Please welcome Ms. Kaneez Fatima in this episode of ‘Prathibimba’ – by the teachers, for the teachers!

Ms. Fatima works at the Government Primary School, Muguralli, Moodigere. She has been working for 36 years as a teacher. Out of this, she has taught mathematics to children for 34 years. She takes special interest in students who are afraid of mathematics. She feels her students have made a progress of 80% in learning the subject. 

She sees to it that first, children are not afraid of the teacher. As a result, her students even call her on the phone and ask questions. Some of her students have reached high positions in society. When a child in grade 3 is not clear about grade 1 lessons, she revises the basics and only then moves forward. She believes in individual attention, so she engages with each of them for a few minutes after school hours. 

Fatima creates her own Teaching Learning Materials (TLMs). She asks the students to write odd numbers, even numbers, make 2-digit numbers and find the biggest or smallest number etc. from 1 to 100. Similar activities have proved to be effective in her class. 

The biggest challenge for her is teaching those children who are first generation learners, which is more than 90% of her class. She also thinks learning a language is important to solve simple problems. Her approach is to make a list of simple questions and give them to the students. She has been reusing the ‘Sadhana’ cards given by the education department, by binding them. 

Fatima also believes in making the older students teach younger ones. Some student leaders, who are better learners, are asked to teach the grade 1 or 2 students. The leaders are trained in group learning and they make groups of younger children. She firmly believes an approach with love and affection is much better than punishment. 

Fatima’s advice for new teachers is never to give up hope on a child. Given an opportunity, every child is capable of learning. 

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Many teachers in the rural areas of Karnataka are putting extra effort in the overall personality development of students, with the help of the Government. In this edition of ‘Pratibimba’, please welcome Ms. Sudha, who teaches at the Government Higher Primary school in Huskur, Nanjanagud, Mysore. 

She has been teaching since 2005. She took part in a month-long English Language Empowerment Programme in November 2019. In consultation with Sri Raju, the Block Education Officer (BEO), it was decided to take some measures to improve the English skills of children in the Taluk. An entry level test (Pre-test) was conducted to assess the current learning level of the children and then sections for training were listed out. Training was mainly via activities. It was observed that if one child took part, others followed! 

The success of the training programme prompted them to start an English language lab. Letters and sentences alike were stuck on the walls of the lab. They observed that children were very creative in the lab and learnt at least one new thing (word or expression or a sentence) every session. They started looking for activities on YouTube, which could further enhance their language skills. 

BEO Mr. Raju started a programme called ‘Kalikaa khaatri’ (learning ensured) and Sudha is proud to share that even during the times of the pandemic, 10 of her students scored 100% marks and 69% of her students passed the exams! She gives full credit to this activity-based method of learning. 

Sudha recalls the progress of one particular student who had speech difficulty and therefore, would be hesitant to participate. With the activities in the English lab, he was able to score 80% and grew incredibly confident over the year. 

Sudha feels, with such efforts, teachers can dispel the myth that English is taught only in convent schools. Government schools also teach English efficiently by combining the available resources and by involving the students in activities.

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We have received very positive responses to Pratibimba so far. Thank you all for the support and encouragement. And now, we are very excited to release Season three !

Please welcome Sri. Vinay Kumar in episode 1 of ‘Prathibimba’, Season 3 – by the teachers, for the teachers! He talks about how he has been taking the ‘Prerana’ programme forward. 

Sri Vinay Kumar has been teaching at the Government Higher Primary School, Edadaalu, near Shrungeri for the past 14 years.

The ‘Prerana’ scheme was introduced in 2017-18 by the Dept. of Education. Vinay Kumar decided to continue it in his school since he saw better performance among students. The goal of ‘Prerana’ is to inspire the students and teachers alike. 

Normally, competition is encouraged in a traditional set up. Although here, the importance is given to group learning or cooperative learning. Vinay has found this approach useful in developing leadership skills among children. 

The school has a specific plan outlined for different stages of learning in a year. Any student can look at the progress he/she has made and have a clear picture about the target skill and time frame for achieving the same. Most of the participation is by students and the role of the teachers gains importance during evaluation. 

