No method is perfect
The main idea behind the education policy of this kindergarten is that no method is perfect. The first question to ask is what to teach? For this the teachers are called into duty to make their own curriculum based on the vast knowledge which they gained during their studies. The administration staff then will only check the curriculum.
Picking the right one
The next question is, how to teach and what method to use to make learning as easy as possible? At first sight the children look very young, too young to have ‘real lessons'. But the basic and most important method is to offer education to the children and let them choose and take whatever they can use. And not to force them to learn what the teachers want them to.
The pool of methods for education is huge. This kindergarten tries to combine the sugar-pieces of every method to give an easy education from which the children can take profit.
The different methods
One method for example that is used here is the Montessori method where you have a lot of teaching aids so the children can learn by doing, experiencing, playing.
Then there is the so-called monastery method. This means learning by repeating and reciting. This is when the whole class is transformed into a choir with all the children repeating words and sentences in a certain melody over and over again.
The kindergarten also picks from the conventional teaching methods that are mostly used in western countries such as simply writing and reading information. On the one hand it's to practice reading and writing as a technique and on the other hand it is learning by copying.
Since the mid- 80ies all the education books and materials are held in Tibetan to focus on and to sustain the Tibetan language. Before this, in the beginning of the exile situation of Tibet everything was written in English.
Education policy
The Tibetan Exile Government is getting more and more established and therefore has brought out an education policy, which is also used by the kindergarten as a guideline. And again the headmaster releases his beloved sentence: “No method is perfect!”
