1220 MGL Disha Project: Remedial Classes for 507 Slum Children in Mumbai

Mumbai, February 2021: The Don Bosco Development Society (DBDS), Mumbai is conducting 20 remedial classes for 507 children from slums of Mumbai. Regular classes are going on since July 2020 for the children from Standards I to VII. Teachers devote two to three hours daily to cover the prescribed syllabus. Children are taught in a child friendly, non-critical and non-threatening environment.

Ms Shamika Ranade (Coordinator- Remedial Classes) took 3 sessions with 15 teachers to guide them in making best use of the time in the classes. In the session Ms Ranade interacted individually with the teachers and discussed the progress and problems faced by them. Sharing her feedback; Priyanka Yadav, one of the teacher said “Miss Shamika’s approach is very friendly and understanding. She gave me full attention and understood the problems I was facing in class. She encouraged me to stop worrying about the student’s result and give more attention to improving the learning by children.”

Teacher’s training was held on 3rd February 2021. Mrs Shamika Ranade and Ms Bindu Chaddha were the resource persons. Mrs Ranade guided teachers on the following aspects of teaching:

• Evaluating strength and weakness of children.
• Learning V/s Natural aptitude of children
• Importance of meeting parents
• Communication with children
• Tracking progress of children

Ms Bindu shared insight into the mind and personality of children. She focussed on the power of mind and habits in shaping personality and attitude of children. She presented a case study of a child who was initially weak in Mathematics and how a small encouragement and personal attention by sibling created interest for Mathematics in that child. She also focussed on making difficult concepts easy for children by using innovation and new ideas.