Abhudaya: Helping the Sunrise

“For Every Child We Teach To Cherish Learning, A Universe Is Born.”
― D. Simone

Learning is one thing, cherishing what one learns and encouraging the willingness to learn is completely different. The latter is a very prominent issue across nations, cultures and societies of varying number. Evoking the curiosity of students can be seen as a latent global issue the world is facing. There will always be a certain percentage of learners but sadly, it makes up a minority. In order to encourage learning amongst masses one must employ appealing educational curriculums. The essence of such a curriculum is activity based learning –very much like IB. An important concern however is that such an educational system is not affordable to all.

Our welcome at AGVS

Mrs Bhagyashree  Deshpande is currently running a NGO funded school called Abhodaya Global Village School in the Khapa district of Saoner. This place, situated in the outskirts of Nagpur, provides primary education to the children of 9 surrounding villages at subsidized costs. The school was founded by Mrs Bhagyashree’s  father who a no less than a visionary. Our coordinator Ms Vijayalaxmi suggested us to take over the school for one day as a part of CAS activity. Since teaching at an elementary level is more impactful for child’s brain, we could all see the social benefit of encouraging active learning in students of grade nursery to 3^rd.  We contacted Mrs Deshpande to asked her if such an activity was palatable. She readily agreed to allow us in, however as I later realised during a conversation with her, it was majorly because of yet another global issue – lack of efficient teachers. In almost all developing countries appropriate teaching faculty is one of the most daunting scarcities. We, as IB learners were ready to accept this challenging opportunity by contributing our bit to this problem. In addition, I personally think that it is the moral responsibility of knowledgeable people – or people with relatively advanced knowledge – to educate those who aren’t as fortunate.

Therefore, we collaboratively discussed the schedule for a 6 hour long CAS activity which emphasized on Action since we agreed that lecturing the young minds might in effect discourage learning. 

When we first reached there each one of us was surprised to see the discipline which these kids maintained. Although there was no doubt that it was due to all presence of teachers but the respect and kindness they demonstrated was really awe-inspiring. All of them greeted us warmly and welcomed us whole heartedly. I was really motivated by this earnest nature of these kids. However, as I later realised this motivation was necessary to manage what awaited us.

The entire activity was challenging for each of us but perhaps most challenging for me since I took up grade 3 with most number of students. A throng of over 50 kids all in a room created a moment of bewilderment. I had to mentally prepare myself to confront them. I started with asking each of them their names (which I strived to remember till the end) as it allowed a first-hand one to one interaction with the kids I was going to spend the day with.

To commence our first session I asked them to move from the class, out into the natural surroundings. As they did so, I asked their teacher what they had learned hitherto. I started with asking them what they already knew so that they feel comfortable with me and I can mix up easily. After a small session of poetry and alphabet recitation – which ended up being a cacophony – I executed my plan to teach them about self-improvement and social conduct. I asked common things like when they sleep/wake up; what did they eat every day and at what time; how did they treat their friends and parents; and what their views on cleanliness were. Although at their age they could hardly understand the significance of these things but they did candidly answer my questions. I think it is better to let students discover what they are expected to learn than to dictate them. I discussed concepts like good habits; greeting manners; healthy diet; and cleanliness.

In the next session, we had a small story telling session which was really enjoyable. Following it was a colouring session. I asked the kid to recall how the bird depicted in the colouring sheet looked. What colour it had? While some correctly identified it to be a parrot the others set their imaginations free into the realms of creativity. The result was a bunch of colouring sheets with the same bird coloured is various vivid colours. As I was arranging them an idea stuck me, why not combine all of these into a beautiful mosaic wall hanging? So I pasted all of the arts works on a huge chart and nailed it in their class, not only as a display of their work but a memoir of this day they spent with me.

The following two sessions were focused of action. I had planned to conduct two main sports — football and dodge ball — and indulge in them myself. However, as it turned out, my plan didn’t work for football. Although all of them were extremely enthusiastic about football and also started off very well, they capricious minds and ever-changing mood turned the game into a melee after a while. It became difficult to manage them. Leashing the chaotic Brownian motion of kids made it even more physically engaging. Nevertheless, I stood committed to my responsibility and cooled them down without panicking.

In the next session I was prepared. I realised what could go wrong and so was ready to deal with it. I then made them play dodge ball and in doing so I asked them to be their own monitors. I also told them that they will only be able to enjoy if they play by the rules. But to make them play, I couldn’t be a thrived person spectator. I have to get physically involved in the game not just to show the how to play but to teach them how to enjoy it. We played for a long time till the conventional end of the game. I learned from this that in order to teach someone something you need to get involved in it yourself. A teacher cannot simply instruct, he must himself do what he tends to cultivate in students. It was a really memorable experience for me. I had played dodge ball when I was a kid but playing it with these kids was really fun. I was really happy to think that I was exposing these kids to one of the most fantastic sports they could enjoy.

Towards the end of the day, all the children had formed a sort of attachment with me. I felt an emotional thrill running down me when it was time for me to bid them good bye. I must say it was one life changing CAS activity.