Most of the schools we were associated with were located in picturesque and sylvan settings. Strangely and fortuitously most of them were surrounded by amazing and awe–inspiring, large or small hills, with trees of many types and sizes.

When children grow up in such environments, they learn to climb trees, especially if they bear interesting fruits like mangoes, guavas, sapota or even flowers. Of course, some schools do not permit children to climb trees due to various reasons, including unwarranted conservatism or fear of how the promoters will look at the issue. Maintaining the garden and orchards is of higher priority than an interesting educational exposure to the students.

In one of the fairly “strict” schools that we joined, there was an abundance of scope for children to explore, learn and grow up very well. Once the required, minimal paradigm shift was done by some of us, the like–minded teachers, we arranged the walks up the hills with breakfast and lunch transported to the spots through our school vans.

A few of us enabled the students to climb the trees and at the end of the day we ensured that every child climbed them, even if it was a small one.

It was an amazing experience for the children and a fulfilling day for the teachers who realized that something extraordinary was attempted and enabled in the present times, which is so fundamental for children to grow up.

I am sure if we desire and intend this could be tried out in a smaller scale within the school campus if a couple of trees are available.

At the end of the day, we all enjoyed a sumptuous and well–deserved lunch!