read parent reviews on Walden’s Path School.
What a Typical school day looks like?
Unlike conventional schools, a typical school day at Walden’s Path is a lot less structured.
- Children arrive between 8:00 – 8:15 am.
- The first hour is spent in physical activity. We have Kalaripayattu (the oldest martial arts that helps in coordination of the mind & body), Yoga, Body awareness, Pranayama & Meditation.
- Post physical activities, children have a snack and get into languages, mathematics and science learning activities.
- Different learning groups have different sessions during the day.
- Children have free time in-between session.
- We serve an organic vegetarian meal at 12:45 pm.
- Post lunch, children are free to choose an activity (play, art, reading or just hang around).
- During some semesters, children are more involved in intense project activities and a typical day can look a lot different.
- The school closes at 2:15 pm.
Where can I find school policies?
- Link to Walden’s Path School Policies.
What is Jiddu Krishnamurti’s Educational Philosophy?
- Education forms a central core of Krishnamurti’s worldview. In fact, Krishnamurti spent his entire life talking about education as being the agent not only of an individual’s inner renewal but also of social change. What Krishnamurti proposes is a different approach to learning altogether, one that distinguishes itself radically from what we normally understand by that term: the accumulation of knowledge, with its application and testing.
Where can I learn more about Jiddu Krishnamurti Education Philosophy?
- The official repository of the teachings of J. Krishnamurti
- Krishnamurti Foundation India
- List of Krishnamurti books on Education