The Hindu : Karnataka News : Innovative methods earn honours for two teachers

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Wednesday, Jul 01, 2009
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Innovative methods earn honours for two teachers

Staff Reporter

— Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

Awards: M.R.S. Rao (centre) of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research presenting the Outstanding Science Teachers’ Awards 2008 to Madhu Srinivasan (right) and Narayana Sharan, in Bangalore on Tuesday.

BANGALORE: At a time when students are increasingly opting for applied sciences and professional courses, propagating the study of pure sciences can indeed be a challenging task. It is important for teachers to put in efforts to make sciences interesting for school and pre-university students.

This is what two teachers — Narayan Sharan and Madhu Srinivasan — who have succeeded in bringing to the classroom innovative methods to make science more interesting and were awarded The Outstanding Science Teacher Prize, have to say.

The two teachers, who were felicitated at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) here on Tuesday, received a cash reward and citation sponsored by the C.N.R. Rao Education Foundation.

Mr. Sharan, an assistant teacher at the Government Inter College, Meerut, has organised various science exhibitions and quiz programmes. “My biggest inspiration has simply been discharging my duties to the best of my ability. A problem with the education system is that children with different IQ levels are forced to cope with the same syllabus, which may not be suited to them. I teach starting from the basics, keeping in mind the capacity of each child,” he said.

Mr. Srinivasan, a science teacher at the RVS Pre-University College, Y.N. Hoskote, actively practises and conducts workshops on science education through puppetry and origami. “I use puppets to teach concepts such as vulcanisation or the Archimedes Principle. Children are really excited when they are taught by these means and it is unlikely that they will forget these lessons. A challenging aspect of my work has been the reluctance of parents to send their children, especially girls, to PU. I convinced many parents to send them to college. Things are slowly improving.”

The two teachers were chosen from over 100 applicants from all over the country through a meticulous selection process, with due importance given to teachers in rural areas, where prevailing social conditions makes the role of teachers more challenging and significant, A.N. Jayachandra, Administrative Officer, JNCASR, said.

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