Beyond Walls, Building Bonds: School Rooted in Community

In this episode of Pratibimba, we welcome Ms. Shashikala G.R. from Hunsur Taluk's Devagalli Government High School. A dedicated educator with 16 years of experience, Shashikala speaks about her role as both an assistant teacher and a member of the School Development and Monitoring Committee (SDMC).

Shashikala goes beyond academics at her rural school, fostering holistic development and confidence in children. By immersing herself in the community - visiting homes, and attending festivals - she understands their culture and uses relatable examples like organic farming and animal husbandry to build trust and explain concepts effectively.

The school embraces environmental responsibility. Each child planted a sapling, culminating in flourishing gardens with fruits, vegetables, and herbs. The collective effort of students, teachers, and community members earned the school the well-deserved title of "Hasiru Kashi” (Green Palace), showcasing their dedication to a greener future.

She highlights the utilisation of government recommendations that have significantly contributed to the school's development - initiatives like "Shala Vana" leading to the successful establishment of Hasiru Kashi, and alumni involvement through weekend labour. Community participation extends to celebrations and events, often organized in collaboration with the Gram Panchayat. These gatherings, like the Vijnana Habba (Science fair), provide parents with insights into their children's skills, the school's resources, and ways they can contribute to a more engaging learning experience. Additionally, rangoli competitions and other activities break the ice between parents and teachers, fostering mutual understanding.

Shashikala stresses the significance of adapting education to each community's specific context by understanding their environment, culture, and upbringing. Establishing meaningful connections with the community is crucial for comprehending their needs and offering improved support to their children.

Finally, she underscores the importance of transparent fundraising, emphasizing clear communication about needs and progress reports to build trust. This openness encourages frequent donor visits. The story paints a beautiful picture of a school deeply connected to its community, fostering holistic development while respecting the environment and embracing cultural diversity. Shashikala's dedication and innovative approach inspire educators and communities alike.

Welcome to Akshara Foundation’s podcast - Pratibimba. In today's episode, we have K. N. Harsha, a seasoned associate teacher with 29 years of experience, specializing in teaching mathematics and science. Currently at GHPS, Bodyguard Line, Kurubarahalli, South Zone, Mysore, Mr. Harsha is deeply involved in developing Teaching Learning Materials (TLM) and serves as the President of the Karnataka State Primary School Teachers Association, South Zone, Mysore.

Mr. Harsha emphasizes the crucial role of mathematics in a child's elementary education, moving beyond mere problem-solving proficiency. He highlights the decline in essential skills such as logical thinking and practical application of knowledge by the time a child reaches grade 10. This gap, he notes, puts students behind by two years in their learning capacity. The trend of Government school students favoring arts and commerce over science can be attributed to language barriers and a lack of exposure to mathematics.

He underscores the urgency of improving teaching methodologies to ensure a brighter future for children. While recognizing the importance of Foundational Literacy and numeracy, Mr. Harsha points out a neglect of in-depth learning. He identifies a challenge in teaching the importance of place value in basic mathematical operations, advocating for teachers to go beyond methods and ensure students understand the reasoning behind them.

Cooperation and coordination among teachers, along with teaching using the Concrete, Representational, Abstract (CRA) method and Ganita Kalika Andolana (GKA) Kits as valuable tools for primary school teachers. Mr. Harsha acknowledges the significance of textbooks and TLMs, emphasizing their role in providing a structured framework for learning. Despite these challenges, he appreciates the cultural richness brought by students from diverse backgrounds, particularly those who have migrated for employment. Harsha remains optimistic about educators making a positive impact within the system, stressing the need for dedicated teachers who ensure students not only grasp mathematical concepts but also understand their rationale.

Hope you enjoyed listening to this recording by Akshara Foundation. This podcast tries to bring out such unique stories that are motivating, inspiring, and interesting. If you have an interesting story, please share it with 98450 79590.

Welcome to Akshara Foundation’s Pratibimba Podcast. In this episode, we delve into the Gram Panchayat Level Mathematics Contest (GP Contests), held across Karnataka, for students of classes 4 to 6. The primary aim is to elevate the quality of maths education in the state. Our guest today is Mr. Shankar Hadagali, an educator at the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) in Gadag, and Nodal Officer for Akshara Foundation’s Ganitha Kalika Andolan (GKA).