The school has a ‘Star’ system in place. If a student is very good at personal cleanliness, he/she will be given a green star. If a student is academically good, a rose star is given. If a child is more active in sports or cultural activities a silver star is given to inspire them. At the end of every week, the children count the stars and see which is the leading team. Vinay feels this approach has made a great difference to the students. 

Vinay particularly remembers the case of a 7th grade student who was not very good at academics. He used to skip school as well. However, when he realised that he could win stars by participating in sports (as he was a good runner) and for keeping himself & the school clean, he was a completely different boy. Once he started getting the stars, he was so motivated that he started taking an initiative towards various activities as well! Now that's the kind of change we love to hear about, in students. More power to teachers like Sri. Vinay Kumar. 

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Please welcome Mr. K. G. Mahesh of Nanjanagud in this episode of ‘Pratibimba’. He is the Resource Coordinator of his area. He hails from a rural background, had a dream of becoming a teacher after being educated in Government schools. 

There was talk doing the rounds in high schools that students are not taught well up to Grade 7. He and his team took it up as a challenge to dispel it. The aim was to make children competent in spoken Kannada, some English and simple Maths. They specifically targeted classes 4, 5 and 6. The Head teachers of a few schools at the Taluk level met and decided to start a Kannada lab, English lab and a Maths lab. Suggestions poured in from all interested officers. As of today, about 138 schools in his area have started various labs! 

If a student enters the Kannada lab, he/she is introduced to the rich heritage of Kannada literature, grammar and language. In English, phonetics, letters and sentences are given importance. For maths, ‘Ganitha Kalika Aandolana’ of Akshara Foundation is used as a model to help them learn better. 

Teachers who were instrumental in the success of the labs were felicitated. 

In the academic year 2020-21, Head Teachers of higher primary schools were trained on administrative procedures. They learnt all about drawing up a time table. At the end of March, a Science seminar was held for about 66 schools. 

A team of resource persons now goes from village to village, to check if students are following the study time table. And for Grade 7, there was a survey about Kalika Khaatri (learning ensured). This is a programme designed to take away the fear of exams and ensure that learning goes on, no matter what. Officials meet the teachers every month to discuss plans regarding innovative learning. 

Mahesh is extremely thankful to the initiative taken by the Block Education Officer (BEO), Mr. Raju. His projects have inspired many teachers across the Taluk. Mahesh watches international school programmes on the Internet, and he takes up ideas that can be implemented here.

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In today's episode of ‘Prathibimba’, we are in conversation with  Ms. Soubhagya. 
After getting trained at Chikmagalur, Ms. Soubhagya worked at various schools and is now promoted as Head Teacher. She holds an MA in Education, and she holds a special interest in sports activities. 

Soubhagya believes children will be attracted to school if the school looks good. It should have at least the basic facilities. In this regard, she has approached a private company to donate toilets. Some furniture and water filters have also been donated by the community. 

She would like to thank all the senior officers from the education department who encourage her to do what is good for the school. Looking at other schools, she got a teacher’s room sanctioned by the department for ‘Nali Kali' classes, meant for grades 1-3 and has done it up very well. She has also been able to get donations from the community for many other facilities for the school. 

Earlier, students had a habit of skipping school. Ms. Soubhagya personally went to their houses and convinced their parents not to encourage this habit. These children are now very regular in coming to school/classes. She engages parents very well in meetings, which has resulted in them having fruitful discussions about their children’s progress. 

Ms. Soubhagya believes that punctuality, courtesy, and patience play a major role in running a successful school. It is important to give parents the confidence that the school and its teachers care. If a child is absent, she goes to the child’s house to enquire. That make a huge difference. This relationship is reflected well in the local sports event as well. Old students train the current students in competitive sports. Kiragunda is famous for Kabaddi and her old students are famous players in the community!

More power to teachers and Head Masters like Ms. Soubhagya who are ever so dedicated in ensuring their children get well-rounded and quality education.

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Please welcome Mr. Shantakumar in this episode of ‘Prathibimba’ – by teachers, for teachers.

Mr. Shantakumar is the Head Master and Social Sciences teacher at the Government School in Angadi, Moodigere. He has worked as a Regional Resource Person as well. 

