As part of my course work we visit schools every week and reflect on them...Here is one such reflection...
SHP School is part of SH Institutions which also
includes a PU college. The school is meant for girls only and is divided into
primary (I – VI) and secondary (VII – X) sections. Each standard in the primary
level has two sections (A & B) with about 60-65 students in each. The
school has fine developed infrastructure with well-ventilated classrooms, proper
benches for almost all students, clean washrooms, staffroom along with a
computer room, language room for senior students, sports room, a big ground for
sports activities, black and green boards as well as electronic boards and
projectors. These classrooms are supported by new technological equipment. Even with the
availability of all these things, the teachers seem to be more comfortable in
using the old chalk and board methods.
The classroom I went to did not have
a teacher for most of the day, so the observation was conducted during Kannada
classes. I observed 3 children today. Sheetal seemed a bright child who was
completely engrossed in her work. She also took initiative in finding out
whether the class was allowed to go for sports or not. The second student was
Zeenie. Zeenie was labeled as the “Hindi girl” by her fellow classmates as she
was the only one able to communicate in Hindi. She sat in the adjacent direction
instead of facing the blackboard and was constantly biting her lips, looking
into the notebooks of other students, fiddling with her book and pens, and
copying whatever was written on the blackboard without participating in the
class at all.
Tisha was the 3rd student I observed, who sat on the
front bench and was extremely helpful to everyone around her, whether it was
her teacher who asked for chalk, a classmate who asked for pencil and even
towards me when asked for more details about the class. The school holds
remedial classes for students who need extra support and Tisha is one of them.
But she and many of her classmates perceive that they are “dull students” and
so have to attend these extra classes after school hours. Moreover, I got the
opportunity to teach the students a few general knowledge things. This also
helped me understand that school had a lot of focus on rote learning rather
than concept building.
After the first visit to the
school, I realized that the principal of the school is very supportive towards
her staff. The school might also be promoting Christianity as there was the
Holy Cross in some classrooms. Speaking in English is a golden rule in every
class and the oral communication of most kids was fluent. What I feel is needed
in the school is training of teachers especially in English as it is the medium
of instruction. Moreover, I felt the students had “mugged-up” information and
were not very clear in their understanding of certain concepts in science. When
asked why certain kids were unaware, a student answered that those students do
not pay attention in class; therefore, the students blame themselves for their
learning and not their guide – the teacher. The school also does not maintain
the ratio of 1:30 for teacher and students probably due to lack of teachers as
well as space constraints. The classrooms were also not sufficient for 60
students and hence few students ended up sitting on the floor.
Being a teacher and after seeing
this today in the class, I realized that appreciation from the teacher is a big
motivation for the students. When the teacher pulled a child’s cheeks or said
‘good’ while checking their work, the students felt a sense of accomplishment.
Today’s observation made me think about the foundation of our education system which is dependent on teachers. They are the ones who nurture young minds and without basic support such as training they might not be able to carry out their job well. If one teacher deals with a thousand students in her lifetime, she has the power of moulding these mindsets in the right direction. Therefore, I feel training teachers and also helping them become tech-savvy, building concepts for children and acknowledging their hardwork can go a long way in making things better for schools such as SH.
P.S. Names changed to protect identity.
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