Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tinman, the Lion, the good witches and bad, and everyone in between will be played by the Class V students of Shri Ram Vidya Mandir English School in Mumbai, as they take up the stage on Feb 26th, 2012. A little preview of what some Teach For India fellows have been up to:
Two of Teach For India’s fellows, Ashmita Daswani and Anish Savani, have been working tirelessly since August 2011 to bring their dream to fruition. Besides simply teaching their students the usual subjects that one learns in Class V, the fellows have made it their goal to put together an ambitious musical, giving 56 students a chance to demonstrate not only their proficiency in English, but also an opportunity to perform on stage and have fun.
Marking the end of their 2 year fellowship stint, Teach For India fellows organize a community project as a part of their end-of-fellowship showcase. This musical is just a small indication of highlighting just how much the students have grown over the years – in their abilities to take up responsibilities, in becoming team players as well as picking up extra-curricular interests. It is indeed a small but significant step in Teach For India’s ‘Be The Change Project’.
By simply witnessing the ease with which these students have polished their linguistic skills over a relatively short period of time, it becomes evident that it is the students themselves who are taking an active interest in making things happen, rather than being forced to do so.
Here is a quick little preview of what everyone has been upto:
[youtube_video id=S2k4m9qZOYE]
Their school, Shri Ram Vidya Mandir English School, is quite cut off from the rest of the city, considering that it is located almost a kilometer and half in the middle of a slum, up on a hill towards the far end of Kandivli East, one of Mumbai’s northern suburbs. But it is here that we can see some real changes taking root; we can see before our very eyes the difference that Teach For India’s activities are making.
When we caught up with these students, we saw the ingenuity in their enthusiasm – not just for coming to school to attend classes regularly, but to learn more than that which is being taught to them purely from their textbooks.
For the first time, we could see that these kids truly loved staying in school after hours, or even coming in on Sundays for extra practice! Why, upon meeting and talking to some of these kids for the first time, their charm, their friendliness and their general ease of conversing with you would catch you by surprise; you would be left doubting whether the same kids grew up in these very surroundings.
But don’t be bowled over just yet. The actual musical will prove to you just how these kids have come a long way since their first interactions with Teach For India fellows, in this case, Ashmita and Anish.
The grand finale will be performed at the Dhirubhai Ambani International School’s auditorium on Sunday, February 26th, from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm.
Video Credits: Rajat Mehtani
For attendance details, enquiries and donations, please contact:
Ashmita: [email protected]
Anish: [email protected]
