Currently, there is an accredited primary school, kindergarten and secondary school in Krisna-völgy. Class rooms are located in three school buildings, from the first to the eighth grade. In 2022 high school was also officialy registered and the first students were able to continue their education in our local school. Up and until September 2022 the school only went up to the ninth grade.
I thought the best way to introduce the school would be by interviewing on of the school’s students.
Me: Hello! Thank you for coming and telling us a little about the school. Now you are a teenager, therefore, for my first question I would like to ask since when have you been going to the school here?
Gauridas: I started going to school here from the first grade. currently, I am in the 7th grade.
Me: Did you also go to the kidergarden here?
Gauridas: No. My family and I moved here as I went into the first grade. I went to the kindergarten for a few weeks in the summer just before entering first grade, but I don’t have many memories of it.
Me: What does your average day at school look like?
Gauridas: Every week on Monday, we start with a joint program. All the students of the school get together. This is called a week starter. During the meeting we discuss what to expect this week. There are cases where this morning start takes an entire hour, but there were also instances where we discussed everything in a few minutes.
Me: You said the whole school meets together. That doesn’t happen on other times?
Gauridas: No. The school has three buildings. There is one for the senior boys, one for the junior boys, and the girls are in a separate building.
Me: How many of you are in a class?
Gauridas: The school has around 40-50 children. The number of people in the classes is very divided. There are four of us currently in the seventh grade, of which two are boys and two are girls. Since we are in a separate building, it’s really just the two of us. When I started the first grade I was completely alone, I didn’t even have a female classmate. Since then, we have become comperably many now.
Me: Isn’t that a big obstacle for teachers?
Gauridas: Although I am not a teacher, I can see that they managed to solve this very well.
Me: Do you have combined classes with other grades?
Gauridas: Yes, we have several classes in which we are paired with the sixth graders, sometimes with the eighth graders. And in the gym class, it’s like the whole senior boys are together.
Me: What do you think is the biggest difference between the Krishna Valley school and, say, another school?
Gauridas: I think the biggest difference is in the classes themselves. Apart from learning maths, hostory and other regular subjects, we also have Vedic subjects. These are religious classes. Sometimes we study the scriptures, sometimes we learn to play Indian instruments.