1) The author reflects on over 20 years of experience as a teacher, realizing that teaching is a continual learning process and each class brings new experiences. 2) Students play an active role in the classroom as both teachers and learners, with the whole group creating a positive learning environment. 3) The author emphasizes giving individual attention to students' needs to foster learning without competition. Projects are designed starting from students' real-life interests and experiences.

1. Reflection on my work in Auroville ‘As a Teacher’
A teacher is always learning
In 1990, when I started teaching, I thought that I would become a good teacher and I
would know many teaching techniques in 5 years time. Now, having been a teacher for
more than twenty years, I realize it is not as I thought. In my experience teaching is
something very special and it is a new experience every time. Each day becomes special
and unique for me and for my students. There are times when I am teaching the same
topics as in the previous year but the approach and method changes according to my
present students. I have experienced days which didn’t work and I wasn’t feeling good
about it. On those days I reflected on that particular day of my teaching and planned it
again differently. So it worked well next time. Some times I was even planning my
lessons during my sleep. A classroom is not only a teaching space. It is a learning
space for me and for my students. Learning is something which happens all the
time irrespective of age. We never know who will be our teacher or when or
where. My strong feeling is “Every student is a teacher as well”. (And every
teacher is a student?)
Students are teachers and learners
In my observation, students carry a lot of strength and they hold the class with
special energy. I have experienced such an atmosphere throughout my teaching
career. (I have taught from grade 1 to grade 8. I have also worked at times with
teachers, sharing some of my teaching methods and learning styles)
This work has become very successful for me especially because I always feel
that I am not alone in my class. My students are there participating in my
teaching as well as in their learning. I have felt that everyone in the class is a
‘teacher and a student’. ‘With the strength of a whole group a real learning takes place’.
Importance of Individual attention to Students:
When I began my work as a teacher in 1990 for one whole year I was teaching in
a tuition center. There the students from various standards came to get extra
help. So we had a mixed group from different grade levels. I was challenged to
help all of them in the same space and time. In that situation I learned to help
them individually. I had to set up my class in such a way that it was possible for
me to do individual work with each of them.
Immediately after this, in 1991, I joined New Creation School as a teacher. I feel
that there was something similar and there is some connection between my past
experience and my present work. I had some knowledge of giving individual
attention to students, a sense of attending to them according to each and
everyone’s need. When we teachers have the approach of attending to the needs
of the children individually, it enables them to learn in a healthy atmosphere
without the need for competition. A competitive approach spoils the real

2. learning. It creates confusion and even jealousy in the mind of the other learners,
which hinders the process of learning among the student. (The one who is better
or the one who is being compared to the one who is better? It hinders the
learning for both.) Whatever small progress is made by a student should be
acknowledged and appreciated. In my class the students feel that. They come
forward asking questions and seeking help without any fear.
Projects starting from real life situations:
In my twenty-four years of teaching I have done a number of projects with my
students. “Some of them are?”
Ø Story writing,
Ø Storytelling,
Ø A project on continents,
Ø A project on mapping (India, Tamil Nadu),
Ø A debate on 'A clean place to live is a city or a village,
Ø ‘A project on ‘means of transport’,
Ø A project on ‘Light’ – this particular one was done with another class in
Europe as an exchange project.
Ø For small children I have done a project on ‘shopping’. We made fake
money in my 3rd standard and then we used the money to do shopping. In
this way they understand about money and its value. Once in our K.G.
section the whole team did a project on shopping, where every child
contributed something or other, according to their capacity, and we fixed
a date and invited the whole school to the shopping mall. It was such fun,
everybody enjoyed it. It gave them the feeling of real shopping. We
worked for nearly 2 months on this project.
Especially with small ones I used to watch their moods. Here the mood means
the work that they are focused and concentrated in spontaneously. There were
times when the children were playing outside in the playground, building
houses, when I went to the class, especially after lunch. It was a concentrated
time for them. At that particular age (7plus) that was real work for them. It was
not merely a play as it seems to an adult. Most of the time I was using those
moments to work on curriculum topics, and particularly social science topics.
For example, I had asked them each to build a house and to build whatever they
would need to live happily together. After they had completed their building
work we sat around their village or town or city and had conversations about
those houses, temples, and so on. We had discussions about the various aspects
of a village in particular. After that I included sketching and writing a few
sentences related to their work. This kind of teaching is possible only here in
Auroville. We teachers have such freedom. This freedom enables us to be
practical and to be present in that moment.
Whenever I did this kind of work it enabled the students to learn fully in a
happy mood. They concentrated on whatever they were engaged with. We

