Camps for children during summer vacation is common but a summer camp for teachers and that too for Government school teachers is a rarity. “It is a rejuvenation camp,” asserts R. Siva, core member of the organising team. “We have attended a lot of training sessions but all focussed more on improving teaching. Here, we wanted to highlight more on class handling,” says Siva, Tamil teacher at the Madura College Higher Secondary School.
Titled ‘Kalakala Vagupparai’ (lively classroom) the three-day camp at CESCI aimed at thrashing out issues plaguing Government school teachers. Lack of infrastructure was cited as the main reason for dwindling student enrolment in Government schools. “But we discussed what best could be done with the available resources,” says G. Ramanan, another member of the team.
To motivate participants drawn from all over the State, organisers brought in teachers who had turned the tables in their favour and were the torchbearers of their respective schools. S. Nallamuthu, a teacher at the Avvoor Panchayat Union Primary School, Kotagiri, dresses himself as a clown to get closer to his students. Everyday, he goes to class wearing different wigs. He has not only improved the class strength but also taught the students different skills. Many of his students are trained speakers now while several others have won medals and prizes in State-level carrom tournaments. “Learning is continuous. When a student comes to me asking for something which I am not familiar with I first learn and then teach them. Now, I am learning Bharatanatyam,” smiles Nallamuthu.
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B. Jeyamoorthy, an English teacher at the Ammaiyappan East, Panchayat Union Middle School, Tiruvarur plays kabaddi and cricket with his students to understand them better. “I allowed parents to sit in my class on an experimental basis. It worked wonders. Parents now understand my efforts and support me in whatever I do,” he says.
Siva says he always enters his class with a bag full of books on different topics. “I want my students to read more books and not just text books. They understand that the books I give to read are meant to ease their tension of scoring marks,” he says.
For D. Rajalakshmi, science teacher of the 24 Villinallur Government High School, Mayiladuthurai block, a teacher is like a second parent to the student. “In my school majority of the students are below poverty line. As a teacher I try to redress their grievances first before teaching them the subject. Moreover, I present real life examples for better understanding,” she says.
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The idea for this camp came when Siva wanted to communicate to his fellow teachers from other schools about the happenings in his class. He opened a facebook page ‘Asiriyar Natkurippu’ (A teacher’s diary) and started posting and updating his classroom experiences everyday. Enthused by the likes and comments he received for his posts, he convened a meeting of like-minded teachers and everybody said yes to the conducting of the camp.
The organisers arranged for story telling sessions and teaching through drama and fun games while the evenings were dedicated to cultural programmes and screening of feature films and short films on education. “We exposed the participants to what the society expects from them and how to equip themselves better for the challenges ahead as it is a teacher who makes or breaks the subject,” says K. Suresh, a member of the team.
Films like The Ron Clark Story and Beyond the Blackboard were screened to motivate the teachers. “Most of us are well qualified and trained to handle classes. In no way we are inferior. The knowledge is there and the required skill sets too but what we perhaps lack is the approach to teaching. This camp specifically addressed the problem,” notes Suresh.
The organisers have now decided to have frequent exchange programmes among teachers to facilitate sharing of ideas. Despite limitations, every teacher has the freedom to do whatever he or she wants within that stipulated 40 to 45 minutes in the class. The camp emphasises the need to make the time, a teacher spend with his or her students, more useful.