Class Four Students

This year, I teach class IV English and X English besides other responsibilities. To be with small children, and to see them learning something really makes me happy. How they grow up in front of our eyes and become someone is another huge contentment one gets as parents and as teachers.

Class IV children are barely the age of ten, and they are tough students to deal with. They shout, play, sleep, run, jump, and do nothing at times. They grumble and complain each other, always. Class IV English text is the thickest book for school-going children. I tell them, “You are college students because you carry the thickest English textbook in the school.” They laugh, and they take it proudly.

It was very hard to begin our lesson. ‘Reading and English Literature took almost a week; introducing about what they were going to study about. As they had taken a leap from class III, they hardly understand what’s going on in the class. I go on speaking English. I go on explaining. I go on making them read, write, speak and listen. “Yes sir,” is all they say.

We had a difficult time pronouncing the text ‘Literature’. Some of them said cutely, “Li-te-te-te.” A few said, “Lit-te-ture.” And some said, “Lit---ta-ry.” Everyone said in a different way. Only a handful could pronounce it correctly. Then I had to explain what literature is. We listed down many works of literature like poems, stories, essays/compositions, letters, etc. Then we had to write what a poem is. Types of the poem, and some basic features of poem (What makes a poem?). And so, we moved with other genres too.

A few days ago, we learned a poem, where we did lots of role-plays; that made them interested and happy. We also did speaking; where they spoke tailless, headless, legless English. “The poem is about to remember,” a student said. “Remember is the poem,” another one said.

The next time consuming comes when they write. They write at a snail speed, a kond of tortoise speed. When they are asked to copy a word from the board, they would mutter P-O-E-M. Writing a sentence in their notebooks would take half the period of the class.

Lately, Of all, they learn fast, they catch up quickly. Many students could answer my questions now. I must always keep an eye on them. When I contort my face and say in a higher pitch, they would get scared and keep mum.

Such is my class four students. Everyone wanted to be a captain, and everyone wanted to go out and play, but no one wanted to get spanking from teachers.

Class IV students writing

 

Busy Writing

Smiling

And Writing