Dedicated English Class room in our Primary schools:

From 2005, Margarate Flanagan, a retired British school teacher was working with us. Her main role was to improve English teaching in our primary schools as well as with our network Govt. Primary schools. She and our teachers had done many experiments in these schools on improvement of pedagogy on English teaching. We had developed TLM based teachings, used more pictures, chart posters and also audio visual study materials.

Based on these experiences and learning, 6 small booklets had been published. These booklets have been found most effective and now are being used in our schools and also in some other NGO schools and Govt. primary schools. Swanirvar teachers and 10 local Govt primary teachers were engaged with Margarate in this educational research project.
In 2010, we felt the need of a separate English class room in schools. This was experimentally started in our 3 primary schools. The object of this was as follows:
1. Display of pictures drawing by the children in the Art & craft class
2. Display of Work Cards made by Teachers in big letters, Class-I-IV
3. Pictures chart hanging on the wall-Fruits chart, Animals chart, Birds chart, Flowers Chart, Vegetables Chart, Number Chart, colour chart, Human body chart, etc
4. Display of first letter of a word with various items made from this letter.
5. Different pictures drawn by children and paste on the wall
6. TV,VCD, Box for audio-visual program
7. Numerous numbers of TLMs for class I-IV and worksheet, so that any student can work at any time.

Effects:

On Children:

1. An environment has been developed in that room. The colourful decoration has attracted the children. English learning is now joyful learning.

2. Self learning: student are now coming by their own wishes, playing and learning with use of TLMs

3. This has been found more effective for the weak and medium children. They are spending more times in this room. Colouring the cards, doing hand on activities and gradually getting out from the phobia of English as a foreign language.

4. As the students of I-IV are coming in that room for learning and they are spending times with learning materials. Students also developing new ideas and prospective.

On Teacher:

Our teacher, Shyama in Magurkhali School

1. Here teacher is just a facilitator. More group activities.

2. He has many choices with huge TLMs and other study materials.
3. Continuously getting new ideas and more interactions with students.
4. Better Class room management.

Reported by:
Gopal & Prosanto

SWANIRVAR IN EDUCATION: Impacts of ‘Sahitya Sabha’ in Swanirvar Primary Sc...

SWANIRVAR IN EDUCATION: Impacts of ‘Sahitya Sabha’ in Swanirvar Primary Sc...: "BACKGROUND In 2000, 13 teachers and supervisor of Swanirvar's three primary schools visited Santiniketan on an exposure trip orga..."

Impacts of ‘Sahitya Sabha’ in Swanirvar Primary Schools:

BACKGROUND

           In 2000, 13 teachers and supervisor of Swanirvar's three primary schools visited Santiniketan on an exposure trip organized by Bratin Chatterjee of Patha Bhavan there. During this trip the teachers witnessed a Sahitya Sabha - a cultural evening organized and conducted by the students where they do all kinds of performances mostly based on their own compositions. Swanirvar teachers were very impressed and after coming back they started a similar thing. In year 2000-2001 it was held in two villages. The success and enthusiasm was beyond expectations. In fact many villagers were flabbergasted seeing Class IV girls and boys conducting the total proceedings. In 2001-2002 this was held in all the 3 villages where Swanirvar has its primary schools. Meanwhile Swanirvar has been trying to build all kinds of "connections" with the govt. school system locally. This year (2010-11) Swanirvar had organized 12 Sahitya Sabhas in its own Primary schools and also had organized 10 such events in Govt Primary schools.

Impacts:
From, 2001, Swanirvar’s teachers had taken a number of trainings on composing ‘poetry, poems and short stories, makings stories from pictures and movies, etc. They got trainings from Shikshamitra and other famous organizations. After the trainings, the teachers had guided their students to write their feelings. Getting enthusiasm, the students composed their own stories, poems etc and presented these in the Sahitya Sabhas. Gradually, some of our students made remarkable progress in their writings!! Most of them had shown their creativities in high schools, too.
          Musumi Parveen, studied in our primary school at Chandalati(1999-2005). She wrote many poems and short stories and was a regular performer of sahitya sabha. Presently, she is in class X and is very famous in her school for her excellent writing and debating abilities. Most of the time, she represent her school in the inter school debate and short speech competition. She is also a regular article writer of local magazines.

         Avishekh Mondal, Diya Mondal, Mamul Hassan, Milan Halder, Sardhendu Chatterjee, Mijanur Hossain, Piyali Biswas etc ( our ex students of Fatullapur Primary and Magurkhali Primary) are doing well in their schools.

         They are not scoring highest marks in their classes. But, they are topper in debate, painting, drama and writing articles and composing poetry sessions.

Reported by:

Prosanto Mondal

Supervisor, Primary

Cross review visit 2010-11

        

Last year, 17 Govt. teachers came for a peer review process to see what we are doing in our schools and they were highly pleased and praised us. This year 25 SSK teachers, 35 NGO-teachers and 6 Govt. teachers came to visit our primary schools as well as some of our partner Govt. schools where we are continuously providing our inputs in the form trainings, workshops and seminars. They took extensive notes and gave their opinions in the meeting on the classroom management and pedagogy (Bengali, Maths, English and EVS).They saw group works, classroom management, use of TLMs, teacher’s work plans, assembly, children’s committees and their roles, l village maps making and question-answer sessions.
          This year, 112 teachers and officials from Govt Primary, SSK and NGO ( BSSK, South 24 Parganas, Pradan, Purulia, Goal funded Right Track) run Schools came to visit Swanirvar’s schools.

