It has been exactly two weeks since I first stepped into Govt. Model School, Aliya. I am a proud Grade 2 teacher and I will be teaching 45 kids.
It has been fantastic
15 of 25 kids already wrote that I am their favorite teacher. Omkar took responsibility of teaching the entire class when I went to the next class to take a test. Little Mehraj proudly parades me around the school and tells everyone, "Ye mera bhaiyya hai". Zafar, Ahmed and Ghouse came running today after the Friday Namaz so they can be on time for Bhaiyya's afternoon meditation classes.
It has been heart wrenching
43% of my class cannot write Alphabets. 65% cannot write their own names. Raju and Karthik struggle with an attention span of seconds. The class is expected to sit in rapt attention with no benches and electricity. (There are 3 fans hanging from the ceiling though.). 100% of my class has very little or no clue of the Grade 1 standards.
There is hope. A hope they can dance.
They will have someone who will now care for them. Push them. Nurture them. Ceaselessly love them and relentlessly support them. Support to become The Graduates of 2025. By 2025, each and every child in this classroom will have graduated from college. The odds are dramatically stacked against them. They are in the lowest rung of the economic sections in a country where more than 33% drop out of 5th grade and 95% before college.
We are going to fight against it. As a individual. As a classroom. As a society. As a nation.
Where they are born should not define what lies ahead of them.
This is an effort to document my journey with my class. With a hope they will change your lives, just like how they are doing mine.
It has been fantastic
15 of 25 kids already wrote that I am their favorite teacher. Omkar took responsibility of teaching the entire class when I went to the next class to take a test. Little Mehraj proudly parades me around the school and tells everyone, "Ye mera bhaiyya hai". Zafar, Ahmed and Ghouse came running today after the Friday Namaz so they can be on time for Bhaiyya's afternoon meditation classes.
It has been heart wrenching
43% of my class cannot write Alphabets. 65% cannot write their own names. Raju and Karthik struggle with an attention span of seconds. The class is expected to sit in rapt attention with no benches and electricity. (There are 3 fans hanging from the ceiling though.). 100% of my class has very little or no clue of the Grade 1 standards.
There is hope. A hope they can dance.
They will have someone who will now care for them. Push them. Nurture them. Ceaselessly love them and relentlessly support them. Support to become The Graduates of 2025. By 2025, each and every child in this classroom will have graduated from college. The odds are dramatically stacked against them. They are in the lowest rung of the economic sections in a country where more than 33% drop out of 5th grade and 95% before college.
We are going to fight against it. As a individual. As a classroom. As a society. As a nation.
Where they are born should not define what lies ahead of them.
This is an effort to document my journey with my class. With a hope they will change your lives, just like how they are doing mine.
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| My classroom! |
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| The Graduates sitting in smart positions! |