DIET and Akshara Foundation collaborated to provide GKA Maths Kits, simplifying maths concepts and making the subject more engaging. Teachers are encouraged to innovate their teaching methods to foster a love for maths in young learners.

GP Contests have successfully introduced healthy competition among students, offering a refreshing break from the routine of regular classes. Education Volunteers educate school Headmasters about the significance of these contests and identify dedicated educational volunteers who facilitate the contests and create a comfortable environment for students.

The overarching goal of GP Contests is to make maths accessible and enjoyable, dispelling fears that students may have about the subject. These contests also empower parents to gauge their child's comprehension levels. By tracking monthly progress, we can plan targeted support for each child.

Mr. Shankar believes that by involving more individuals and reaching out to more schools, we can have a profound and lasting impact on these children's futures, instilling a lasting love for maths that will serve them well throughout their lives. Together, we can make a real difference in the lives of these young learners.

Hope you enjoyed listening to this recording by Akshara Foundation. This podcast tries to bring out such unique stories that are motivating, inspiring, and interesting. If you have an interesting story, please share it with 98450 79590.

Welcome to this episode of ‘Pratibimba’, where we are in conversation with Smt. Jahnavi S. Siddhi.

Smt. Jahnavi is a teacher who hails from a small village in Kumta taluk of Uttara Kannada district. She has a 39-year old career and of those 39 years, she served for 22 long years as a teacher in the same place. She then went on to work at the government primary school in the Taluk of Kumta for another 17 years as a senior teacher and additional principal and is currently working as the headmistress of the Government School of Kadagal.

She has participated in and led many cultural and social extra-curricular activities all these years. She stands excelled and recognized for creating Teachers’ Learning Materials (TLMs) for the children, that facilitate the students in learning various subjects by working/learning with them.

She has personally devised unique models of Gulliver’s device that are constructed from everyday staples. She also used her personal hobby as a stamp collector to benefit the learning of her students by spicing it up with her crafty hands that can see a simple matchbox as an aid to learning some scientific methods and principles.

She has written a book called Akshara Kalika that serves as a learning aid for students, and her creativity has led to the creation of a whopping 947 TLMs. All this only goes to show the extent of her enthusiasm, dedication, and commitment toward better learning in her children. In recognition for her efforts, she has been conferred with many awards.

Jahnavi's other interest is folklore. It pains her to see the decline of original folklore. Her immense knowledge about the art form is thoroughly reflected in her narration while she quotes from various songs and dance traditions of the past. She has used various folklore to train and teach students about various subjects.

A workshop that she attended 35 years ago motivated her to learn about and document various folklore of Karnataka. She also penned a book called Janapada Kalakshetra, with the intention of introducing old and rich folklore to the future generation.

Hope you enjoyed listening to this recording by Akshara Foundation. This podcast tries to bring out such unique stories that are motivating, inspiring, and interesting. If you have an interesting story, please share it with 98450 79590.

Welcome to this episode of ‘Pratibimba’, where we are in conversation with Naveen.

Naveen is a teacher from Chittapura Taluk of Kalburgi who teaches Science and Mathematics. He has also been awarded the Best Teacher award for 2022-23. When he joined the school, there was no dedicated playground. Naveen has worked in the capacity of a physical education teacher as well which helped his school participate in the state-level running competition. For the question on how he got interested in sports and how it is important in the education of children, he says he always had an interest in sports and in order to curb the absenteeism in children, he turned to sports.

Once he started cleaning up the surroundings in order to make the place suitable for sports, other children also got interested in it. According to Naveen, sports instills trust, cooperation, love, and trust in children. Not only that, it helps to secure government jobs under the sports quota. He explains the challenge involved in achieving this feat has been to win over the indifferent parents of the remote village of Chamanuru. In 2008, when Naveen joined as a teacher in the village, there was no road access to it. He used tractors to take children to find places suitable for sports. He had to face the wrath of land owners and parents alike who advised him to concentrate on what he is supposed to do and not get involved in sports etc.,

To illustrate the examples, he explains the achievements of his students namely Mahesh, Suryakanth, Mehabub, and Sujatha who were very much interested and invested in sports. Suryakanth even got selected for a 200-meter running competition at the state level. They also got selected a couple of times to state levels. He also remembers a couple of incidents of minute accidents that happened during sports activities. Naveen had to face the consequences of all of it. As a tip to fellow teachers, he says that if teachers can invest themselves in sports, it helps to better the student’s motivation. If the concepts of physics and maths are introduced and adopted in sports, it can help to make the students understand better. The concepts of time, heights, and distances can be better thought through sports as well. The English words that are used during sports can help students to learn. He sums up that sports can be the best way to bring awareness to students about health and fitness.

