It
is my first experience at a Daham School, I have never been to such when I was a
child as my mother wanted to bring up Malli and Myself in a more secluded
domestic domain. I don’t have hard feelings on Ammi either, since her deeds
were virtuous. She thought Malli and Myself will start some young age romance
and spoil our education. It is wrong to assume that all the students who go to Daham
schools end up finding partners which are not even permanent. Since two of us
went to a boys’ and a girls’ schools she might have thought that sudden
exposure to opposite sex would corrupt ourselves. However, my first day at a
Daham School was not so bad. This is not my first experience of teaching since I
did some classes free of charge for a young girl and two boys. Amongst them the
two boys engraved very nice memories. Children are genuine and the youngest of
these two boys was the most genuine child I ever saw. Their mother said that
they did not have any other topic after coming from my classes other than
talking about “Akka.” Akka mokadda ayye ada ara hina yanna kiwwe? Ayya what did
akki say today which made us laugh? Aunty went on with what she overheard
whenever she came to pick her two baby monkeys. Anyway the two brothers who
were fed up with going to English classes liked English after coming to my
class. Undeniably English is the most unpopular subject amongst most of the
students and I do know why. The first reason is the teachers who do the subject
are sometimes very boring and they do not know how to attract the students. Also
they do not pay individual attention to students, so a predominant number in
the class do not understand what she says. After so much of drifting I am going
to recall my first day at the Daham school. There was one girl in the grade six
class. She did not understand what I taught. I knew it. I asked her colleagues
to help her. They did not know the correct way to help her to catch the
lessons. They wrote everything what I wrote in the board on her book with
gorgeous color pens. Then I asked them to read the letters to her and convinced
that she herself must write on her book. Finally I started a grammar lesson,
the boring part of English. But I have to do it at least to teach the basics. So
I knew this girl would not understand. I personally went to many. Taught them
individually. I went to her and taught her also. The most senior teacher in the
staff saw me teaching her and came to me. Me lamaya kohomath wada karanne ne. Usually,
she is not good at studies. She is a retired teacher. Her 40 or 45 years of
teaching have not taught her the lesson that a teacher need not to have stereotypes
about children. She is 70. I think she needs more maturity to understand the
realities of Sri Lankan education and economic system to educate students from
backward classes. The teaching went on. But I know she did not understand the
lesson properly. Teacherge nama mokadda? Teacher labana satiyeth methanama wadi
wenna oni. Teacher what is your name? Please sit here in the next week also. I just
nodded my head. Then she gave her red pen to correct the books of others. Finally
whilst I was ready to leave the most moving incident occurred. She came to me
and worshipped me. I was surprised. Because I still believe that I am also a
kid and I did not like kids worshipping me even when my nephew Sharon worshiped
Avanthi nanda. It is my duty to psychologically prepare myself to face these
kinds of future veneration and comprehend that I am now 24. (-16 days) Anyway I
feel I am matured. This maturity in teaching methods might have intrinsically
passed over to me since my paternal grandma was a very understanding teacher. Apart
from that my two nandas were good teachers. But none of them have taught me and
I did not know even an iota of their teaching techniques. It is Nazim sir and Kamani
aunty who taught me English. All the classes proceeded without any verbal
harassment coming on my way neither on other students’ way. They were better than Disapamok. We know
Disapamok the great Achariya who lived in Thaksala, trained kings yet punished
them whenever they committed wrong. I was never punished. I was also trained to
be a Queen. Only kind words were required. I know that girl did not understand my
lesson. But at least she will not hate English and teachers from today.
