Excellent education for 2500+ students in Chennai

An excellent education is holistic. Not only does it encompass learning relevant and purposeful material, but also building skills and values that will help the student outside the classroom. Hence, participation in extracurricular activities, and constant, transparent communication are vital for holistic development. By doing so for the past few months, we have seen student growth in areas such as sports and arts, as well as understanding and exploring values such as love, courage, creativity and leadership.

After coming back from the winter break, we spent time reflecting on the progress we had made and making goals for the new year. One of these goals was to elevate more students to positions of leadership within the class, each holding unique responsibilities. We established leaders for the various subjects - ‘English’, ‘Maths’, ‘Science/Social Studies’, ‘India and I’, ‘Art’, ‘Physical Training’, and also for the whole class, board and book management. Doing so also led to strengthening partnerships between the teacher and students. Now, we are at a place where if I am unable to take class, I can rest easy knowing that the leaders can teach the material, while also leading discussion with their peers. 

Another value that was immensely important to explore was arguably the most important one - love. Teach For India conducted a week of ‘Leading with Love’, where students would explore the different ways to define and show love. This included showing gratitude, self-care, acts of service, care for nature, and sharing our voice, all being explored in various daily challenges. This week of learning was the most rewarding time I have spent in the class. I got to see students define and show love in their own unique ways - sharing stationary and food, apologizing and forgiving each other, hugging and laughing together, and taking steps to care of their environment and themselves.

The students are quite young, and also easily intimidated or scared by many things. Hence, instilling the value of courage is vital. One way to do so is by pushing students to participate in extracurricular activities. Fortunately, I had many such opportunities in the last few months. Whether it was Republic Day or Annual Day celebrations, the students had the chance to give speeches, act in a drama, dance, and recite poetry. I am particularly proud of the students who acted in the play as they were students who would not usually participate in English-speaking activities. However, they seemed to enjoy the medium and wished to get over their fear to take part. And while I may be biased, I think they did an excellent job!

Then came the annual ‘Chennai Students Kondattam’ event held by Teach For India. This 2 day celebration of Teach For India classrooms and students allows them to participate in sports, arts, literary and cultural competitions against each other. It was the first time the students were able to travel outside their school, meet other students and take part in such a variety of events. The students exhibited their talents, and values like courage, creativity and critical thinking. Most importantly, they had fun, and cannot wait to compete again next year!

Having taught the students for six to eight months, I thought it was important to form connections with their parents as well. To do so I made it a point to visit all the students and their families at their homes. Not only did this give me the opportunity to speak to the parents in a more relaxed environment, it gave me contextual clues related to the student. Being able to see their homes and communities, I was able to better understand my students’ lives and incorporate that into my teachings and the work I assigned them. 

Finally, as a teacher, I would be amiss if I did not also talk about the academic growth of the students. The students completed their ‘End of Year’ Assessments in mid-March. This would test the students abilities in both English and Maths. For the former, reading, comprehension and grammar would be tested. These results when compared to both their ‘Beginning of Year’ and ‘Middle of Year’ results shows immense growth in the eight months we have been working together. Most credit goes to the students for showing up everyday, full of curiosity, and trying their best. First, in English, half the class is now reading at or above their grade level! And in math, the average score is higher than 50%! There has been significant growth, but this is just the start.    

Reflecting on this journey, it is hard to believe that so much time has passed and so much change has occurred. Of course, the students have grown, but I believe that I too have grown. There are values and skills that I am relearning and improving upon daily. And as much as the students require the services of a teacher, I require the students’ help in transforming myself into a better teacher, and more importantly, a better person.