Salaam Bombay, Little Prince to help teachers understand children better…..Chinki Sinha
The adventures of Antoine de Saint-Exupérys Little Prince and the children of Salaam Bombay will help breed the countrys future schoolteachers.
Reading the book and watching Mira Nairs film is part of the NCTEs model syllabus for the two-year Diploma in Elementary Education course so that budding teachers can understand how differently the minds of children of different backgrounds work. Revamping the course is part of the process of implementing the RTE Act, which aims at removing discrimination from the classroom.
Salaam Bombay will show teachers how harsh a life Krishna led on the streets, selling tea and taking care of drug dealer/addict Chillum. Krishna dreams of earning Rs 500 and return to his mother in the village, gets into a juvenile home instead, but returns to the streets and keeps chasing his dream.
Students pursuing the diploma would need to observe the diverse needs of children of various backgrounds. They would pick subjects for case studies: a child from an affluent family, another living in the slums, or a third who has no home beyond the street.
For a country seeking to universalise schooling, very little attention had been given to teachers so far, said Poonam Batra, professor of education, CIE, DU, and convener, NCTE Review Committee. The National Curriculum Framework (NCF 2005) that proposed reforms in education observed that teachers were unable to connect with children and stressed a curriculum change.
DIETs (District Institutes of Education and Training) have been offering teacher training and we are telling to them revamp the course, Batra said. We hope the proposed syllabus will work as a basic framework and states will implement it. Delhi will be the first to incorporate it starting next year, Batra said.
Delhis Bachelor of Elementary Education programme has been using interactive methods for years. Batra said the model syllabus is based on this programme. Similar courses are offered at a few other institutes; some states, including Bihar, have shown an interest in introducing one.
Movie screenings will be followed by discussion. Films include The Final Solution that talks about communal issues, Teachers Journey shot in MP, and Rabba Hun Ki Kariye, a story of Partition directed by Ajay Bhardwaj, Batra said. Apart from a long reading list, we have suggested that teachers go out into the field and do a lot of interaction to understand children and come up with innovative ways of learning.
The proposed syllabus, posted on the NCTE website, is not yet into its final draft. The NCTE said it needs to adapt to changing times and needs; new innovative features will be incorporated.
We will need a bit of fine-tuning but will retain the essentials. States can modify it to suit their own local environment, an NCTE official said.
Among other aspects of the syllabus, teachers will also work on their English, a frequent problem area. The syllabus will also include creative drama.
HRD Ministry officials in charge of implementing the RTE Act said the new syllabus would help meet the challenge of ensuring equality and non-discrimination in the classroom.
Only the children know what they are looking for, said the Little Prince. They waste their time over a rag doll and it becomes very important to them; and if anybody takes it away from them, they cry
Thats what we want the teachers to understand, said Alok Mathur, a teacher at the Rishi Valley School in Andhra Pradesh, and who helped design the syllabus.
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