Bharathi A

Bharathi A is a teacher with the Government Lower Primary School at Sannakere, Chikkamagaluru district and has kept herself updated on the varied regional literature and theatre.

Teachers today have a difficult task. They are competing against television and electronic media which often captivate the interest and imagination of children, even before they enter school. In this context, teachers realise that teaching children to read and write are vital for them to immerse themselves in the learning process in schools. They also believe that the ability to read is the backbone for a holistic development of the child and their success as an adult.

The main objective of this project is to enable children to read and write in Kannada. It encourages first to fifth grade students from her school as well as other children in the community to explore and seek inspiration from ideas generated from the community. They will engage in learning stories related to their environment and those meant for children in different languages, community food practices and its recipes, and personal stories from people’s past experiences, culture and background. In doing so, the project seeks to develop creativity and imagination and allows the children to innovate through transforming previous knowledge into new explorations. This project will also lead children to think critically and be able to analyse their own textbooks, histories and socio-cultural associations.

The process of this project will include publishing a monthly wall paper and professional development for peer teachers in order to motivate them to use the arts in their own teaching methods. The outcome of this project will be a publication with children’s writings. The deliverables from this project would include a publication, and photographs and video documentation of the entire project.

This grant is made possible with support from Citi India.