MUMBAI, MH—CEO of First In Math India, Monica Patel, visited JBCN’s Borivali school, and was energized from the experience of meeting its dedicated faculty members and enthusiastic students.
Monica Patel recognizes top students individually during an assembly, while Ms. Puri looks on with a smile. Inset: The school ‘First In Math Wall of Fame’ is displayed with pride of in the hallway.
Until recently, JBCN led the FIM School rankings. In January of 2014, schools in the southern part of India forged ahead and relegated them to fourth place. During her visit, Patel, urged students to “show all of the schools what your spirit of achievement is and get back to the top.”
And respond to the call they did, tapping into their competitive spirit to go from about 10 lakh to 13,65,000 maths problems solved, putting them firmly in second place on the National FIM Rankings in 40 days!
Borivali students are addressed as learners, and it is clearly their role while in and out of school, according to Patel. “It is a team effort,” explains senior maths coordinator Ms. Anu James, who praised Ms. Puri, FIM administrator, as a motivational force. “She makes sure we continually recognize student achievement.”
In addition to addressing the students, Patel joined gracious and hospitable vice-principal, Dr. Shetty, and his team for discussion over breakfast. “We have been able to keep the excitement around maths at a constant level, with Akshita Gandhi, FIM lead implementation strategist – providing strategies and tools for recognition of students and teachers,” explains Shetty.
“Our vision for JBCN—and all schools in India—is to see them on the Top 100 Schools of the FIM International Rankings—this is the goal for the future,” says Gandhi.
Patel says that she recently discussed the school’s progress with Robert Sun, creator of the FIM program, and he noted something remarkable—every standard from 2 to 8 is represented almost equally in terms of student success and number of maths problems solved. “There are second-standard students who have solved 30,000 maths problems and fifth-standard students who have solved more than 50,000 problems,” says Patel.
Sun explains why the success of even the youngest students is not surprising. “Mathematics is the ideal academic subject for flow-based learning—particularly in the practice phase. Mathematics concepts are typically broken into definable units; moreover, proficiency is incremental in nature, with each skill built upon those previously acquired. When the environment is properly structured, students can plug into mathematics instruction at whatever level their present skills indicate. This allows the learner to define his or her own comfort level for the concepts being presented.”
“Our learning experiences, while remaining rooted in Indian values, will enable students to become successful leaders and effective communicators who can adapt effortlessly to a culturally diverse and ever-changing world” - is the vision of the founders of JBCN group of schools.