Teaching more than books

Teacher’s Day just went by and there is probably one teacher, who deserves every possible reward and award, all accolades for all the services which he provides. Truly being a teacher, helping children not just educate but teaching them tactics of life, Mukesh Lathiya is an inspiration.

If the teacher is good, the classroom always has 100% attendance and all classes of Mukesh are jam-packed. He is a government school teacher from Dhamil village in Gujarat and is creating “learning spaces” in the classroom. From enabling students to access the latest news and events from across the globe to creating a child-friendly classroom, Mukesh he has used his personal savings to provide his students facilities that were not available at the government school.

To bringing in broadband to the school, teaching the kids internet usage, he downloads the e-paper from the internet, takes the print-out and posts it on display board for students. He also puts up information on upcoming tests, birthdays, news and interesting facts on the notice board. Mukesh has created an open, ‘bigger’  library in the school where students can go anytime and read books of their choice.  He has also set up a library corner in the classroom to make books more accessible to students. He has created subject-based corners in the classroom such as a bank corner, post corner, health centre, science corner where he keeps charts and information related to that particular subject in that corner.

The 150-odd students in this school adore Mukesh and he symbolizes what a teacher could actually do. This lone attempt to enhance the education system is an example for others to follow. Teachers, if they have the will and the passion, can transform this country, empowering the youth with the power of education like none other.