Koraput: It is a rock garden with a difference. Unlike the famous rock garden built by Neki Chand Saini in Chandigarh, which uses waste industrial and ceramic wastes to create sculptures and landscapes, the rock garden developed by N. Rajesh Kumar of Government Girls High School (Balika Uchcha Vidyalaya) in Nuagaon village of Odisha’s Koraput district aims to impart knowledge about English grammar to students in an innovative way.
Named the ‘Grammar Garden’, this rock garden was developed by the school’s English teacher N. Rajesh Kumar who found that his students were frightened to attend English grammar classes. This led Rajesh Kumar to think of innovative ways to impart education in this foreign language. “I found that the girls in my class were afraid of attending my classes as they struggled with English grammar. So, I thought and devised the concept of this ‘Grammar Garden’ to drive away fear from the minds of the students and learn the language playfully,” said Rajesh Kumar.
The rocks in the garden cover English grammar for Classes VI to X.
Soon Rajesh Kumar, with the support of the school head teacher Ranjita Mausami, developed the unique Grammar Garden adjacent to the school. This garden comprises 18 medium-sized rocks which have the important rules of English grammar carved on them. If a student misses a class or is unable to follow the class, she can visit the Grammar Garden during her leisure period and learn the rules of English grammar by reading the inscriptions on the rocks. If they still fail to understand the nitty-gritty of the subject, they are free to go to their teacher Rajesh Kumar, who is always enthusiastic to clear the doubts of his students.
Like the inscriptions on the rock, once a student goes through the new process developed by Rajesh Kumar, the subject gets engraved in their mind. No doubt, the girls of Government Balika Uchcha Vidyalaya here are excited. Learning English has become easier as well as fun for them.
Geeta Muduli, a Class VIII student of the school, says, “Earlier, I was afraid of learning English. It is a foreign language and we struggled to follow what was being taught in class. With the Grammar Garden in place, learning English has turned out to be fun. Now, we look forward to Rajesh Sir’s class every day.”
School head teacher Ranjita Mausami is all praise for Rajesh Kumar, who, she claims, has brought a transformation among the students vis-à-vis learning English. “You must have heard of spice gardens, flower gardens and vegetable gardens in schools. But the Grammar Garden in our school is unique and useful. I hope other schools will also take a clue from our Grammar Garden and make learning English easier and fun,” she said.
