‘Teachers at Apeejay made online classes interesting for my children with storytelling sessions’

Dr Jasmeet Singh is a neuro-surgeon with Apex Hospital, Jalandhar, who specialises in minimally invasive brain and spine surgeries. His wife, Dr Ankur Harjit Kaur, is a gynaecologist and IVF specialist with Johal Hospital. Hailing from Ludhiana, the couple shifted to Jalandhar and decided to enrol both their children – daughter Khushveen Kaur and son Khushkaran Singh – at Apeejay Rhythms Kinderworld, Model Town. In an interview, Dr Singh talks about the positive impetus provided by the teachers to his daughter’s all-round growth and son’s communication skills. Read on:

Why did you choose Apeejay Rhythms Kinderworld, Model Town over other schools?

Actually, when we moved to Jalandhar, we asked everyone regarding the best school in town. Everybody, including many of our friends, recommended Apeejay for its long-standing reputation of quality education in which teachers impart just the right values in children. When we visited the school we really liked the atmosphere on campus. Right from the time one enters, from the security personnel to the teachers, we got a friendly, positive vibe and they responded to all our queries with a lot of patience.

How has your experience been with Apeejay so far?
My daughter Khushveen is very happy going to the school. Everybody in school is working towards the child’s all-round development. It isn’t only about academics and being a bookworm. She used to be shy before she joined Apeejay. After coming to the school, she now participates in a number of co-curricular activities such as sports and dance. She is an excellent skater, she has become very sporty, even as she continues to do well in academics. Her speaking skills have improved dramatically. She has also picked up dance at school. No wonder she has been drawing praise from her class teachers over the last few years. Just recently, she performed on stage and spoke about the topic: ‘If I were a kite.’ The English teacher praised her profusely. A few days ago, she did an online dance performance on Independence Day and elicited praise from her class teacher Yojana Ma’am. And on Mothers Day my wife and she performed together.  

What is your feedback about the role played by teachers in the evolution of your children?
The teachers take personal interest in both our children. The best part is that they are always willing to respond to all our queries. Since the both of us keep a very busy schedule, in case we call them after school hours in the evening, they are always ready to go to the extra yard and patiently address our queries related to Khushveen and Khushkaran. Initially, my son Khushkaran could not attend offline classes owing to Covid. He could barely put together a few sentences when he began going to pre-nursery. Thanks to the extra attention that the class teacher Ms Chanmeet Saini paid to my son, his confidence level and expression has improved dramatically. When he went for offline classes in Nursery, he did not feel upset and was happy about going to school. His social skills and writing have also improved. Credit for this must go to the efforts put in by teachers on an everyday basis.

How are the teachers responding to online classes?
My children really enjoyed the online classes during the lockdown. Apeejay was the first to launch online classes for students soon after the lockdown compelled by the pandemic was announced. The teachers at Apeejay not just ensured that the classes were held regularly, they made special efforts to make them interesting through devices such as storytelling, yoga sessions and mixing moral science with the storytelling.

What’s your view of the holistic teaching approach at Apeejay?
Things have really evolved from the days we were in school. Nowadays, knowledge is everything. Even the most educated people can get tongue-tied when asked to speak on stage. I was like that when I was a student. But special emphasis is given in Apeejay to impart speaking skills and overcome stage fright.

https://youtu.be/gWgYfaBELa8