ASHA for EDUCATION, proclaims the sign. Three steps lead to a porch, and a door within. Pairs of shoes are lined neatly in front of the door. We add our footwear to the straight line and enter. Greetings of ‘Good morning, teacher’ and ‘Hi Didi/Bhaiyya!’ abound.
There are two rooms inside. The outer room has a blackboard and is more spacious. The inner room is host to a host of computers, favorites of the children. It also doubles as a store room and contains a cupboard full of books for all ages and of various subjects.
We remember our first day. We were a little nervous, not knowing what to expect. But as we peeked around the door and were welcomed by cries of ‘good morning’ despite being newcomers, we felt right at home. That day, the kids were making envelopes out of colored paper and decorating them with stickers. We were all shy in the beginning but soon enough, we were cutting paper, passing stickers and suggesting designs. The finished envelopes were beautiful.
This was the arts and crafts class, which was usually held separately from the teaching classes. As we worked, we talked a little. The children seemed excited at the prospect of learning with us. We in turn, were looking forward to our first sessions and trying to decide what topics to take up, and what timings to fix on.
Eventually we decided on suitable timings and took up specific subjects. The first few days were spent feeling our way around and discovering the current capabilities of all our little friends. First the kids split in to around three or four groups based on age. Then we split up too, to work with a group each, in a day. The largest group, and therefore the most difficult to handle, was composed of fifth to eighth graders. They only knew basic addition and subtraction, barely any science, and struggled to read simple words in English. Yet their eagerness to learn was amazing! We admired their zest, and thirst for knowledge.
Most of our friends at Asha attended Hindi or Urdu medium schools. This meant that we tried to focus on making them proficient in both reading and speaking English. Two of us would take up computers, where we would have them write mails or open up online grammar lessons or simply express themselves on Paint; when it came to Math, illustrating a new concept and having them solve questions was be the routine followed. This we did in the computer room. Two more of us would take reading or science lessons, which the girls at Asha particularly liked. There were many English and Science textbooks in the cupboard spanning different classes and boards, so we would pick out something interesting and have everyone in the group read aloud in turns, and we’d explain the meanings or the context of the lesson wherever needed. And the remaining one of us would have the liberty of using the blackboard- this was for the tiny tots- and illustrate concepts like fruits or shapes, or just teach them small spellings or sentences.
As we worked, we became aware of a problem. The thing was, our little students weren’t at all regular, bogged down by work at home or the travelling distance (they would come to us after their school ended from slums that were rather far), and so missing a day here and a day there was all too common. The fact that great distances or schoolwork even work at home did not deter their attending Asha inspired us so much! It made us feel like spending more time with them, to teach them something useful, and teach WELL.
Anyway, to get around the problem, we tried not to take continuous lessons. By that, I mean that we would conduct the sessions in such a way that even a new student would be able to pick up what we covered, without attending the previous sessions. We took it up a few sections at a time, and we went over the previous days’ concepts the next day. It was such a simple but incredibly effective method!
Our topics weren’t just restricted to Math, Science or English, and the illustrative topics for the very small kids. Every once in a while we’d take up something different, like geography in social science using a globe, or, more frequently, spoken English. We’d create imaginary situations where everyone had to interact by speaking English, and that was a great way to get around the challenge of getting everyone to speak English in practical situations.
In those two months, we had become really attached to our friends and the work we did. It gave us a feeling of joy to get up in the morning and know that we were going to meet everyone and teach in a few hours. And by no means was it one sided learning; I sometimes think we learnt more valuable lessons than our friends at Asha, during our stint there. As for physical and factual learning, I will say that we walked out a lot more proficient in Hindi than the day we arrived. We were forced to teach mathematics in Hindi, and geography in Hindi, and explain English in Hindi too! We learnt to communicate the toughest concepts in the simplest ways, and use our imagination in a practical way.
But more important things we learnt were those that will stay for a long time- the positive attitude that makes one smile through all adversity; the perseverance to learn, no matter what the obstacles in the way, and the blazing determination that made it possible for each student there to reach their goals.
Before I stop writing, I have a request for you: to spare a few hours a week, if possible, to share the incredible gift of giving someone your time, for something that will stay a lifetime. You’ll have a lot of fun too!
(Asha is located near the Main Gate, IIT Powai, and the timings for teaching are very flexible. You could visit in a group, which leaves you with many interesting ways to take teaching sessions, or call individually at your own convenience.
For details, you can contact 02225783674, the Asha Centre)
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