One person who understood and followed the true meaning of ‘T’ in Teaching is CM Nagaraj of Bangalore. In a government school, teacher Nagraj teaches science to the students of class VIII, IX and X. But their way of teaching is completely different. He did not memorize the information given in the books to the children, but gave them practical knowledge by connecting them to a healthy lifestyle.
For his work, Nagraj was awarded the National Award on Teachers’ Day (September 5). He has been given this award for his environmentally conscious initiatives regarding global warming and climate crisis. During this, the Ministry of Education praised his innovative way of teaching science and also made special mention of Government High School Doddabanahalli.
Nagraj has The Better India Told to, “I have been teaching for 15 years. Over the years, I have always tried to make the subject interesting and fun.”
did something that happened influenced
Nagraj joined this school in the year 2018. Everyone liked his ideas in school and got encouragement. But due to paucity of money, he could not work on them on time. Then after much deliberation, Nagraj contacted some NGOs in the city.
But for this he did not stop his work. He was continuously working on the Waste Management Program. It took to make the broken old metal chair and table fit again. He converted 20 such broken pieces of furniture into newspaper reading stands, a projector screen, dias, podiums, name plates and cupboards.
Cover for computer system with milk pouch
Nagraj says, “Milk is distributed to children in the mid-day meal scheme. Seeing the empty pouches of milk lying in the premises, I thought of doing something with them. I started thinking about them. Many parents of school children do sewing work. I collected empty packets and planned to make some different products with their help.”
A few weeks later, 20 new and stylish covers for computer systems from empty pouches of discarded milk were ready. Influenced by Nagraj’s way of working and his ideas, five NGOs joined him. First he bought two bio-waste converters and bins for paper and plastic waste.
He explains, “One converter is for leaves and farm waste. We collect this waste from nearby farms and secondly, for the waste from the school kitchen. In six to eight months, we had made a ton of compost from the collected waste. We used this manure in our one acre garden. In a year, we collected 58 kg of plastic and paper waste and gave it to the local recycler.”
reused water
Nagraj not only disposed of the garbage, but also built five underground water recharging pits in the school to collect rain water and used water. This water is not potable, so it was used for other purposes.
He informed that 1500 liters of water is consumed daily in the school for washing utensils and watering the plants. Instead of just dumping it in the waste drain, we store it in a pit.
He says, “Once the pit is completely filled, the water is pumped into a 4,500-litre tank. The bottom of this tank is filled with stones so that the water can be cleaned. The water remains in the tank for three to four days. When all the waste settles at the bottom, then pumping out the water with the help of a pump, use it once again. This process just goes on like this.”
Drip irrigation system in school
Nagraj has prepared a drip irrigation system with the help of children so that not much water is wasted while watering the plants.
Nagraj has always had a habit of disposing of waste in a natural way or to re-use it in some form or the other. He has retained this habit of his in school as well. He was able to make chemistry kits for the students from the discarded empty water bottles. He made a mini portable kit from these bottles. With the help of this kit, now students can do chemical experiments at home too.
Changed attitude towards government schools
Government schools are generally not considered better in India. However, these schools have seen changes in the last few years and this change is the result of new vision and hard work of teachers like Nagraj, who adopted the idea of something different from the common thinking and worked hard for it.
Nagraj says, “Whether children are interested in any subject or not, it also depends on how that subject is taught. Keep in mind that a teacher can make a lasting impression on a student, an influence that stays with them forever.”
Original article: Gopi Karelia
Editing: Archana Dubey
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