Parigi, located at 17.1833°N 77.8833°E, the oldest Mandal in Vikarabad/Rangareddy district, since the period of the Nizams, was to be our destination for the next 3 days as part of our Library Review visit.
The drive to reach here took us a cool two and a half hours and as we made the ascent over a small hillock, towering windmills dotted the skies to the left and like an old Chinese saying “When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills” I wondered what the people of this village would have embraced and in which direction were the winds blowing.
Our CRL Vinod was our guide and he took us through the narrow lanes crisscrossing the village terrain. It was early evening and we saw children across ages huddled in groups, taking out their worksheets from neat plastic bags and working without supervision. As we did a general round up eyes slowly peered from the lowering of the worksheets excitedly smiling towards Vinod and wide-eyed and curious as they observed us too.Vinod had developed sensitivity and apathy towards children and they looked forward to his visits in the village. Guess he was just not a CRL but their trusted friend. Our casual walk through the village had created enough distraction and it was now time to do business to engage with them.
Children had invented their own learning spaces. The courtyard at the entrance of the house was the normal choice for group seating. But surprised to see some eager beavers entrenched on top of sacks of cotton just farmed from the fields. And to top it all one group had communed in a cowshed. These unassuming places were proof on what children felt as simple environs for learning, nothing fancy but enough to engage.
“I am in Class III,” quipped eight-year-old Renuka proudly, “and have completed the charts.” She pulls out her worksheet from the bag and began to read the contents fluently. Satish, just nine years old, can read both Telugu and English fluently with an almost smooth pronunciation. “Earlier, children could only write and found it very difficult to read”Vinod recalls “but now even a Class II student reads with ease.”Children took pride in finishing their simple worksheets. A doubt cropped in my mind, why is it that in all the groups we met all were keen to show their worksheets. Was not our program also about fun? Vinod was up to speed on this, the children were conditioned to show their reading and math to visitors first because that meant learning in their minds. This came naturally to them but was soon dispelled when the group did an impromptu skit. Manoj acted as the village water pump and each one dramatized their actions at the pump, washing, cleaning cattle, spitting with a message that it was just a place for filling water buckets and it was not the village washroom. Their own Swachh Bharat skit. Throughout this interaction noticed that Mohan was one child who kept telling something or the other to the group and later I was told that he was the Group leader by choice of the other children. He was always received with a nod of approval by his friends. The group had faith in him and why not? In case of problem-solving, he was their guide.Most group leaders were older children and where the leader was from upper Primary the group bonded well was our observation.
Who was the catalyst to bring these groups together? Vinod promptly remarked “the Mothers!!!” “In each Group we found a Mother who had done some schooling who could read and write and new the school syllabus,” he said. Vinod in his mobilization conversations had earmarked a few who took a natural interest that their kids along with others should learn in groups. “If something new is being introduced in the village which will be good for the children we should embrace it,” remarked Jyoti. She had offered the courtyard to the children for learning. In normal circumstances, children would wander through the village but now they sit in one place and discuss amongst themselves. She was specifically appreciating the materials and thought that they were structured well and helped children to comprehend easily. “Everything is broken down into small steps and this helps the child to grasp better and self-learn,” she said.
Interested to see children interaction we conducted an informal quiz. Most new the answers. Hands went up in the air and eager to be the first one to get it correct. When quizzed about what they want to be when they grow up, professions of teacher, police doctor were all time favorites. But four-year-old Ganesh got us in splits when he said that he wants to get married.
We moved to another two groups not prepared to see what I was about to witness. Naresh a differently-abled boy was being helped by his friends. He too was doing his worksheets and instead of talking about themselves the children were excited to tell me of how much he knew.A few houses away another group was helping Vanshika a hearing and speaking challenged girl with her math sums. They were so proud that she knew so much in spite of her condition. This pulled at my heartstrings. Both Naresh and Vanshika were too happy to be members of their respective groups. Geeta and Smitha had become close friends since the program commenced and were nurturing their new found friendship.
Library Program …A program where you can find a friend! Amazing.
The eagerness to learn and have fun at the same time was evident from every happy child in the community groups. Am sure this would prepare them for their work life in future.
Day 1 ended and the mind was circling with thoughts. Although learning manifests in an individual change, the context in which these changes were occurring was the community.
An informal setting, internal motivation, variable easy and structured content, voluntary attendance, minimum supervision, secure children, team bonding, all far removed from a traditional school setting, if these were the effects of the Library program, a learning opportunity, where the emphasis was on community outside the school walls then
Pratham has definitely shifted the Learning paradigm !!
No comments:
Post a Comment