Sharanya Vairam

The Dreamer: Arul Kumar Arul Kumar, hazel-eyed little boy studying class III, can be deceptive in the classroom with his reserved and shy demeanour. He is a different person outside the classroom- extremely talkative and enthusiastic capable of giving vivid descriptions about his colourful world and the things he yearns for. He knows how to fully utilise limited resources, be it using an old broken cupboard as a ship to play with or imagining his cycle as a racing bike. He is indeed a dreamer. Among the many things that Arul wants to be when he grows up like Police Officer, Army Officer, etc., most importantly, he wants to be rich. Being rich, he believes, will let him fly planes and sail on real ships. Arul’s favourite subject is English since he feels that knowing English would help him go abroad. Arul is one of the tidiest children in his class and won the Project’s ‘Tidy Star of the month’ title from his class. Family Background Arul’s family hails from a small village in Virudhunagar district in the South of Tamil Nadu and came to Chennai for better livelihood opportunities. His father is a security guard at a College and feels very guilty for not having taken his education seriously due to which he feels he is still struggling in life while his younger brother, an STO in the PWD, is well settled. He repeatedly keeps telling his children that they should not take studies lightly like he did in order to have a comfortable life. Arul has two mothers, both of whom work as helpers in the Hostel Mess. He has a younger brother, Thiruselvam, also in class I. The family lives in a spacious quarters within the college campus. The parents do not get sufficient time for the children, and are so busy that they do not get the time to even bring order in the house. The children say that the parents do not fight very often, that their father drinks only once in a while, and that otherwise their home is peaceful. Erstwhile Arul Arul joined Lady Nye School in class II, before which studied class I in the Government school at his village. When he first joined this school, the HM (who is also his class teacher) felt that this boy may not have done even his class I and has directly joined class II since he knew next to nothing. He could not write his name clearly then. Upon going through his mark sheets and notebooks from class II, it was observed that Arul definitely was worse off when he joined. His handwriting was poor, his level of understanding of subjects and instructions was low, and he merely managed to answer 2-3 questions in exams and tests. He also had a problem of mirror writing. But the HM vouches for the fact that this boy was never naughty or unruly in class, that he has always been very obedient and disciplined. He would complete his homework and do his other work on time. His answer sheets and notebooks do point to the fact that this boy did show improvement from class II to class III. Though the improvement was only negligible, it was still an improvement. Engaging with Arul The observation of the para-teacher and us is that Arul used be very reserved, withdrawn and scared. The parateacher recalled that the boy used to seem depressed, uninterested, very frightened of taking initiatives, and would keep thinking about the consequences of him giving wrong answers. He would sit in the last row and his attention would be wavering. It was also observed that Arul would interact with only one other boy in his class and did not have any other friends. His parents too said that he seemed very quiet and withdrawn at home for a few years, right in contrast to his erstwhile talkative personality. We believe one main reason for this could be that his parents often tend to compare him with his younger brother who fares better academically. The para-teacher too had similar observations about Arul Kumar as his class teacher. He was identified as a slow learner by the HM and the para-teacher at the beginning of the project in October. The para-teacher said that when she first started working with him, he did not know the English or Tamil Alphabet properly. He was relatively better off in Maths. His handwriting was also not too good she observed. In the Student Assessment of slow learners done in December 2014, Arul fared much better than most slow learners of his school in the basic understanding tests. He was in the average range in memory test while he was in the needs improvement category in the concentration/attention test and in writing. His reading skills were in the poor category. Working with Arul and his Progress The para-teacher and the Project had to focus on resolving issues such as fear, low self-esteem, lower academic attention/concentration, lack of interest, improper academic foundation, etc. in order improve his academic outcomes. We also had to address latent issues like lack of sufficient appreciation from parents, feeling of loneliness, constant comparison with younger brother, etc. for his betterment. In order to bring Arul out of his shell and improve his self-esteem, the para-teacher has been paying personal attention to him. She kept interacting with him and encouraging him to participate more in class and in tuitions. Even now if he is found quiet in class, the para-teacher motivates him and his spirits and energy pick up instantly, she observes. We have also spoken to the parents about keeping Arul motivated and giving him a little more attention. The parents too have observed now that Arul speaks more freely to them and his fears are slow fading away. Changes seen in Arul He started responding positively to the activity-based approach adopted by the Project. Initially he started showing interest in the activities but did not still show the same interest in studies. The memory game and the puzzles used to be his favourite activities then. He would therefore, take interest in these while he would hesitate to do English and vocabulary based ones. He slowly started learning the Alphabet (English and Tamil) well and started reading. Now, Arul has started shown both initiative and interest in activities as well as studies. This has been observed by his parents, the class teacher (HM), the para-teacher and us. He sits in the front row in class and participates in all activities during tuitions. He has picked up speed in memory game and puzzles pointing to an improvement in concentration and attention. He now, knows the English and Tamil Alphabet well. He can read and write 3-letter words. He comes forward to do vocabulary based games like jumbled words, word building, etc. His reading has improved immensely. The HM is very happy with this improvement in Arul. As far as exams are concerned, he has shown the best improvement in Maths as compared to earlier; his grade in the half yearly exam went up to A from B. This hazel-eyed boy has come quite a long way academically but he still has a long way to go before he can completely come in line with the rest of the class. It is hoped that Arul continues to respond well to the Project initiatives and ceases to be a slow learner soon.