ಸಂಚಿಕೆ ೩: ಮಕ್ಕಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕಲಿಕೆಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಕುತೂಹಲವನ್ನು ಹೇಗೆ ಮೂಡಿಸುವುದು - ಕೇಶವಮೂರ್ತಿ (Episode 3: Creating a Curiosity to Learn, by Keshavmurthy)

Keshavamurthy is a senior teacher at a Higher Primary School at Challakere, Chitradurga District. He has been teaching for 28 years now. He underwent training and became a teacher in 1992. He remembers being taught by his teacher in a way that made it relevant to life. And he thinks his lifetime learning went through a recap with Ganitha Kalika Aandolana (GKA), the Maths programme. 

When the GKA Maths kit was introduced in school, he was curious about how to use it. After the 5-day workshop by Akshara Foundation, he was glad to have received the kit. He framed a method for using the kit during the workshop itself. 

He and his team drew geometric shapes such as square, circle, etc on the walls of each classroom. This visual representation is followed by most schools in the district. All educational officers of the district were called to the school and a workshop was conducted. 

Manjunath, the son of a daily wage worker, made an Abacus with his friends and started teaching the youngsters. They had a carpenter’s son in the group, and they made an Abacus themselves! The children had an opportunity to showcase their skills in a public function. Three of the students from that school have gone to Navodaya School for higher education.

 He introduced the GKA learning system to ‘Nali-kali’ students also and it was well-received. The school received a lion's share of the prizes for Maths, in the competitions held at Panchayat levels. The school has a healthy strength of 186 students. 

Keshavamurthy has put up a board in the school that Maths is not a tough nut to crack but a soft, juicy sweet dish that dissolves in the mouth, giving a wonderful feeling. He has given measuring tapes to students. They measure the doors, windows, and other objects for the area, volume, etc. These are ongoing activities. He does not believe in forceful teaching. He believes if we create the curiosity to learn, children will. He makes them play currency games for practical knowledge. 

 He also feels, for effective implementation of the programme, it has to be given to teams that are interested in achieving something. Otherwise, it becomes another activity on the books for the record.