Visionary - Designing new age schools for blind students.

PREMISE

The dawn of new-age progressive schools was started around the 1900s by John Dewey as a movement of bringing up kids in lab-like schools where they learn by doing. The model helped break the stereotypes of traditional conservative methods of education which believe in teaching through books and preset lessons.

But with passing time, the curiosity of children is far by leaps and bounds. Questions raised in the classes today are far more expansive as a generation compared to previous centuries. From being students following a certain curriculum, their rigor is challenging every dimension of learning. These times push for new means to learn constantly, no matter what the subject is.

This becomes a privilege for schools that have people who are able and can be provided such exploratory means of teaching. But children who are differently/specially-abled and the facilities available to them are never pushed so far – nor even looked at in the same light. 

BRIEF

Designing learning spaces for children with low or no sight requires a lot more attention than designing for abled kids. 

Can there be various models for implementing such education environments that multiply their potential? Can design help us identify modules/methods of upgrading existing schools for differently-abled teaching? Can we implement a new kind of pedagogy for the users in consideration?

The challenge here is to design a school for the blind that engages – promotes - teaches almost as good as a general school for the abled children. 

Taking into account the parallels between these learning environments can’t be equal, but exercise looks more towards raising the bar than to meet it at equal capacity. The design must also focus on methods to mentally stimulate the kids through other sensory ways.

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