Like every other TFN Fellow, my heart startles when I go back to my school after lengthy breaks whether that be in Dashain or breaks during rainy seasons. The constant fear of losing students every time I enter the room after such breaks make me worried. But as I have already spent a significant amount of time in the Bodgaun village, Sindhupalchok, I don’t feel the discomfort leading to a nervous breakdown as I used to at the beginning of the Fellowship journey. It took me exactly a year to build this stability but it would be a lie if I say it was an easy task.

Having spent most of my childhood and teenage days in India and the USA, I always felt a little detached from my own country and people, So, the sole purpose of my Fellowship initially was to explore the rural communities of Nepal. However, my purpose also expanded its horizons over time. All my pre-assumptions about the placement school, students and my preparation for teaching shattered when I got into Shree Setidevi Secondary school. The struggle to bring all the students to attend classes every day was real. 

Mostly, the absenteeism after vacations was hindering all my effort and it took me a little while to figure out the reasons. The reasons being lack of engagement and motivation inside and outside the classrooms. Knowing the urgency, I knew I had to come up with a solution. Introducing a “Reward Chart” in every class was one of the best decisions I made. The idea of forming groups and assigning work in groups has worked wonders so far.

How does the 'Reward Chart' work?

The idea behind this chart was to reward students for assignments, tasks, extra-curricular activities and any notable value that needed to be recognized. This chart has been successful in inculcating peer pressure to get students to attend classes and to do homework regularly. It has also unintentionally made students conscious of their behavior in classrooms. For example, staying alert in class, cleanliness, neat writing, improving English reading, etc.

As an engagement activity, I came up with a short presentation on a simple topic where every individual student had to speak in English. After about two weeks of practicing hesitantly, all the students started opening up and I could see their vocabulary escalating. This personally made me very happy because it helped the shyest girl in my class to come out of her shell too. Its no wonder that the same girl is leading one of our after-class activities. However, this wasn’t the end of all our problems. The need to engage these students after school to build a habit of utilizing their time productively also came into the picture and this led us to start the “After school club” for our kids.

This very after school club thus has been playing a very important role in solving the major absenteeism problem.

AFTER SCHOOL CLUB

The club was intoduced to engage the students in doing homework and other extracurricular activities after school because I saw kids running to play in the river straight after school and even get into the truck to go to Kathmandu. These were the students who missed school daily and showed up to class without doing homework.

So, this club has been successfully running to engage students after school to learn something productive. Activities like dancing, singing, painting are done by all of us. Various science projects and games are also being conducted frequently which has helped us to bring the required changes.

Seeing the curiosity and determination of my kids, I and my co-Fellow have decided to organize a three days workshop in February, 2020, where foreign volunteers are planning to come and spend time in the community. This is something I along with all the students are looking forward to beginning the new years with. Our main idea is to paint the walls of different classrooms in the school and have an interactive session on “Women empowerment and career”. Hopefully, this session will be useful for the community people as well. Also, currently, we are encouraging female participation in the upcoming school’s football tournament to break all the stereotypes. 

With all these activities rolling, I can now see my students coming to school every day and giving their best. That drive to bag the reward and the interest to learn a new task after school reflects in each of their eyes. The problem I had addressed earlier isn’t a problem anymore. My students have started taking their work seriously and wouldn’t mind doing something productive in my absence too. 

This makes me and my co-Fellow happy not because its something big that we have achieved so far but this step will certainly help few students held back in school and take a very unconventional path they could have taken, given the scenario when we were placed in the school. This gives me a deep sense of relief for I know how responsible they have become. And this gives me every reason to not be worried like before.

Sangita Shrestha is one of the 137 Fellows who is in her second year of Teach For Nepal Fellowship. Prior to joining Teach For Nepal Fellowship, she completed her Bachelor of Business Administration from Southeast Missouri State University, United States of America. She is currently teaching English at Setidevi Secondary School in Bhimtar, Indrawati Lalitpur. You can support her and other 137 Fellows in bringing change in the lives of students by sponsoring Fellows like her by donating to Teach For Nepal.