TOPIC

TOPIC: Multicultural School

{Values 16}

Education is not the learning of facts, but the

training of the mind to think Albert
Einstein
Education is the most powerful weapon which
you can use to change the world Nelson
Mandela
Learning gives creativity, creativity leads to
thinking, thinking provides knowledge,
knowledge makes you great APJ Abdul
Kalam

Together everyone achieves more

After registering for Eumind, the first task for the five of us was to
prepare the introduction and the action plan. As per our forte the work
was divided and the ppt was made and uploaded. This was just the
beginning. Then Harshita, the writer of our group prepared the
questionnaire. As per our topic, we selected a few important people
from our school who could be interviewed. Daksh and Anoushka
collected pictures required for the project and also shot the videos of
the interviews. These guys also edited the videos. A lot of creative
inputs came from Udit, our creative artist. Garv being the group leader
was there throughout chairing all the meetings and monitoring the work.
In the midst of these was scheduled our first video conference with a
school called Nehalennia in Netherlands. It gave us an opportunity to
interact with the Dutch students and know about how they were
proceeding with their project.

VALUES 16 - MULTICULTURAL SCHOOL

This project is about knowing the advantages of a learning environment
that is diverse in culture. We will conduct research on the topic
multicultural school by interviewing people from within and outside
school. We will be able to compare the differences/similarities between
multicultrural education in India and Europe. This phase of the project
includes carrying out research and to start off with writing the report.

Name of the interviewee:

Age of the interviewee:
Gender:
Profession:
Name of the interviewer:

Part 1:

A. How diverse is the population in your town/city/area?

____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
B. Name the religions that are practised by people in your
town/city/area?
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
C. Would you like to share some aspects of your culture/religion?
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
D. What kind of privileges does one enjoy being a part of the
multicultural society?
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

Part 2:
A. What is multicultural education?
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
B. Are any different cultures of your town/area represented in your
school?
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
C. What is the school policy about the representation of the
various cultures in your school?
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

D. What about religious education at your school?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

E. What are the positive effects of a multi-cultural representation

of students at school?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

F. Does the government have any policy as regards the

promotion of multicultural education?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

G. List the activities which promote multicultural education in your

school.
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Part 3:

MAIN QUESTION
A. What is the advantage of a learning environment that is diverse
in culture?
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

*********
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Mr. Shim Mathew

Principal
A dynamic personality

A video of the interview has been attached.

10

Ms.Tripti Parekh
Vice Principal
An amazing personality

A video of the interview has been attached

Ms. Tanya Gulrajani

ICSE Secondary Co
Co-ordinator
A magnificent personality

A video of the interview has been attached

12

Ms. Donna Sequeira

Middle School Co-ordinator
ordinator
An elegant personality

13

Ms. Shreya Prabhu

Cambridge Primary Co
Co-ordinator
A gorgeous personality

A video of the interview has been attached

14

Ms. Seema Agarwal

VIVA Co-ordinator
A graceful personality

15

Ms. Shweta Kutheala

ART Head of Department
A creative personality

16

Mr. Suchintya Majumder

Senior English Teacher in the secondary section
An insightful personality

A video of the interview has been attached

17

Mr. Nishil Kamalan

Speech and Drama coach
A talented personality

18

Part 1:

A. How diverse is the population in your town/city/area?

Colloquially known as Mumbaikars or Bombayites are a blend of different
communities, religions and customs.
The city is quite cosmopolitan and diverse. People from almost all religions
and ethnic groups are in abundance. Diversity is also notable on the basis of
language and profession. People from all parts of India and the rest of the
world are to be found here.
The diversity of the city enables the inhabitants to live life to the fullest and
work extremely hard to make all ends meet.

Religious Diversity in Mumbai

Hindus
Muslims
Jains
Christians
Sikhs

Source: www.worldpopulationreview.com

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B. Name the religions that are practised by people in your

town/city/area?
Mumbai is a city of many faiths. Since the cultural diversity is immense,
religious conviction and secularism go hand in hand.
There is a mix of religions in Mumbai due to the widespread growth of various
communities and migrants.
The city is a concentrated mix of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Jains,
Buddhists and Zoroastrians.
Mumbaikars are very passionate about their festivals. Whether it is Ganesh
Chathurti or Christmas, Mumbai being a city of many faiths is brightly lit up
during each festival.

The diversity and the compassion that the Mumbaikars show towards one
another in terms of religion, reflects the liberal spirit of the city.

