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.
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| Class IV students writing |
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| Busy Writing |
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| Smiling |
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| And Writing |
