Priya’s mother worked as a domestic help in the house of a family who had two children, both students of Akshara High School. As a little four-year-old, Priya often tagged along with her mother when she was at work and played with the younger of the two children who was as old as her. The parents of the two children approached us enquiring if we could perhaps admit Priya to our school as they were aware that we support the education of girl children, offer subsidies and also full scholarships.
The thought that two children who played together would now come to school together as well, was absolutely joyous and we immediately took her under our wing. Both her parents had never been to school and for their child to jump straight into an English-medium ICSE school was going to be a challenge.
However, Priya was not the first child at Akshara to come from a background like this. We had an existing system which ensured the child becomes an independent learner from a young age and is not dependent on external support such as tuition for their day-to-day academic development.
Priya was a bright-eyed star with eyes that dreamed big and a mind so strong that we knew she will make those dreams come alive for herself. When Priya was in Grade One, her mother told us that Priya wouldn’t sleep at night because she hadn’t understood the homework given to her by her teacher. She was encouraged to clarify all her doubts before she went home and since then there hasn’t been a single day that she hasn’t completed her homework. In Grade Three, she worked hard, bagged the main role in the Annual Day play, and surprised everyone by learning all her dialogues overnight. A role she played with such perfection that it has cast a memorable impression on all of her peers and teachers that live to this day.
Today, Priya is in Grade Six. She has grown into a young, confident child who thinks before speaking because it must be perfect English, loves reading Roald Dahl and writes wonderful stories. The pandemic years were difficult for her, with both her parents losing their income and not having access to a smartphone or data connectivity at home to join online classes. However, Akshara’s extended support system, with well-wishers donating phones for our children, ensured that Priya was given a very good smartphone to continue her online studies and that’s all she needed to continue her flight towards her dreams.
It is truly delightful to see Priya during parent meetings, where she represents herself and does not shy away from asking questions to teachers and the management regarding online academic systems – something most adults also shy away from doing.
Priya had an exceptionally brilliant child inside of her. It was just an opportunity like studying in a school like Akshara that was waiting for this brilliance to shine through. Unfortunately, millions of children in our country do not receive this opportunity because of the socioeconomic structure they are born in.
Most of our children are first-generation learners like Priya and nearly all come from non-English speaking households. They are change agents not only for their families but also impact their community in varied ways. The school’s motto is to focus on social inclusion for educational and economic growth and to level inequalities ingrained due to gender, caste, and economic and religious discrimination. This remains our primary objective and what we call the Akshara Dream: To build spaces that provide equal opportunities and an environment that supports learning where children absorb knowledge, develop skills and express themselves freely without fear or prejudice, thus empowering themselves and those around them.
The child’s name has been changed to protect her identity.
Comments
Post a Comment