C. What kind of privileges does on enjoy being a part of a

multicultural society?
Multicultural society helps to develop equal respect for varied cultures where
cultural diversity and regionalities take a back seat.
It minimises intolerance and promotes the concept of Universal Brotherhood.
It helps people communicate with each other. When people share ideas and
perspectives, they learn a new way to see the world or a situation. So there is
development in an intellectual way.
It also leads to an open minded population where people learn to analyse
situations from another point of view.
The society becomes non-discrimational and the environment becomes
peaceful.
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Part 2:

A. What is multicultural education?

A process that pervades all school practices and policies as a means to
ensure the highest level of education developing equality based on the
cultures of all the diverse groups.

B. Are any different cultures of your area/town represented

in your school?
Yes, the religiouss and linguistic diversity of the city is visible in our school.

Both among the students and the teaching staff.

Unity in Diversity

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C. What is the school policy about the representation of the

various cultures in your school?
VIBGYOR Goregaon is among the first International schools of the city.
Established in 2004, the school has consistently developed to be a promising
and stimulating environment for the growth of a child.
The school is a contemporary space with the most recent technology to aid
the learning process. Furthermore, the curriculum is a carefully thought out
strategy to make a child's academic years more yielding and fulfilling. An
environment of camaraderie and friendly competition is consistently
maintained so as to make the mo
most
st of our students as adults of the modern
world.

Providing both National and International board education.

A friendly environment

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D. What about religious education at your school?

As school policy we do not have any religious instructions in the curriculum.
Even our prayer in the morning is beyond religion.
We lay emphasis on the overall intellectual, aesthetic, physical and cultural
growth of the child.

Art work by students

E. What

are

the

positive

effects

of

multi-cultural
multi

representation of students at school?

Multicultural Education promotes multiple perspectives and multiple ways of

thinking.
It promotes all forms of tolerance.
It helps students to develop a positive self image.
It develops the ability to critically analyze the society.
It offers students an equitable educational opportunity.

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United we stand, Divided we fall

F. Does the government have any policy as regards the

promotion of multicultural education?
Right to Education Free and compulsary education for all from 6 to 14
years.
In the Indian Constitution, Article 15/16/17/19/21/29/30/39/46/2437/332/334
/16/17/19/21/29/30/39/46/2437/332/334
and 335 contains fundamental rights for the multicultural communities of India
which means noo discrimination on the basis of religi
religion,
on, race, caste, sex or
place of birth.
Including regional and international language as a part of the curriculum.
Declaring public holidays for cultural festivals
.

Strength lies in differences

24

G. List the activities which promote multicultural education

in your school.
Interhouse Competitions At Vibgyor, we have 4 such competitions in an
academic year. The activities planned are declamation speeches, debate
competitions,, solo or group singing and dancing which incorporates the
different cultures
es of the country and help in a students individual growth.

Declamation Competition

Dressed up like Indian Mythological characters

25

 Assemblies Each grade has to present an assembly twice in a year. The

entire show is put up by the students. The students of different cultures work
together for the assembly to be successful. This promotes multiple ways of
thinking in a student.

My Country- My Pride
Clubs and activities The school gives its students an opportunity to
become members of the Greaders Club and the Nature club again with the
objective of developing in them tolerance towards different
ifferent people.
people

Author visit Members of the Greaders club

26

 Culminating activities At the Cambridge Primary Level, French day is

celebrated where the students perform a street play.

Celebrating the French Day

Street play for the same

Cultural events like VIVA This is like a carnival at Vibgyor,
Vibgyor a festival, an
extravaganza, a celebration of life itself. The music, drama and dance are van
amalgamation of cultures.

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Super performers

In full spirit
Student
udent Teacher Exchange Programs Vibgyor has been a part of the
exchange programs where the students have visited Paris and Spain. It has
also been a host to teachers who have visited India from Netherlands as a
part of the Eumind project.

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 Eumind For the past two years Vibgyor has been a part of Eumind which is
a platform for networking between schools in India and Europe.

Europe meets India

Video Conference A cultural Exchange

VHMUN [Vibgyor High Model United Nations] We at Vibgyor High
believe in a world beyond borders. A fascinating opportunity beckons
delegates to interact with students from all over the country and build strong
friendships that will last a life time.

At the MUN Session

29

 Celebration of National days like Independence Day and Republic Day.

Remembering a legend APJ Abdul Kalam

At Vibgyor, at the primary level the world festivals are also celebrated.

Celebration time for the students

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Part 3:

What are the advantages of a learning

environment that is diverse in culture?

Helps students to grow intellectually and

artistically.
It promotes objectivity in students.
It also naturally instils tolerance and
promotes peace and progress.
It makes a better human being, bridging the
gap between people, cultures, nations and
religions.

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