Day 3... Check out her thought process! I am amazed!!!

Today we started with spending more time in she becoming perfect in seeing Time:) She was bit confused and wanted to learn something else but not TIME:) I made her work on seeing time for some 15 mins and after a while she says Akka Time yeshtu bega odta ide alva? (Time is running so fast na?) She started asking me how do we spell Shylu or Shylaja?:) Once she was good with telling time, I revised 1st class English teachings. Today My focus was on 5 W 1 H:)

She suddenly stops in between and has some unrelated questions which amazes me on her thought process...
She saw my laptop was open, she saw my pic and asked me to show some and started questioning on how much does this machine cost. Must be Rs 20,000/- nah? After I told this is my office laptop and I have to return it shortly? Her reply was Oh Why you have to return and when you return you will delete all these pics I can see on this machine? Also doesn't your husband feel sad when he sees your pics with sooo many people?:) She was frank enough to say that few of my pics were bad;) When she saw my pics with Government school kids and orphan kids she questioned Who takes care of them? How do they get money? What will happen when they grow? Where will they go? I said "Few good people come together and give money so that Care Takers can take care of them. When they grow Caretakers would have enabled them enough to earn their own living:)

Another unrelated question was how much rent does a 3 BHK cost I said may beRs 30,000/- Which means each batroom, kitchen, room, hall costs Rs 5,000/- each Akka? Wow! And a person has to earn more than double to pay the rent the ration etc... A 15 year Old Shyla.... Man, Check out her Maths and her thought process!!!!

I did show her my bog on her saying see I am writing a story on you. There are few who would read this and teach few more Shyla's like you:) She was so proud and happy listening to this:) Happily completed learning 5W 1H, ya in between spoke to my Cousin Sneha for a minute in English (was bit shy but she managed to speak pretty well) and left for the day saying Good Bye, Good evening and See you tomorrow at 7.30 Akka:)

I am amazed by her though process and feel "If" she was privileged enough she would have created wonders!

Whenever possible plssssss Support many like Shyla!

Day 2: A journey that began with a question ended with an answer... Aunty time yestu? to Aunty ombattu vare ayitu!! (Aunty what's the time to It's already 09.30 Aunty)

As I had few prior commitments while she was leaving I told her today no 3.30 pm class Shyla. Will let you know when we will have next class. She sounded bit low hearing to "No Class"! As she had finished her work much before time, I asked her if we could do today’s class in morning right then… Her reply “Akka time yestu Akka? Didi what’s the time?” I said it's 05 minutes past nine and she said I need to leave by 09.30 so pls tell me when the time is 09.30... This is when, I knew what to teach her today!J Yes! How to see and tell time! Believe me she literally didn’t know anything except to read 1 to 12 on clock… I drew clock explained her seconds, minutes and hour hand  funda…  

She didn't know to add after 15 in English although she knew no.s count till 100 memorised…  So I suggested she add 5 + 5 till 60 in Kannada showing her the same on clock and on paper where I drew clock… After 20 mins she was all set to tell timeJ I got my alarm clock to give her test and she made all efforts to tell right time all 15-20 times I asked her:) After a while I could hear her saying "Aunty ombattu vare ayitu alla?" "Aunty, Isn't it 09.30 now?"

Happy me that here after she would not be dependent on anyone for telling her the time!!! And ya by teaching her I am improvising on my Kannada and my English:) 

Oh Ya! By the way while she left I said Bye Shyla and reply was Akka You taught me to say Good Bye and now you are saying byeJ

Help many like Shyla to change their world...

How it all started - Shyla and her English learning aspiration... Her Day 1 of Class...

8.30 am : Interesting conversation between my new home maid and me this morning.... Kannada + English version:)

Young girl Shyla who would have been enjoying her college days if she had not dropped out of school in 5th standard and her family was little more privileged enough to give her basic education...

Suddenly in middle of work Shyla starts this topic...

Shyla: Aunty neevu swalpa dina free idira? (Are you free for some days?)
Prarth: Yeradu mooru dina matra, amele tumba busy.. (2-3 days only, post which I'll be super busy)...

I assumed she must be wanting to change time of her work while the current 7.30 am is perfect time for me... Conversation stops... She finishes her work quietly.... 

Shyla while leaving from my home: 

Shyla: Nanage English kalistira? Nanna anna nanage tumba kadistane, ishtu maneyelli kelasa madtiya English baralva anta:(? Tumba bejaru nanage... Nevu nange swalpa kalistira? (Will you teach me English? My brother keeps teasing me that I donot know English although I work in few apartments:( I felt very bad and want to take this as a challenge and learn English. Will you teach me? :))"
Prarth: Okkkkk:) 

At times we assume things so wrongly!!! What if she wouldn't have taken that step to ask me what she wanted to while my doors were getting closed? I would have surely missed this excellent Volunteering opportunity:) And now I am all set for my new Volunteering project of teaching Basic English to Shyla:) 

Any modules any tips on flow are most welcome:) She keeps asking me time, so today's class is to teach her how to see time:)

3.30 pm Shyla comes for her first classJ

I got few modules after my request/status on FB… Went through those and changed my plan from teaching how to see time to making my first class interesting by teaching few words…

Excited young girl came to my place by 3.15. I gave her a new pencil and sharpener and a note pad. All set for the class I asked Shyla if she knew to write Kannada. She said yes I do remember little. Assuming she must be good with Kannada writing I said write 2 lines about yourself… That would give me an idea about how much she knows to write…  I thought she would write her name in Kannada. She wrote for few mins and got the book to me… Shyla wrote Ka ka ki ki and gag a gig ii with kai, ko, kow missing in it… She said I don’t remember much now…  The we started with few English words, I, You, How are you, I am fine, Greetings for the day, yes, no, thank you etc… She was quite interested to learn all these… She did know very few words but didn’t know exact meaning of same (sorry, please, thanks)…

She grasped many words in day one and was willing to learn more till 4.30 pm. As she had not told anyone of this class. She said she is doing overtime and came to learnJ It was fun teaching her and ya we had few funny yet memorable moments… Like Making her pronounce I was a bit difficult task compared to short questions and sentencesJ… She always pronounced it as Hi and not I. Then I asked her what d they call kannu/eyes in English, She pronounced it right… Connected it with eyes and asked her to say I… So every time she had a short sentence starting with I she said eyes and then IJ The way she answered to my short questions with that stylish "Ya"! Oh man, I was just stunned…  

When I asked her Where is lift? Her quick reply was Lifestyle… And I was clueless why she said that. Because I meant apartment lift and thought she would show hand and say alli/there. Then she said when we walk a bit long distance and some akka asks for lift we say lifestyle and get dropped near by to our workplaceJ She assumed it to be me asking her till where she needs lift from meJ

She took notepad home to practice A to Z ten times, my homework of the dayJ 

And ya while leaving she did not say Bye but “Good bye” as taught to her in the Day 1 of classJ

Support A girl child's education and she will do the rest!