In this CAS experience, I volunteered at a local government school to teach Maths and Science to 8th Grade, every Saturday for almost 4-5 months. The motivation behind this experience was to try and make an impact in the country’s weak public education system at a local level, by providing support as a teacher at an understaffed school. I felt that I would be able to provide high quality education to students, due to my own IB educational background, which would help them perform better in academics and develop an interest in learning.
One of my first learning from this experience was how to reach out to new people and convey my ideas. I myself went up to the school and explained what I was willing to contribute and my motivation behind it. They were very cooperative and we set up a schedule for me to come and teach every weekend. I developed a very essential skill of communication, something I am not very good at.
Looking back, I realize how much my knowledge has also developed with this experience. I had to read material from textbooks before class, and ensure that I knew how to explain it. Interacting with the same subject matter from a different educational board’s perspective allowed me to learn quite a lot of new things. It also allowed me to recognize the advantages and drawbacks of my own educational experience, and be grateful for it.
Once I took the position of a teacher, I was able to understand my own teachers, since I had to not only teach but also manage the class. I learned why it is important for teachers to cater to the needs of all students, and why everything must be explained from the basics.
One of the main challenges I faced was communication, since they spoke relatively less English. I had to explain everything in Hindi, while also ensuring that they learnt new English everyday. I tried to overcome this challenge by using real-life examples to convey the concepts, and from the feedback of students, I feel I was quite successful. Another challenge was maintaining decorum in the classroom, since I was unable to shout and be stern with the students in the beginning. I don’t think I am still successful in this, and will have to continue trying to manage the classroom as effectively as possible.
Each weekend, I had to commit upto 2 hours to teaching, and could not take any holidays in between. This became quite stressful certain times, since I also had to manage my own studies and extracurricular activities. I now realize how that has helped me develop time management skills, by forcing me to complete my tasks on time and not procrastinate.
The principal of the school, to whom I had initially reached out, appreciated my actions multiple times. She also said that students really liked my teaching style and enjoyed my classes. I feel really happy that I was able to help not only the students, but also the educators by sharing some of their workload. I often felt that the problem of poor education in India lied with teachers in public schools. But after this experience, I realized that the system itself creates a problem, due to understaffed schools, lack of basic resources, and lack of parental support. Teachers are willing to put forward their best efforts, but they aren’t enough to keep up with the extremely high number of students in these schools. I feel proud to have been a part of such an experience where I was able to make a difference in the education of underprivileged children.
Overall, this was an experience that allowed me to improve my knowledge and communication skills, but also allowed me to recognize and become aware of problems in the Indian public education system. I have been greatly impacted by this experience, and wish to continue helping the society through such efforts. I will continue teaching in this school throughout Grade 11 and 12, and will also try to work with teachers to improve the quality of education by inculcating essential skills, such as coding, in the curriculum.
Evidence – https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PILAewRKRyXlV0ORdZY5l8dUJzfDxpasAaVvZUByYWY/edit?usp=sharing