A Time to give back.....

It is always a good time to give back. From the computer lab at the Amrutahalli Government school to the classroom, we continue our efforts to get more children educated. We were running into a challenge, with an over-filled English 3rd-4th grade classroom where most children come from a non-english speaking household, few were having trouble keeping up in class. In a well funded school, these children would get a special attention teacher.

With an already stressed system, over filled classrooms, these children were being left behind. The teacher and I have been trying to help these children in various ways, but they needed dedicated constant time, a teacher who was able to speak their language and teach them English. We also had the added challenge of finding a place to help these kids after school hours.

We started an experiment which is showing promising signs of being able to evolve into a scalable model - students teaching students.. Here you see an Engineering student who comes from the same environment these children are from. She was looking for work which she could balance with college commitments. One of the parents selflessly offered their own 2 room house for classes, allowing children to not have to travel distances. It is amazing that when you want to do something good, it all comes together! This Engg student is now helping other students like her do better at school. The place you see is one room of the 2 room house. I had the chance to check on their progress yesterday- along with the academics, she stresses teaching respect for each other irrespective of gender and religion, going well beyond the English teaching we wanted her to do.