Visit to St. Francis School for the Hearing and Speech Impaired, Thakurganj

On Friday, 13th December, the students of class IX-A, IX-B and IX-C were taken for a visit to St Francis School in Thakurganj for the hearing and speech impaired. It was really a heart-warming experience for all the students as they interacted with the students in this school who could not talk or hear, yet they had so many stories to tell. The students visited all the classes in this school from Nursery to Class X and observed, how these students were able to study and perform despite their disability. They observed the teachers delivering lectures in sign language and the students imbibing all the knowledge without any distractions. They had a look at their notebooks and were amazed by the quality of work done by those students especially the perfect diagrams drawn by them. Some of them even remarked that they feel ashamed that they have always been so irresponsible when it comes to completing their notebook work. The students were not only focussing on academics but were also learning a lot of other skills as they had a craft room, where all their craft work, maths and science models were displayed. Most of the students were boarders and the students got to know, how they do most of their work on their own, which in true sense makes them highly enabled and empowered. It was a humbling experience for the students and by the end of the visit they had picked up all the alphabet in sign language.

The school will now collect several items of use, such as stationery material, food items and toiletries for their school children, which will be sent to them next week. Such visits are very important for the students as they develop a sense of gratitude for the privileges they have, learning to be empathetic and show willingness to give rather than receive from others.