Education
One Size Doesn’t Fit All: The Need for Personalised Learning
Once upon a time, in the heart of a bustling town adorned with the charm of old and new, there lay a school that seemed plucked from the pages of a storybook. The Enchanted Academy, with its sprawling lawns and majestic halls, was a place where every child was believed to be a star, destined to shine. Among these stars was a quiet moon, Rohan, whose light seemed to flicker in the overwhelming brightness of others.
Rohan, with his gentle eyes and silent ways, moved like a shadow through the corridors of opulence. The teachers, with their well-meant methods and hearts full of old tales of success, saw him but didn’t truly see him. They believed in a spell – the “one-size-fits-all” charm, which they thought could unlock the potential in every child. But magic, as the wisest of us know, cannot be forced into uniformity.
One day, under the vast canopy of the ancient banyan tree that stood watch over Enchanted Academy, Rohan’s teacher, Mrs. Verma, decided it was time to unravel the mystery of his silence. Armed with the same enchantments she had used time and again, she led him to an empty chamber, a place where many tales had been told and many woes had been comforted.
“Close your eyes and imagine a world of peace,” she coaxed, her voice a gentle breeze. But what she didn’t know, what she couldn’t have known, was that Rohan’s silence was a fortress guarding him from memories too painful, from a reality where he was the moon amidst stars too harsh. The tranquillity she offered turned into a storm, for closing his eyes only brought him closer to the darkness he faced each day – not from monsters of fairy tales, but from fellow students, his supposed comrades in this magical journey.
The revelation came not with a whisper but a tempest, as Rohan found himself lost in a maelstrom of fear, his quietude breaking into a cry for help. It was a moment of awakening, not just for Rohan, but for Mrs. Verma too, as the veil lifted, revealing the truth that lay hidden in plain sight.
Later, in the quiet sanctity of his home, Rohan shared his tale of torment with his mother, his voice a mere echo of his former self. The harassment and abuse he had endured from his peers, the knights and princesses of this enchanted world, came to light, painting a stark contrast to the storybook façade of Enchanted Academy.
The tale of Rohan is not just his but a reflection of many moons dimmed by the glare of standardised spells, a reminder that in a world filled with diverse souls, the magic of education lies not in uniformity but in understanding the unique melodies each child carries within.
As the Enchanted Academy learned to navigate this new chapter, a question lingered like the last note of a song, resonating through the halls of learning everywhere: How long will we continue to cast the same spell, expecting to unlock every door, when the keys we hold are as varied as the hearts they are meant to open?
To read more on such trends that need to be called out and #un-trended, head to the April issue of our magazine here.
