An ordinary teacher with extraordinary determination...

For a long time now, we have been working with the kids in the Pulachi Wadi area near Deccan. Except for the span of the Covid pandemic during which educational activities had come to a hault, we have been in communication with these children.

The classes at Pulachi Wadi are being conducted since December 2021, under project Phoenix. Here are some things I observed during my visit to this class.

On January 25, when the teacher Usha Pille had gone to call students for her class, I accompanied her. That time, I saw that the students had great respect for her and that her communication with the children and their parents was really good.

However, today, January 26 was a day of challenges for Usha's teacher. When she went to call students for the class, some were hiding away from her, while some were getting ready. While some children were ready, some were hurrying away to bathe. Some parents were urging their kids to attend classes while some others were saying that they should return early since they would have to go for selling national flags.

After getting together the kids who agreed to join, Usha's teacher started taking her class in the premises of the Ganpati Mandir on the road linking Bhide Pool to Deccan.

Usha's teacher is experienced and very good at teaching, but here I would also like to mention some of her other notable skills. Usha's teacher says that it is not correct to ridicule these children or their families just because they do not necessarily maintain proper hygiene. Rather they have to be convinced about the importance of education and encouraged to send their kids for the classes, sometimes with a pat on their back and sometimes with sternness.

Seeing some children learning in the temple premises, while schools are closed, passersby, locals, and shopkeepers in the vicinity help Usha teachers in conducting in various ways. A college-going student comes to take classes. One more name worth mentioning is Mr.Nile, a teacher at the Municipality school number 14 who teaches students of grade 2. He helps Usha teachers in different ways like taking classes, providing study material, taking motivational sessions, and helping solve the difficulties of parents.

Despite having no formal degree in social education, Usha teacher is playing a multifaceted role of inculcating good cleanliness habits in children, maintaining their good attendance for the classes and teaching them how to read. She faces different challenges daily but overcomes them with courage and efficiency. Thus, she is one of the ideal teachers at DSS.