Excellent education for 2500+ students in Chennai

We, at Teach For India, constantly strive to ensure our supporters understand the value that they are adding to the lives of our students. The following is a note of gratitude from Arun, our Fellow from the 2016 Cohort. 

Dear Supporters of the movement,

A thank you note will not suffice for the generous support that you are offering to help bridge the educational inequity in our country. Your support is going a long way to aid underprivileged children get an excellent education.

 About my Journey

During my preliminary research, I identified that there was a huge gap between the education that was envisaged at the policy level, and the reality of school education in India. I pursued the Fellowship in order to gain first-hand experience of the ground level reality of the education system, and to hopefully identify the root cause of the implementation gap. Six months into the Fellowship, I believe that I have a much better understanding of the different macro and micro forces acting simultaneously on the system, and the net effect it has in a classroom. I am however, yet to identify the most significant factor that could act as a key lever of positive transformation. Once I identify it to a fair degree of certainty, I intend to delve deeper into it, to try and address it in the best way I possibly can.

My Classroom

Known as the Champions academy, my sixth standard classroom is filled with highly energetic, enthusiastic and challenging ten year olds. The diversity within the classroom in terms of interest level in education is extreme. One common thread that connects them all, however, is the fact that most of the children are keen to learn. Therefore, even though they are still quite a disruptive set of children during class hours, I have been able to put in place certain structures, which on a day to day basis, ensure that they learn, that they reflect on their behavior and academic growth, and make progress towards their different goals.

 Challenges

Children and parental investment in learning is one of the key challenges faced in the classroom. Because parents think that their duty ends when they drop the children at school, and since many of the children believe that they are learning merely by being present in the classroom, classroom behavior and investment in academic growth is a key issue. In order to tackle this issue, I have developed a daily journal, in which, every child, makes a note of the academic and behavioral learning for the day, his / her own reflections, and my personalized comments. This bilingual journal is signed off by the parent each day, and has therefore significantly increased the awareness of the parent about what is happening in the classroom, and about what the child needs to do, in order to perform better. By implementing this consistently, I hope to build a greater investment into learning in the student, and in the parents.

 Student Activities

The students took part in a drawing competition organized at a nearby community centre, and six students took part in the Math Talent Test organized by the Tamilnadu Science & Technology Centre. They will be participating in several events as part of an interschool fest organized by Teach For India, Chennai, they will kick off training for theatre and will potentially stage a self-scripted and directed play on a topic relevant to their life and community, by the end of the term.

 Highlights

The smallest things, usually, give the happiest moments. I had a 20 minute one to one conversation with Harish, a playful but smart student, who wasn’t achieving his academic potential due to distraction from peers. He has topped every test and exam since then.

Thank you and we look forward to your constant support!