Today I accompanied one of my fellow mates to a school that
he assists with, since I was a little bored to go to one of the schools I am
assigned to (We work with government schools in backward areas, about which I
will hopefully post very soon in detail, so don’t fret about the details!). It
is a typical Indian sarkari(government)
school, set in the urban side of the district, but with a twist.
The
students who barely manage to attend classes are kids of rag-pickers, beggars
and homeless community of that area. Having spoken to quite a few teachers,
officials, community – members, and so on, about the children, I got to hear a
load of character traits about the little learners of this backward community.
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| The kids colouring away, while I watch on (I'm in green) |
They steal!
They curse! They are violent! and what not. I walked into the class to see
curious little faces (I assume curious, for all I know they couldn’t care less
about my foreign entry). I sat in a corner as I observed the little kids be
just that – little kids. A lot of glances and a few hesitant smiles later I was
sitting with them on the floor talking about colours and trees and cows and
basically everything their minds ran towards.
I gave each
one a fresh piece of paper, opened up my new box of colours and gave them the
permission to pick any crayon they wished. They had a lot of creative juices
flowing on to the piece of paper for about an hour, when finally it was time
for lunch. They left, giving me their creations to eat the food that comes from
the government food distribution centres (Most of the kids here get just that
meal in the entire day!). Guess how many crayons out of the fifteen I had, were
left in my case?
All of
them! Not a single kid stole a crayon, tore up the paper or misbehaved with me.
All of them were kids, just like any other kid I’ve met in all the schools I’ve
been too. I just trusted them and welcomed them with an open and prejudice –
free mind. I only wonder why this is so hard to do for so many of us adults!
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