Defying Gravity: Another Update from the Brick Lane Project
It was one of those weeks where failure seemed to follow me like a shadow. I'd promised myself that the to-do list would get done: my children's book would land in 10 agents' inboxes, I'd finish all of my editing work by 2:00 each day, the painting I'd been working on would finally look decent, the house would be spotless, I'd work out at 6:30 am every morning, and the list goes on and on. Very little of this, okay honestly, none of this was accomplished. On top of that, people were getting on my last nerve with their opinions, complaints, close-mindedness, you name it. The weight of unmet expectation hung heavy around me like a muggy Memphis night, suffocating and fixed. My email popped up as I begrudgingly opened my laptop to work. Amit Kumar, the director of the Brick Lanes project with Kumarappa Institute, had sent me a progress report email on the Brick Lanes. All of the sudden, I burst into tears as I began to read the text and look through the pictures. I could physically feel the proverbial albatross I'd been lugging around all week slide off my back.
This project has been my cure, perhaps for my selfishness, but even more poignantly for my unbelief----that human beings do anything that really matters. A single picture of a child who has endured a life of hard labor, malnutrition, probable neglect, sickness, etc., but who still has the strength and willpower to bend over a chalkboard and write her timetables is enough to lay to rest my own unbelief in humanity...in myself. I'm thankful for these children--for their spirits, their wills, their fight, their tenacity, and their very existence. I'm humbled by people like Amit Kumar who make it their life's work to build up communities like this one; who have the endurance and the stamina to champion these kids in a much more devoted way than I could ever imagine. Today, I received an email chocked full of hope in what appears to be a dimly lit world where people believe their circumstances define their success or failure. In this very moment in time, these children have proven that worldview wrong. They've defied gravity and I believe they will keep doing so. For those of you who've joined in on this journey, you'll see what I mean. Here's the update from Amit:
The Bricks School education centre for migratory labourers at 10 brick kilns in
Garudwasi area of Chaksu block has entered its third year in 2015-2016. We started with
one school with 30 students at Mahadev Brick Kiln in 2013-2014, which increased to four
schools (175 students) in 2014-2015 and now we are running 8 schools covering 10 brick
kilns. All this was made possible by support from well-wishers and friends such as ASHA for
Education, Natalie Shew, and many others. ASHA for Education is supporting five schools
while three schools are supported by other friends. Eight schools (informal learning
centres) are open in ten brick kilns in Chaksu area of Jaipur district Rajasthan.
Based on previous experience, two teachers are needed in one school, one for educated
students and one for beginners. We divide the students into two groups (i) beginners and
(ii) Learned. The beginner group does not know how to read and write and are
new learners. In the Learned group, the student knows how to read and write and is
studying in classes 1, 2, 3.....
Efforts are being made to bring as many students to the classes as possible. Support from
State Resource Centre at Rajasthan Adult Education Association (SRC-RAEA) is being
given for course content and monitoring of students and teachers. A teacher training has
also been planned with their cooperation. The experience of the Bricks School up to date and future course of action can be summarized as follows:
1. Two positive things are visible (a) the children are very enthusiastic as well as intelligent (b) the teachers are dedicated and are doing their job well.
2. Most of the schools have an average of 47 students; the LBT school has about 75
students.
3. All the schools have 4-5 above average students who need special mentoring and
guidance.
4. Since every student is unique in our group and has different levels of learning skills,
there is an urgent need to map each and every student's present learning skills so that we can evaluate them before they leave for their native place of residence.
5. A field visit of RAEA officials was organized to the project area to ask their opinion about the student profile and evaluation format.
6. Future focus should be on quality education and making systems so that all schools are run in the same manner. Modules and processes have to be developed so that all the teachers follow same mode of teaching.
This project has been my cure, perhaps for my selfishness, but even more poignantly for my unbelief----that human beings do anything that really matters. A single picture of a child who has endured a life of hard labor, malnutrition, probable neglect, sickness, etc., but who still has the strength and willpower to bend over a chalkboard and write her timetables is enough to lay to rest my own unbelief in humanity...in myself. I'm thankful for these children--for their spirits, their wills, their fight, their tenacity, and their very existence. I'm humbled by people like Amit Kumar who make it their life's work to build up communities like this one; who have the endurance and the stamina to champion these kids in a much more devoted way than I could ever imagine. Today, I received an email chocked full of hope in what appears to be a dimly lit world where people believe their circumstances define their success or failure. In this very moment in time, these children have proven that worldview wrong. They've defied gravity and I believe they will keep doing so. For those of you who've joined in on this journey, you'll see what I mean. Here's the update from Amit:
The Bricks School education centre for migratory labourers at 10 brick kilns in
Garudwasi area of Chaksu block has entered its third year in 2015-2016. We started with
one school with 30 students at Mahadev Brick Kiln in 2013-2014, which increased to four
schools (175 students) in 2014-2015 and now we are running 8 schools covering 10 brick
kilns. All this was made possible by support from well-wishers and friends such as ASHA for
Education, Natalie Shew, and many others. ASHA for Education is supporting five schools
while three schools are supported by other friends. Eight schools (informal learning
centres) are open in ten brick kilns in Chaksu area of Jaipur district Rajasthan.
Based on previous experience, two teachers are needed in one school, one for educated
students and one for beginners. We divide the students into two groups (i) beginners and
(ii) Learned. The beginner group does not know how to read and write and are
new learners. In the Learned group, the student knows how to read and write and is
studying in classes 1, 2, 3.....
Efforts are being made to bring as many students to the classes as possible. Support from
State Resource Centre at Rajasthan Adult Education Association (SRC-RAEA) is being
given for course content and monitoring of students and teachers. A teacher training has
also been planned with their cooperation. The experience of the Bricks School up to date and future course of action can be summarized as follows:
1. Two positive things are visible (a) the children are very enthusiastic as well as intelligent (b) the teachers are dedicated and are doing their job well.
2. Most of the schools have an average of 47 students; the LBT school has about 75
students.
3. All the schools have 4-5 above average students who need special mentoring and
guidance.
4. Since every student is unique in our group and has different levels of learning skills,
there is an urgent need to map each and every student's present learning skills so that we can evaluate them before they leave for their native place of residence.
5. A field visit of RAEA officials was organized to the project area to ask their opinion about the student profile and evaluation format.
6. Future focus should be on quality education and making systems so that all schools are run in the same manner. Modules and processes have to be developed so that all the teachers follow same mode of teaching.
Natalie, possibly your most touching post. I hear your heart. Thank you, sister. Much love, Emily Besh
ReplyDeleteThank you Emily. So glad you enjoyed this and thank you for being a part of all of this with me!
ReplyDelete