           After visiting the schools they all sat together at Swanirvar to discuss everything they had seen. They also discussed all family and school relationships, teacher’s attitude towards weak children and classroom management. The visiting teachers suggested for some changes and praised this new system. Two of them wanted to implement the Swanirvar’s process in their own schools.

Reported By,
Prosanto Mondal,
Supervisor, Swanirvar

Field Trip to Taragunia Mintu Park,Baduria 2010-11

        The Field Trip is an important annual event in Swanirvar schools. Every year both teachers and students sit together to discuss where they would go for their field visit. They discussed about the group works that the students would carry out at that trip. This year they decided that the students of class I&II would visit their local area and the students of class III &IV would visit Taragunia Mintu Park .The visiting places are mentioned below. So, 382 students of our schools visited Taragunia Mintu Park, Rudrapur Park and Gangarati Bill with their teachers.

        The students of Class I& II (from Andharmanik and Chandalati schools) went to Rudrapur Park and Gangerati respectively. There they played sports games for about one and a half hours. After that they made charts showing living and non-living things, diesel cars and petrol cars, the collection and analysis of leaves and floating and sinking things. Next the students drew group pictures following a discussion among the group members. The students (I &II) of Fatullapur went to Taragunia Mintu Park and did the same work.

        The students (III and IV) of all the above villages and Matia went to Taragunia mintu Park. They enjoyed the swings, slides, a small zoo and the boating pond. They visited an interesting museum in the park. Then they drew different types of pictures.

Lastly they took a delicious picnic lunch at the Park.After that they were busy chatting among themselves and explored the Park one more time before returning home.   

Reported by,
Prosanto Mondal,
Primary Supervisor.

A Silent Revolution – Asim Chowdhury

Asim Chowdhury and Rumi Mondal doing excellent ..

Asim Chowdhury is the head teacher of Laxminathpur FP School under Baduria Block of North 24 Parganas. In 2004, he met our Primary supervisor,  Prosanto Mondal and his teammates in a TLM workshop in Fatullapur. He was so spirited in that workshop, he requested Prosanto to visit his school.  

Gradually, he became one of the regular participants of our trainings and workshops. He had participated in a number of trainings on Language (Bengali and English for class I-IV) and Mathematics teaching methodology and also in TLM workshops. He also got especial inputs from M. Flannagan on English teaching.

He has not only taken these trainings but also has successfully implemented these methodologies in the classrooms. He took initiative to hold a TLM workshop in his schools in 2006. 20 Govt primary school teachers joined in that workshop and made TLMs. He is also supported by his colleagues. Now, his children are hosting special days, like 15^th August, 23^rd January, Rakhi etc and organizing Sahitya Sabha in the school. All the walls of the school are pained by the children. Always, they are using TLMs and practicing arts and crafts in the school.

His activities and initiatives have also moved the parents. Parents meetings are being held on regular basis and for the above reasons the number of drop out is almost nil in that school. The school is now became a model primary school in Bauria-East circle.

Reported By,

Prosanto Mondal

Primary Education Department, Swanirvar

                                               

A Silent Revolution – Chandra Ganguli Mondal

Chandra in the class

For the last few years, Swanirvar is working with Govt. Primary school teachers.  With our continuous support and trainings, some of the Govt teachers are now showing extra ordinary performances in their schools and some of them have became master trainers!

Chandra Ganguli Mondal, a teacher of Jashikati FP School has started her career as an ordinary teacher. She joined in her service in 1998 and doing routine classroom teaching. In 2002, she met Mr. Amal Krishna Dutta, an innovative primary school teacher and recipient of Presidential Aware for innovative teaching. She was motivated by him but did not receive any training on teaching till 2005. In 2005, she met our primary supervisor, Prosanto Mondal in a seminar cum TLM workshop hosted by Swanirvar on Mathematics for class-I&II. In that workshop, she learnt about the utility of TLMs in classroom and also made a number of TLMs and got some ideas to deals with weak and disable children.

Learning with TLMs

In, June, 2006 she received a training of English teaching for the Dept. of Primary Education, Govt. of West Bengal and that training module was designed by Ray Macow. In, Dec, 2006, she met M. Flannagan(a retired British school teacher working for Swanirvar) in Swanirvar and got extensive inputs on English for class-I-IV. Gradually, she got training cum orientation in the following subjects, Language, Mathematics, Environmental Science, Classroom Management, sahitya sabha, children committee etc.

Wall painting 

Now, she has introduced many types of children committees in her schools also her children are now hosting special days, like 15^th August, 23^rd January, Rakhi etc and organizing Sahitya Sabha and running library in the school. All the walls of the school are pained by the children. Always, they are using TLMs and playing with colours.   

Initially, she was criticized by her colleagues and higher authorities but now she is supported not only by her colleagues but also SIS, Dipankar Karmakar patronizes her. For the last three years (2008-10), she is giving inputs as a master trainer in Baduria North Circle. She is also trying to introduce cultural activities, like recitation, drama, dancing, singing in the classroom.

Reported By,

Prosanto Mondal

Primary Education Department, Swanirvar