Hope you enjoyed listening to this recording by Akshara Foundation. This podcast tries to bring out such unique stories that are motivating, inspiring, and interesting. If you have an interesting story, please share it with 98450 79590.

Please welcome Ms. Prabhavati J Immanni in this episode of ‘Pratibimba’.

Ms. Prabhavati works in a government school in Shahapur Taluk of Yadagiri district as a teacher. She has an experience of 19 years in the domain and she has taught 4th to 7th-grade students over a period of 18 years. During the year 2022-23, she was deputed to the Nali-Kali classes. She has also taught Kannada for some time.

In her opinion, the approach of one-way lecturing has no or very less impact on the students. So, she adopted various techniques of teaching history via stories and poetry. She would also use videos/teaching materials from YouTube in order to make subjects easy for her pupils. One such song is still remembered by her former students as well. Such a method of teaching has proven to be effective and she says, "I adopt similar techniques while teaching geography and other subjects." Students themselves gather information about the people, produce, and plants of the region thanks to the methodology of teaching adopted by Ms. Prabhavati.

Ms. Prabhavati was deputed, for various reasons to Nali-Kali from the higher classes. She took it as a challenge and an opportunity even though she was not trained for this. She was helped and guided by various experienced resource persons, including the Azim Premji Institute. She gradually understood the requirements of the Nali-Kali section and adopted it.

She opines that she has also learned a lot from her students. She has understood from her training that the brains of children below the age of 8 are fertile for learning various things – ranging from morals to maths and from writing to communication. She thinks that Nali-Kali is the best opportunity to develop and nurture healthy minds in children. Nali-Kali is also an opportunity for teachers to be more creative.

In Ms. Prabhavati’s view, teachers of higher grades should consider teaching Nali-Kali pupils. Because it is a great opportunity on learning how to teach some students who directly join higher grades such as 4th or 5th. They have challenges in coping with numbers and writing. "The experience or the methodology that we acquire from teaching the Nali-Kali pupils will come in handy while tutoring the higher graders as well."

Hope you enjoyed listening to this recording by Akshara Foundation. This podcast tries to bring out such unique stories that are motivating, inspiring, and interesting. If you have an interesting story, please share it with 98450 79590.

Ranganath hails from the Ballari district and serves as a resource person for educators in a cluster of Kurugodu taluk. He has 15 years of experience in the field of education. He also has 8 to 10 years of experience as a resource person, where he interacted with and coached many teachers across the district.

Please welcome Ms. Thanujakshi in this episode of ‘Pratibimba’.

Ms. Thanujakshi works as a teacher at Shidlaghatta, Chikballapur. She has been a teacher of ‘Nali kali’ classes, which is for children in grades 1-3. Her school has won the State award for ‘Nali kali’. She has been the winner of ‘Anupama Seva Award’ for the year 2020.

She follows the guidelines of the NEP to the tee. They have specific corners for maths, toys, science, reading etc. Children get ‘me time’ where they can go to their favourite corner and learn on their own. She has seen many children participating happily in these activities. As part of ‘Vidyapravesh’ she is able to engage the students in a positive way.

Thanujakshi uses flashcards for narrating and re-creating stories. She notices that children enjoy introducing one another in the morning. It builds a bond among them. Children talk about their families and about their surroundings. She encourages them to converse in English in real-life situations such as ‘In the shop’ etc.

She feels it is possible to use the materials and objects around us and develop number skills among the children. She has used the leaves of plants to show ‘big’ and ‘small’ and also to show increasing and decreasing order. Language sessions are helpful in developing writing skills. She uses this session to build word power.

Handicraft sessions enhance learning in the students, as they are physically involved in creating things. She particularly mentions some of the artwork by some of her students. Thanujakshi has noticed a remarkable improvement in the confidence of her students with ‘Nali Kali’ activities.

Hope you enjoyed listening to this recording by Akshara Foundation. If you have an interesting story, please share your story with 98450 79590.