Help 28,000 Indian Children Get Quality Education

In Sardar Vallabhbhai School, I have the pleasure of instructing 25 eager and inquisitive students. Our class goal for this academic term is to foster a culture of self-learning and value cultivation while enjoying ourselves and putting forth a diligent effort to acquire new knowledge. Through my twenty-two months of teaching, I have come to appreciate the importance of emphasizing value-based learning and integrating it into the curriculum. Therefore, my aim for this academic unit is to establish an environment where students can gain a well-rounded educational experience by learning academics and non-academic things.

As a teacher, my classroom experience with these students was quite positive. I am pleased they have made significant progress in their English language skills, particularly in reading and writing sentences. This was the biggest highlight of our class. I took many initiatives from the initial teaching days to build a learning culture among students. Most of the practices/initiatives are continued, while some initiatives I started at the beginning of this year only. For improvement in English language skills, we did daily reading practice with annotations. In addition, I also provided a list of important vocab words to students that they need to learn by the end of this year. Every other day, I took vocabulary tests for the students and rewarded those who performed well. This practice effectively captured students' attention and fostered their interest in language learning. Another recent initiative is designing and facilitating social-emotional learning sessions for students. It helped to cultivate collaborative and creative skills among students. Furthermore, I have also noticed that the students have also developed the necessary skills to study for extended periods. Several practices are being sustained, such as organizing morning meetings and learning circles, incorporating fun activities, and instilling weekly themes of values for the students.

I strongly believe that every child deserves a quality education. Therefore the vision of my classroom is "Our classroom is a safe and inclusive space where we work together to help each other reach our goals. Our classroom encourages creativity, curiosity, and a love of learning that will last a lifetime."

I had always wanted to encourage students to participate in extracurricular activities at the school level. To achieve this goal, I initiated a school-level quiz competition. I led my students to perform at an inter-school cultural festival. This process was a valuable learning experience, enhancing their confidence and expressive abilities. This stands out as a significant accomplishment in our classroom.

One major challenge was capturing students' interest in language learning. Initially, it was not easy, but with the right approach to language teaching-learning, things became easier for students. I made fun and creative worksheets and gave students enough opportunities to practice and apply the language skills they had learned. Another challenge was to convince parents to let students participate in non-academic activities. Looking back, I realize the relationship we built with our parents helped us overcome this challenge. By making parents understand the purpose of what students are engaging in and what they will learn in the process, we were able to gain their support.

My program manager, co-fellows, and staff members have been my pillars of strength in this journey. From giving feedback to sharing ideas, they have supported me in every possible way for my growth.

As I grew as a leader, I started thinking beyond just teaching and had new ideas for how to run our classroom. This helped me improve my vision for the classroom. I saw these ideas and visions come to life, and our students improved in many ways. Their reading level increased, and they became more eager to learn and try new things. They also became more aware of how they learn best. I am proud of what our students have achieved in our classroom.