He has always taught with extreme passion and he wanted children to learn by liking and understanding what was taught. He is largely influenced by his school and his teachers. This train of thought inspired him to start a social sciences laboratory. 

Most of the students in his school are from the families of labourers. Poverty is prevalent. He wanted all his students to be happy to want to come into the lab to learn. This concept of a social sciences lab has yielded amazing results too. 

The SSLC result has been 100% for the school overall and also in 2019-20, the highest marks for the Taluk was scored by a girl of his school. Most students pass with ‘A’ or ‘A+’ grade in Social Science. 

In the social sciences lab, they have a smart TV, radio, music system, map of the globe in flex, maps of India, maps of Karnataka, a separate library for social sciences, video and audio CD’s. Students are able to locate countries on the map and touch it! They watch an earthquake or an erupting volcano on the TV and actually feel it. 

When they get to hear the audio of the 1857 Indian Rebellion, or speeches by Mahatma Gandhi, they absorb every word keenly and enjoy themselves. Shanthakumar has seen effective learning with these gadgets. Since they have cable TV, children can watch ‘Samveda’ classes on Chandana channel. They listen to radio lessons as well. 

He is thankful to the officials of the education department for their cooperation and encouragement. His colleagues all come together to help conduct regular workshops for teachers. He is thankful to his friends who contribute to his efforts. He is also assisted by the forum of social science teachers in the district. 

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Please welcome Ms. Nagaratna in this episode of ‘Prathibimba’ – by teachers, for teachers!

Ms. Nagaratna works as the Head Teacher at Government School, Bidarahalli, Moodigere. She has been teaching for about 39 years and is on the verge of retirement. She feels, like health care service, teaching is more of a service than a profession. She also feels children are like God, and they should not be considered as a 10-5 job. One cannot succeed if it is taken as salaried employment. 

Believe it or not, her very first student was her own mother. Ms. Nagaratna began by teaching her how to write her name for official purposes. After becoming a trained teacher, she taught at the school where she studied – free of cost for one year!

When Ms. Nagaratna was 19, she joined a Government Primary school which had just 18 students. She had to walk 3 kms to her next school through a forest area.  

She conducted a survey of children between the ages 5 and 14 in the surrounding village to understand the reason for low enrollment.  She had to go around the village convincing many families about overcoming social stigma surrounding certain children, which she managed successfully. She groomed the children for school and ended up admitting 52 students! The school went on to get 220 students up to grade 7. This one-room school building underwent expansion too.

She remembers and thanks her head teacher and other colleagues for their cooperation. She learnt Yoga for the sake of her students and taught them. 

Even after 39 years of 'service' behind her, she is not ready to hang up her shoes. Ms. Nagaratna would like to continue to serve the children even after her retirement. Now if someone like her is not the ultimate role model of a teacher, who is?

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Please welcome Mr. Raveendra in today’s episode of ‘Pratibimba’. He teaches at the Government Higher Primary School in Nandaguru village, Kalaburgi. Today, he shares his experience of teaching in a school located in the border area.

Mr. Raveendra has been teaching here since 2013. He thought, since it was a school located in the border area, it would a challenge to inculcate an interest in literature and arts. Also, he wanted to ignite their curiosity and pride about Kannada language and culture. 

Every Saturday they have seminars  - either reading poetry written by students or reading stories written by them or talking about a book they read during the week. This is an opportunity for them to express their feelings and thoughts and get an appreciation from peers and teachers. They borrow a book from the library, read it during the week and talk about their learning from the book on Saturdays! If they have not completed reading the book yet, they talk about a part of the book which they have read. There are four seminars – one each on poetry, stories, book reviews and drawing. They have to talk about the book in such a way that other students get inspired to read that book or other books.

Saturday sees an exhibition of their drawings as well. Some might have drawn just one picture, some two or more. Students learn from one another and encourage one another! This helps them correct their drawing skills and also makes them have fun. 

The school conducts an annual lit-fest on the lines of Kannada Saahitya Sammelana. Apart form reading the works of the students in public, there are workshops and symposia on how to write. There is a book fare during this fest, and for the students of this school, books are available at half price! The book fare is a huge success. 

