Education has shifted many boundaries, and the formative years of a child, are most important, asserts Felicity Gibbons, Head Teacher, and owner of Learning Curve.
Felicity’s father, worked with the British India Steam Navigation Company, and she was educated at the Presentation Convent in Kodaikanal, leaving India in 1959, to do her degree in the UK. “It is only after the children are grown up, can you make choices as to what you want to do. I always wanted to come back to India, and got the opportunity to join the Canadian School in Bangalore and found, India was just as I’d left it!’’ said Felicity.
As Head of Elementary Learning Resources, Felicity spent seven years with the school, while her husband Terry, was in charge of administration. But she always had a dream, to have a prep school, on the model of schools abroad. “After contemplating on the idea for the past five years, we decided it had to be ‘up sticks and leave,’ for only then were we able to concentrate on looking for a suitable property.. Goa and Kerala did not seem suitable, and we discovered Mysore did not have a good prep school and zeroed in, and found this house.’’
Tucked away off the Bangalore Ooty Ring Road, sign boards direct you to Learning Curve, a day school.
An aesthetic well designed building borrowing from the Tudor architectural styles, stands off the lush green lawn, bordered with multicoloured flower beds. Walking past the inviting swimming pool, mango trees loaded  with fruit, interspersed with fig, avocado, lemon and coconut, dot the periphery, with a vegetable garden at the back, where each group of children have a plot allotted to them, to cultivate flowers and vegetables.
The porch makes a great sit-out in the evening. A large sitting room serves as the parlour, the three bedrooms on the ground level are converted to classrooms for grades one and two. The master bedroom, off the dining room, is large enough to swing an elephant, which they occupy.
A gracious marble staircase leads to the first floor, which has a well stocked library with educative games, set out in the foyer. The classrooms for grade three and four are on this level, with a separate room with workstations with computers, for older children, which enables them to establish ownership of a space. A glass enclosed area, off the main building, has the nursery.
Learning Curve has classes up to VI grade, extending holistic education, as children learn botany and zoology observing their surroundings. They learn history and geography by studying historical figures viz, Winston Churchill, Stalin, Hitler, Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and so on, and of events that happened during their lifetime. The English Readers’ required by the syllabus are imported from Sri Lanka.
There are no notes to copy from the blackboard. Students think and respond, verbally and in written forms. They are encouraged to question and demonstrate their understanding effectively.
Learning Curve that started a year ago with four children, now has twelve, one is from UK , two Sri Lankan. There is also one specially abled child, who has a full-time attendant.
It took a while to prepare the syllabus, then Felicity invited an Inspector of School from the UK, and got an excellent certification.
The curriculum based on the English National Curriculum for O Levels, covers math, information and technology, science, geography, art, music and physical education. English is the medium of instruction. Felicity plans to introduce Hindi and Kannada, as a subject, as she feels, the children should know their National language.
Attitude, behaviour, responsibility, communication skills, phonetics, table manners, etc, are emphasised upon, as is leadership and management. Felicity requires the highest standards from her staff and students, assuring every student has the opportunity to pursue their potential, learning the three ‘R’s’- reading, responsibility and respect.
She is particular about establishing a bond between student and teacher, as there cannot be one without the other. When children between age 8-12 years, reach the Key Stage 2, the lessons become less play oriented, and assessment tests enable the parents and teachers to plan the value of their child’s strengths.
Teachers and students eat at the same table at lunch served by the school. Apart from academics, the children are taught swimming, painting, by trained personnel, and are encouraged to go on nature trails.
Learning Curve believes that the essence of education is not to stuff you with facts, but to help you discover your uniqueness, concludes Felicity, whose dream has become a reality, and they hope to add VII and VIII grades shortly.         

Contact: Learning Curve,
176/2, 12th Main, 1st, Cross, E Block, J P Nagar, Mysore - 570008,
Ph : 0821-6563445,
Email: tlc_mysore@hotmail.com