3. (teacher and students) created a happy learning atmosphere and learned a lot
from each other as a whole group.
Once I wanted my students to learn about continents and countries. As we are in
Auroville I thought that I could get help from various people who are from each
continent. We have first-hand sources. I chose a few people, one for each
continent and fixed a time for them to come to our school. Before they were
expected we, as a class, prepared a number of questions connected to the
continents so that they could ask questions about the things which they wanted
to learn or to know about each continent. Our students met them in small groups
and had a conversation with each of them.
Once that was over they were given time to work on one of their projects. They
tried various ways to prepare a presentation and each group shared with the
whole class their knowledge of each continent.
At that moment, ‘wow! they had the experience of talking in English, then
sharing in the class, and then they made a book each! This project was carried
out for 6th graders.
Class – Management – Importance given to each student:
I would also like to share about how I manage my classrooms.
Over the years I have developed a lot of different methods of managing my class.
I always work on setting up a system which works by itself. It is very important
that everybody gets a chance to do the routine. I always included the students
and had discussions with them about how do we want to keep our classroom?
How do we show respect for each other in our class? There are many other small
things. This way of working encourages students to participate in the day-to-day
activities and routines of our classroom. I have seen children waiting for their
turn to come. When each one of them experiences the routine in a nice way they
understand and they develop a real respect for each other. It works irrespective
of age and class (all levels). They like to own the class. They like to experience
leadership in the classroom situation. And they like the set up to be fair. When
they see that it is something that they would like to be able to do, the response
from them is amazing.
Most of the time I select a student to assist me. For example: If I am about to do a
lesson on reading I need to monitor the reading, also to choose those who would
like to read. During my lesson they raise their hand when they want to read. I
get the help of the student assistant to choose one of them to get a turn for
reading. He /she is free to choose anyone and in any order. He or she has a
certain order in his/her mind and does it accordingly. It is a small exercise but
they love this one. The name of this person is ‘A Chairperson’. Whenever we
had to have a discussion on any topic this system of Chairperson works very
well. The moment the class is in their hands they have a real respect for that and
they take care of it well. Although the children are generally sitting on the floor,
‘The chairperson’ gets a chair to sit on. At first they sit on the tip of the chair

4. being unsure but later they gain confidence and assert themselves well on a chair
and handle the situation. My work of quietening them becomes very easy. These
are the moments when they are naturally responsible.
If a teacher wants the students to learn anything, that particular thing should be
practiced in the classroom situation. I see the classroom as a mini lab where they
have their small society in a concentrated way. That way they have a safe and
secure environment to practice their real life challenges in a moderate way.
Goal of education – Goal of life
The Mother tells us that education starts before birth and continues for our whole
life. For Her the goal of learning is not only to gain knowledge so that in life one
can earn money and respect. She teaches that we learn for the joy of learning,
and to widen our knowledge, so that it helps us each to achieve what we need to
achieve in life and to serve that purpose for which we were born.
To know for what purpose I was born; will it be enough for me to memorize
answers and to get certificates? Will I achieve my purpose in life if I just try to
satisfy the wishes of my parents? Each student needs to search within to know
the answer to these questions; “Who am I? What is my role in the world? For
what reason was I born? What type of skills do I need to achieve my goals? How
can I learn what I’ll need to know”? And then, ”How do I go about aiming and
continuing to aspire towards this? “This is where Auroville school education
makes a steadfast effort to focus on every child, and it helps it to grow from
wherever they are.
We encourage and appreciate any small progress made by a child in a sincere
manner. We have zero tolerance towards cultivating fear in our students because
we strongly believe that feeling scared or being beaten is a hindrance to a child’s
growth as a whole person. At times, we meet with the parents and help them to
learn how to take care of their children so that the parents are in tune with us.
Whatever activity is done with the children is oriented towards reaching the
inner self. For example, day to day simple activities such as arranging shoes in
front of the classroom, concentrating on food when eating, or playing a game for
the sake of playing and not worrying about success or failure. We encourage
each of the students to become aware of keeping their surroundings orderly and
clean. We would like to help the children to become self-disciplined and to have
self-control, and so we give them opportunities to organize their own work by
themselves. Every detail of awareness in day-to-day actions that we want to
develop in the children must be experienced over and over. They learn it by
doing and by practicing. And very importantly, all of these activities are done
according to the child’s age and capacity to understand.
Thanks,
Davaselvy