Shri Rakum School, Indiranagar
Today we went to the Shri Rakum School that offers free
boarding and education right from kindergarten to post graduation to students
that are visually impaired or under privileged. Since the institution is
completely free, donations in the form of clothes, newspapers, food supply etc.
are much appreciated and play an important part in running the school.
We had the opportunity to speak to Mrs. Vasantha – the
administrator and English teacher, who took us around the school and allowed us
to sit in on classes and interact with some of the post graduate students. The
first lesson we sat through was history with 3 visually impaired students-
Bhavya, Vivekananda and Mahendra who are preparing for the IAS exams. I was in
complete awe at the high speed at which the three were able to write in braille,
comprehend and answer the questions their teacher was dictating. Their work
ethic was remarkable and the entire class was carried out like how any student
with sight would be taught. The class
was definitely not easy especially the speed at which the notes were being
dictated. Mrs. Vasantha told us that the students are extremely intelligent and
do not want to be treated any differently because of their disability. She was patient
with them but also stern if they were distracted or making careless
mistakes in their work. Indeed, I could tell that the presence of us their
class room did make them a bit uneasy at first but by the second lesson, they
seemed much more comfortable. They were extremely respectful, polite and
friendly and were openly willing to show us how they use the braille grid and
the stylus (a needle –like pen) to
create the patterned dots. They explained to us how they write in braille from
right to left and then turn the page, so that the reverse side has the dots
protruding which they read from left to right. If they make a mistake in their
notes or have to make changes, they have a particular method of using symbols
to make corrections.
We also observed the students in math class, where they were
at the level of solving complex calculus problems. After sitting through the class
it seemed as though math was a harder subject, yet they confidently told us
that it’s actually very simple. For math they have a particular grid, which
looks similar to the one they use for writing in braille. However here they use
it to work out calculations by inserting plastic chips that have to be angled
particularly to denote each number. The only difficulty is that they have to
retain a lot of their calculations because the grid only holds a certain number
of chips at once. It seemed very complicated to us, but they were able to solve
the math sums with ease and mentally calculate within minutes.
Something Namrata and I found very fascinating was that the pages
of their books were made from recycled newspaper. So the whole idea of re - writing on already printed-paper was intriguing. We couldn’t really see the
braille markings in their book, unless we touched it ourselves as the print on
the newspapers dominated the page. So just seeing the students reading their
written notes out loud and spurting out fact about history and civics while
their palms and fingers rhythmically moved across pages of newspaper advertisements
was very captivating.
After spending the entire day observing the behaviour of the
students at the school, I could see that the visually impaired students are
extremely well behaved and respectful. They are always helpful to one another
be it holding each others hand to navigate through the campus or adjusting
their seating arrangement to accommodate us in their class room. The attitude
with which they were eager to learn, share with us and their always-smiling
nature really filled the school with happy, positive energy. Something I noticed while sitting in on the
classes, was that each student is different in the manner in which they touch
and feel objects. Some are gentle when using their tools to write, while others
are a bit more aggressive and use more force. Some could find their way across the
campus with minimal help and just by feeling the walls and counting their steps,
while others needed a guide. Though each student’s is very different from one
another, they are all extremely perceptive and could even notice when one of
our students was a bit apprehensive when the school’s dog approached her.
Although the school is small in structure, the faculty and
administration are making the best use of the space they have. They don’t have
the typical classrooms with 4 walls. Instead they have divided a long corridor
stretch with metal partitions to segregate the space into classes (1-12). Unlike the Mathru School, the walls
in Rakum are bare, hence there is scope to maybe create some sort of artwork or
installation on them for the students to interact with and enjoy themselves.
We were told by Mrs. Vasantha that they still haven’t
managed to organize a class where the students can use their creativity. This might be a good opportunity for us to arrange
activities on those lines such as painting crafts or even story telling.
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