Though it may come across as a normal course of activity, we understand the impact when we learn that the school is located on the State border and no one speaks Kannada at home!

Children have written 600 poems, 40 short stories and also a few folk songs. They publish a magazine called ‘Ankura’. As a result of Raveendra’s efforts, the students of this school are now able to speak, read, write and interact in Kannada. 

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Please welcome Smt. Nethravathi in this episode of ‘Prathibimba’.

Smt. Nethravathi started a monthly magazine which has developed into a huge instrument in encouraging the community to promote talents among students. 

She has been teaching at the Government Higher Primary School at Shrungeri, Chikmagalur Dist. for the past 13 years. When she started teaching in 2008, she wanted to do something different to develop the 110 students in her school. She noticed that the private schools in the area used to print an annual magazine which would cost Rs. 150/-. That made her think about starting a school magazine, but without the cost of printing it! 

She called a meeting of the students and asked them to put their thoughts on paper in handwriting. Students participated with great enthusiasm. Some wrote a poem, some wrote a story, while some others drew pictures. At the end of the year, it was made into a volume and displayed to the parents and public. It was named 'Kanasu' (Dream) with a tag line that translates to ‘This is our area’. 

It received a very good response from the students. What encouraged her to do more was the positive response by the parents and public. Parents had no idea that their wards had such talents! 

Nethravathi attended a Teachers’ training program where she was made the in-charge of a ‘wall paper’ activity. She received very good feedback for it. She thought of implementing a similar concept in her school and the result came to be called 'Vismaya' (Wonderment). Students write poetry and stories. One page is reserved for Maths and another for English. All articles are handwritten and every month there is a volume. It reaches all the parents. It also contains a photo report of the activities in the school. Now it even has a page on the schemes of the government, for information.  

Initially Nethravathi bore the expenses from her pocket. Now it is sponsored by the students who celebrate their birthday in that month! Every now and then however, she still spends some of her money on it. Her husband, who is also a teacher, greatly supports her and contributes to the content. 

Students wait for the monthly edition like they wait for a popular monthly magazine! All parents have a word or two of appreciation for 'Vismaya', always. Copies are sent to various government offices also. During the pandemic, 'Vismaya' was used to educate the students all about it. 

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Welcome to the second part of our conversation with Ms. Gayatri Kiran. 

Ms. Gayatri Kiran stresses on the importance of parents speaking to their children at home. Understanding and accepting their mental state and talking to them in a simple and loving way can make a huge difference. Parents should accept their fears and talk. She advises that the children must have a routine. It may not be followed very strictly, but it should ideally be a routine which has exercises, games, reading and entertainment. If possible, some activities towards spiritual development should be included as well. This routine can make them feel that ‘everything is ok’.

Developing contacts through video calls or even through letters can reduce loneliness among children. Art and craft work, making posters – it could be related to Covid – will keep them positively engaged. This can also lead to right information and that can build courage in them. Playing games such as Ludo, carrom, cowrie shells etc. will help. 

Ms. Gayatri Kiran makes it clear that parents have to pay attention to online classes, including ‘Samveda’ classes on the radio. Learning does not happen only when they are in a class. Involving children in the house hold work can teach them a lot. Children should be given work that is within their ability. 

She feels life skills are learnt through experience. When there is a situation, facing it and coming out of it successfully teaches important lessons. Hence we should allow the children to experience life situations. Children take their parents as role models. 

She feels it is important to talk about people whom they know, who have recovered from Covid and also about close relatives or friends who passed away due to the illness. Only the right information can lead to building courage. Talk to them about the efforts of doctors and nurses and scientists in creating and administering the vaccine. If they have questions, we have to address them. Importance to preventive care is the need of the hour. 

The don’ts – Don’t hide information from children. Don’t spread false information or help such activities. Don’t scare them. 

Please contact here for information – 

1. National help line #1075. 

2. Makkala Sahaaya vaani # 1098. 

3. UNICEF website.(Type UNICEF Covid 19 and children on Google)

4. Type UNICEF Covid 19 childline – on Google

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