Saturday workshops at SSMI have
resumed since the school re-opened after the summer break. When we first
started interacting with these kids (who have now entered classes 9th
and 10th this year), it was very clear that were very naive. Even
the way they think and react was much below the desired level at their age. Their
attention span was all of five to ten minutes and it would be fair to say that
it was a daunting challenge holding their attention for long on any topic.
It was seemingly difficult to make
them understand the whole purpose of these workshops. They had never attended
anything beyond their academic classes. For them Saturday workshops were fun
time when they would be made to do numerous activities, watch videos etc. So we let them enjoy.
After some consistent session
scheduling with great co-operation from the school authorities, we started noticing
some impact of these sessions on the students. Gradually they became conscious
that they were learning interesting things about life through these activities,
stories and videos. And very soon they became eager participantsJ.
They have started eagerly looking forward to
these sessions. Saturday workshop has become an important part of their week. It may be a small but in our opinion a significant impact.
They have started expressing themselves more freely, talking about their dreams and
fears in life. Even to acknowledge this in front of their entire class took a
lot of courage. But these kids have surprised us. (We will keep sharing interesting
observations from different sessions in future blog posts)
The very fact that these kids are
thinking, expressing and participating is a testimony of the thought that when learning
is re-packaged, re-structured and designed to create purposeful impact,
education happens.
Young minds are starting to open
up. Thoughts are starting to pour out. We hope to give the much needed wings to
their thoughts. And soon enough they will make their flightJ.
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