Gurushala

Stories of Indian Classrooms

Linking Teaching with Social Work: Story from Uttarakhand

Sushil Kumar Tripathi is a secondary school teacher in a district of Uttarakhand. He is a Mathematics teacher and enjoys singing, writing, and teaching children via activity-based lessons. Let’s get to know his ways of teaching concepts to his students.

What is your most preferred way of teaching?

I generally teach them simply by chalk-board method. Secondly, I utilise the kit available at our classrooms to teach students. The kit essentially comprises the necessary items to teach a concept. For example, in Mathematics, we have 2D and 3D shapes, some of the kits are ready-made, while some were created by students using cardboard and other materials. This encourages group work and activity-based learning in the classroom. We have a smart class at our school, therefore I teach there once or twice a week using PPT or movies on the projector. We also show them some motivational movies or videos while teaching.

What motivated you to become a teacher?

Initially, I didn’t want to be a teacher; instead, I wanted to work at a bank. However, there was a professor in my college. He was like a guardian to me. He hired me in a school, telling me that I would be preparing for a bank job while also teaching children. As an outcome, I will earn some money, which I may use to fill out forms and support our family financially. When I was teaching there, the staff encouraged me to pursue a B.Ed., and it was through their influence that I ended up in this field. And now I am really happy with my profession.

What is your best memory so far as a teacher?

I was once lecturing in my class when some paperwork came in. As a result, I assigned some basic tasks to my students. However, some students were disinterested in the tasks I had assigned. They made paper balls and began throwing them at other students in order to annoy them. As a result, the other students complained. Because there were so many students and I was busy at work, I was unsure how to punish them. Then I asked all of these students to create a cell phone out of paper, in addition to the rough work I had provided. I'll examine your phone first, then your work. Everyone came in the next day with their paper phones. Many of the students had done an excellent job with their assignments. We used to use keypad phones back when there were no smartphones. And the students did an excellent job mentioning all of the buttons as well as adding some other creative work. They left a profound impression on me. When I saw their creativity, I forgot about my anger and took photos of them to show to our principal, who also praised them. I then explained the lesson of the situation to them. This is something I will never forget.

How were you introduced to Gurushala?

One day, I got a call and they told me about the Gurushala platform. Then they included me in their Teacher group. There was also one online meeting when they briefed us on Gurushala courses and other offerings. I then discovered that it is something that can benefit both me as a teacher and my students. So it was only after that that I started using Gurushala regularly.

How has Gurushala helped you in your journey as a teacher?

Gurushala has helped me in several ways during my teaching career. To begin with, I am not pretty good in technology, therefore I have learned a lot about it through their website. I have also attended Gurushala’s webinars and meetings and I have learnt a lot from them. Apart from that, I have completed a number of courses from their course modules and regularly use the content library. I have learnt a lot from there as well.I have also shared my issues in some sections of Gurushala. I really appreciate how we can use this to connect with a large number of teachers. Overall, I appreciate how Gurushala designed this. If we teachers learn more from this, our students will undoubtedly learn more from us as well.

What is your life motto as a teacher?

My life motto is to do my very best in our educational area. Also, I try to motivate my students as much as possible. For example, as a coordinator, we try to organize Science contests. Similarly, there is another event called Rashtriya Bal Vigyan and I am the coordinator there as well. As a result, I urge my students and students from other schools to participate in such events. I am also involved with the Inspire award. I will do all in my ability to ensure that my students participate and win such events.

This year, for the Inspire award, we had another concept competition, and I couldn't believe how many amazing, original ideas were there. We couldn't decide which of the five concepts to pursue. Apart from that, I am involved with the Sakshar Bharat Abhiyan and many other such projects. So, my motto is to provide whatever I can to my students in order for them to have a bright future.

How do you wish to bring change in society?

The most essential factor in bringing about social change is self-motivation. If we want to talk about cleanliness in society, we must first start with ourselves, then our homes, and finally society. I have tried to raise knowledge about the value of voting. In addition, during the pandemic, I tried to raise awareness about vaccines and why they are important. We create slogans and posters about it and distribute them to people. Aside from that, we created videos about it and shared them on social media. So, I attempt to link my teaching with as many initiatives and awareness programs as possible in order to bring change in society.

Finally, I would like to remind the students reading this that whatever they're studying, they should make sure their concepts are clear. Since we can see how difficult the competitive examinations are, do not study just to score well in school. Essentially, it would be beneficial to them if they move away from rote memorization and begin to comprehend the ideas before learning.