She had things most others only dream of — a gold medal from a prestigious institution and lucrative jobs at an MNC bank and an auditing firm.
Yet, one fine day, Bhuvana K.A. felt she had lost the emotional connection with the corporate world and she decided she had to do something different. It had to be something that would enrich her life and those of creative children who always sought to come up with something new. Thus was born the ThinkDiff S’kool.
“I started this because I was very passionate about teaching children, and that too in an enjoyable way. Now, I find them teaching me, particularly when it comes to approaching a problem in a simple way,” confesses Bhuvana.
The topper in MBA (Systems & Finance) from the College of Engineering, Guindy (Anna University), who received her medal from former president Abdul Kalam, feels that greater emphasis is placed on “memorising a subject” than “learning about it”. “When I was a kid, one of my uncles unlocked the mystery of the ‘outer space’ for me, narrating it like a story. And I still remember it! I then understood the importance of breaking down complex topics in order to reach them to children,” says the 36-year-old.
That’s how she started designing toy cars with the materials available at home, or making candy-vending machines, by involving the children, who found the process as well as the products interesting.
“Teaching science, or mental maths, should be hands-on. Only then will the kids get excited about the whole process. It’s time we introduced this in schools,” she says.
Going by the number of young scientists who emerge from ThinkDiff every year, her efforts to begin a “new wave of thinking” seem to be catching up. You can reach Bhuvana at 80561 00293.
