Yesterday was one of those real interesting days. Couple of friends and I had been to the Korlai fort and were heading back from Alibag late in the evening. Seated in the rear of the bus, I’m not really sure how this conversation/debate ensued. For about an hour or so the six of us had a heated conversation on various policies, practices, ideologies and biases. Probably one of the best ever deliberations since my Infy days. In introspection, it kind of gave me some food for thought on how I’d like to proceed with the rest of my fellowship or for the next two years.
Since I last wrote, things have quite changed in my classroom and otherwise. TFI has this concept of having two teachers in one class room if the number of students is more than 30. Kavitha, My co-teacher formally chipped in in July. With this things slowly seem to come under control. The kids receive more personal attention and we’re able to address issues in a much better fashion. Couple of kids who never even open their mouths are slowly opening up and and are showing interest in the classroom. The class dynamics has changed and kids are slowly learning to appreciate English. Community visits seem to make an impact.
Going by last weeks assessments the class per se has shown significant improvement. But looking holistically I still do not see myself doing justice to the kids. Two years down the lane when I move out of this role, I would like to see my kids be able to speak for themselves, have the confidence to stand for what they really feel about and be able to take appropriate decisions given a set of choices. I personally believe, all that these nimble minds needs is exposure to the world out there and a pathway that would help them generate a practical solution to problems. They’re more than smart to figure out things for themselves. Teaching them Arithmetic and Grammar probably would be in the last of the priorities list.
Drawing the dividing line between catering to the parents and schools mandates of ‘completing’ the syllabus, and really imparting what I truly believe would help the kids overtime is something I still need to get a knack of . It is so heartening and overwhelming to see what a few fellows out here are able to accomplish in their classrooms. I guess only time would tell how things unfold…