Story of Kavita Kunchikorve

A silent leap towards success

We started the Math Remedial Program with baseline assessment to understand the learning level of students. Our grade 4 baseline question paper included problems from grade 1 to 3 with the difficulty level of question paper as EASY (2/5) which is in line with Experifun assessment framework. The overall average performance of school for grade 4 was 52.11% as compared to remedial batch students’ average of 30.00%. We shortlisted 6 students out of 27 in our remedial program for academic year 2019-20.

Initially I had analyzed the remedial batch performance for each & every students. This helped us to decide the priorities to focus on topics. I had started taking remedial classes for all students outside the classroom hours. Initially story telling helped me to connect with students. After few classes I have started discussing with school teachers & principal about each & individual remedial students. This was to understand each and every student’s profile, their background and capability. I have checked their other subject performances also.

It didn’t come to my notice earlier, there was a girl, Kavita, who was not able to walk properly. I enquired about her with other teachers. I personally went to her to see what the problems she is facing in her daily life. Normally we send our children to school to with a hope that they will get an environment where they can socialize, make friends and learn to grow together. However I found her as very introvert in the classroom.

She never used to communicate with her friends, share her problems, and interact with teachers. I found many a times seating her alone. I started interacting with her during free time. This was to ensure that she should fearlessly share her issues with teachers. This was the initial point where I think we started building special bond.

Next thing was my mind to look into her studies. I saw her baseline papers where she scored only 20%. However during a classroom exercise & sessions, she used to solve those problems which she didn’t do in baseline. I went more dipper into the issue which makes me understand that her subject is in English language & she didn’t understand it properly. However she can understand problems in Marathi and solve them also. So I started working on English. I used to use both languages English & Marathi during my remedial sessions.

Another major problem she used to face in school is teasing. Everyone including her classmates used to tease her and feel her low on her disability with leg movements. She is also very short in the classroom. While roaming on the campus I also heard children teasing her badly. Hence she used to keep herself quiet and away from them. This was the main reason she never used to speak up in the class.

I decided to interact with other students during her absence. It was necessary to make other children understand how she feels when they tease her. During interaction we have shared very positive energy among each other. I felt half of the work to revive Kavita’s confidence has been done. Then I personally told her to approach me anytime if you find others teasing you. This created bond among us. The positive effect of this is that she started speaking in my remedial class. She started giving answers too. Moreover she started asking questions during sessions as well as outside session.

I felt like winning a world. I was confident, when we took midline assessment for all the remedial students to check on their improvement that she will score well among all. She stood first among remedial batch scoring 73.61%. This is how she is not only integrated with her classroom but also boosted her confidence to share problems with teachers. She started focusing on studies more which gave Kavita’s pride back in her batch.

Poem for this silent girl from bottom of my heart:

I called her ‘My Kid’
To understand her while we spent year a together
I didn’t realize when did she lit
A lamp in my heart with tiny little feet

Date: 24/March/2020
Math Remedial Program (2019-20)
Mumbai