Sub: Accounts / Progress Report for quarter ended Sept. 2001

Please find enclosed an Unaudited Statement of Accounts on utilisation of funds, during the quarter July -Sept. 2001. A quarterly report on the activities conducted by the trust during the above period is enclosed.

Please acknowledge receipt of the same.

Yours Sincerely,

(Siddamma)

BHARATHI TRUST

 

NAMES OF TEACHERS	AREA OF WORK	STRENGTH OF STUDENTS
SELVI	SENJIAGARAM	38
MARIAMMA	THAMARAIKUPPAM	48
USHA / SUMATHI	MULLAINAGAR	52
RATHI / DURGA DEVI	RAJARATHINAGAR	80
BHAVANI / MANOHAR	ELAVAMBEDU	56
NIRMALA	KOTTANGULAN	60

QUARTERLY REPORT OF THE MOTIVATION CENTRES (JULY-SEPT)

 

LEVEL AND SUBJECTS	REPORT
0-3	The children of this age group are brought to school by their older siblings. These children are provided with toys and for those below one year, cradles are slung in the corner of the room to allow them to sleep blissfully. As and when the older children complete their work, they take care of their young siblings.
3-6 MATHS	Children of this age group are able to count numbers with the help of beads, stones and sticks. They can identify numbers up to 20 when the flash cards are displayed before them. To reinforce learning, the teacher teaches them number songs, for example, One Two buckle my shoe, Three four shut the door- (a similar song in tamil). They practice writing numbers on the sand first and then transfer them on to slates.
TAMIL	Children identify colors, shapes and objects that are shown to them. The teacher narrates stories, which are simple enough for the children to narrate back. They make sounds and cries of various animals and birds. They enact stories and sing songs. The only written activity is that of writing the alphabet, on the sand first and later in their slates.
SCIENCE	Stories based on the environment, such as The River Story. The children learn the birth and final destination of the rivers.
SOCIAL STUDIES	Stories about the lives of people by the riverside, their occupation etc.
EXTRA CURRICULAR	Art work- sticking pictures, shells and beads. Games- hide and seek, land and river, high and long jump, skipping etc.

 

LEVEL AND SUBJECT	REPORT
6-10MATHS	The children of this age group are taught addition through games, such as- they form a single file and each child is asked to count the number of children. Then they are paired and the child counts the number and derives that 1+1=2 and 2+2=4 etc. Likewise they form a circle and 2 children are asked to go out, through this they learn subtraction. They are able to write numbers 1-10 in both words and figures. Addition through step method is also taught with the help of flash cards, stones, beads, dice etc.
TAMIL	As the children do not have a prescribed textbook, the teacher narrates short stories and also the children are encouraged to tell tales. The teacher writes the key words that appear in the stories, on the board. The children repeat these words and write them in their note- books. Thus the vocabulary is built and learnt. Gradually, simple sentences from the stories are brought out and it is learnt in similar fashion.
SCIENCE	Apart from the daily check up of cleanliness of nails, hair and teeth, the children are taught good habits. This is done either through songs or drama. An action song on the functions of the parts of the body is sung. Some schools that are located near the sea make frequent trips to collect shells and plants and learn all about the sea. Similarly those schools near the forest gather information about plants and animals found there.
SOCIAL STUDIES	Life story of great men, such as Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru and their own community leaders are discussed in the classroom. Children are encouraged to ask questions and speak their views.
EXTRA- CURRICULAR	Organised games, drawing, competitive sports, story telling and clay modelling.

 

LEVEL AND SUBJECT	REPORT
10-15MATHS	Tables 2, 3, 4 and writing numbers in words and figures up to 50. Addition, subtraction, dictation of numerals is some of the work carried out by this group. Some of them are able to write and work out sums up to 3 digits. They are also given assignment to be completed at home.
TAMIL	Most of the children are able to read and write lessons from the II std. textbooks. To make it easier for their learning- complex sentences are split up and made into simple sentences. Some children write short stories with a little help from the teacher. A simple test is conducted to evaluate their comprehension level. In a month at least 4 lessons are taught from the textbook. In order to improve their handwriting, the children are provided with 4 line notebooks.
SCIENCE	There are charts displayed in the classroom, which shows parts of a plant, uses of herbs and human body. With a help of flash cards the children identify the names on the chart and write them down in their books. They collect plants and study them. Teachers narrate stories of great scientists and their discoveries. The importance of growing trees and how rain is caused is also discussed.
SOCIAL STUDIES	Pictures depicting early man are shown to the children and the teacher discusses the evolution of man. Topics such as the formation of the universe follow this discussion. Children are made to think and they questioned after each lesson. Many schools had a project on the formation of the universe. The children built a huge sand pit and created mountains out mud, blue colored water for seas and rivers, green paper cut outs of trees for forests, tiny huts and toy animals around the forests, to show habitation.
EXTRA CURRICULAR	Clay modelling, mounting their painting on cardboard, shell and bead work, making flowers out of shell.

An Experimental Garden At Mullainagar School

The teacher who teaches at Mullainagar, motivated her students to plant saplings and seeds to cultivate a garden. The students dug pits measuring 2ft.x2ft. They threw in sand, dry leaves, red mud, pebbles and stones. Then they planted a coconut sapling in each pit. To protect these saplings from goats and cattle, they fenced them with bramble bushes.

Likewise, the children also planted turmeric plant and mango seeds. After a period of one month, they found to their surprise, two leaves had sprouted from the seeds. 

They water the plants regularly. Other Motivation centres are also beginning to see this as an interesting activity and are keen on starting one in their own schools.

WORKSHOP FOR TEACHERS AT THIRUVALLUR

After this we had an exercise where the teachers were asked to go down their memory lane to recall their school days and to narrate their experiences. It was interesting to listen to each teacher narrate her times of woe or joy, depending on the teacher who had taught them. Many of them felt a deep sense of anguish and hatred towards their teacher. Some had enjoyed their schooling and regret that they couldn?t study further.

The above exercise led to the next question ?What sort of a school would you have liked to attend?? To which a teacher, who works with 60 children in Kottangulan village said that, had she been taught with love and care, as her students are now being taught, she might have become a bright person with better knowledge. The outcome of this exercise was that the teachers realized the importance of child-centered education and that how the child is like a young sapling, which needs tremendous care for its proper growth.