CHILDREN

This summer, Ravi Kumar’s (name changed to protect identity) parents were left in a dilemma. Ravi completed his 2nd standard exams and was promoted to the 3rd standard. But he couldn’t go back to school. That’s because after promoting Ravi, the school expelled him. Here’s Ravi’s story and the trauma his parents went through. Eight-year-old Ravi was a student of the school run by the Nijaguna Education Trust (NET) in Gavipuram. Ravi’s father, 45-year-old Sridhar Kumar (name changed to protect identity) is a BMTC bus driver and his mother, 36-year-old Roopa  (name changed to protect identity) is a home maker.…

Deepti G (who lives off Bannerghata Road), mother of a ten-year-old daughter with fixed opinions of her own, prefers not to go for shopping for school supplies with her child anymore. With the incredible amount of school products available, shopping can get out of hand. "Every year we end up with pencil boxes, tons of sketch pens and markers, calculators, pouches and snack boxes that we never end up using," she reasons. File pic: Meera KSo what is the best way to shop for school supplies? First, make a list. I asked some experienced parents and they said a very…

ABBA's song "Money, money, money, must be funny, in a rich man's world. All the things I could do if I had a little money... " comes to mind at the plight of a few of my latest and long time students like Jaya and Alumelu. Little Nila and Jaya are star performers in their 'English medium convent school' and daughters of our neighbourhood unorganized sector worker Devaki. And Alumelu whom I have voluntarily tutored and mentored since 2005 is now a prospective undergraduate and her mother is a housemaid in Byrasandara.   The former have to shell out around…

Cycle tracks, parking space for bicycles, racks to lock your bike; all this may well become a reality soon in Bengaluru. Members of the cycling community are working towards developing this infrastructure in the city by working with the Bangalore Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) and other organisations. The BMLTA has been set up by the government of Karnataka under the Urban Development Department as an umbrella organisation to land transport matters in the Bangalore metropolitan area. Cycling route (Pic and graphic courtesy: Vijay Narnapatti) RideACycle Foundation (RAC-F), a Bengaluru-based non-profit organisation that encourages and promotes sustainable transport through cycling,…

Different language, faith(religion), caste. Similar socio-economic background, residential neighbourhood, age and school. Do they divide or unite? Fortunately the latter in most cases I have encountered over several years of teaching and counselling children from low income families. Although the children are very conscious of the differences. And highlight them without hesitating to be direct when they deem necessary! But, gender identification and stereotyping builds in early in the kids and increases as they enter teenage. I discovered this with Srikant, a class V government school student who refused to sit beside any of the girls despite insufficient chairs among…

Ever come across a worker from the unorganized sector striving hard to ensure that her/his daughter(s) and son(s) study? Probe a little and most probably the girl(s) will be in a government school and the boy(s) in a private or a government funded English medium school. The latter have a better student-teacher ratio and the teachers are motivated or at least compelled to teach properly and regularly. Further, the parents and teachers are held accountable for the children's presence and performance. Unlike the vernacular medium government schools!   Talking to Joseph, a fruit vendor in Benson Town whose regular customer…

All children I have voluntarily tutored (often, first generation literates from low income families)  over the last several years yearn to become fluent in English irrespective of the languages they speak or study in. And their parents' common refrain "Yenga pasangalum ungala maari dasu busu nu English lo pesanum" (our children must also converse fluently in English like you) has compelled the children and me to make frequent attempts to use English.   But, considering that they mainly converse in their mother tongue and/or the principal language of their neighbourhood, it is a challenge for them to find an environment…

Ashraff Unnissa of Alahalli vanished two years ago. So did Shanthamma, who was last seen in and around rural Yediyur. Then there's Geetha HR, who has clean vanished from her place of employment in Kodihalli. Pic courtesy: IIJNM All three are members of an elite yet dubious Karnataka club: Bangalore government school teachers with some of the worst absenteeism records in the state. They are gone, forcing their colleagues to pick up their long-forgotten class load. Never gone But in the twisted logic of the educational bureaucracy, they are not forgotten. Since their bosses in the district offices haven't purged…

The Pottery Town government school (on Pottery Road where I had volunteered for nearly four months) closed for summer holidays in end March but I often find some children  playing in the ground or loitering around in the neighbourhood. That's hardly surprising as many of their parents and sometimes the kids themselves work and live nearby. But I see only boys - Ramesh, his younger brother Praveen and Narasimha et al almost always! Some of the girls I know, like Pushpalata or Shashikala are definitely busy helping with or doing household chores. But what prevents even a few of the…

Years ago, summer holidays used to be marked by visits to grandparents and long hours of playing – everything under the sun – with cousins and friends. The holidays are still as long for today's children but, these days, the time tend to be a bit more structured. There are summer camps or activity classes meant to teach children something new and keep them happily engaged, at least for a couple of hours a day. Gerry Martin's outdoor activity (Pic courtesy: Gerry Martin) Small wonder then that come summer and most parents are on the lookout for the right activities…