After a successful stint in training 500 primary teachers from 10 districts of West Bengal and 97 pre primary, primary and middle school teachers from Ladakh, Education for All added another feather in its cap when it ventured into the four prominent districts of North Bengal in collaboration with West Bengal Police. Under the able leadership of Sri. Devendra Prakash Singh (IPS) Inspector General, North Bengal, the Education for All program set out to train 154 Civic Volunteers from Alipurduar, Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Coachbehar districts. These young men and women were being trained to teach at the Koshish Schools catering to the needs of the young children from the tea plantations who have not been able to access quality education since the Covid induced lockdowns. The trainer-facilitators from Education for All designed a two and a half days schedule, which included strategic modules of early literacy, numeracy, and classroom management. Emphasis is on making learning easy and joyful for the children, many of whom are socially deprived first generation learners.
Day 1 of the training focussed on early years pedagogical practices. The participating civic volunteers were briefed on gross motor and fine motor skills of children which need to be developed through various games and activities within the classroom space and outside. Activities require only low cost/ waste materials commonly found around us, and using these children could develop their bigger and smaller muscle groups. As a part of the training the teachers learnt several songs and nursery rhymes which would encourage children to play, sing and dance, along with learning important lessons like alphabets, parts of the body, colours and so on. Since many of the students of these Koshish Schools are below five years, developing pre-writing skill also took a front seat. Understanding different kinds of lines through activities which help in hand-eye coordination, the participants were explained how important it was to prepare the child’s hands, fingers and minds before the actual writing of letters began. It was followed by sand tray activities around recognising the alphabets, understanding phonic sounds, recognising the vowels and finally forming the first words. During the sessions, various classroom management strategies like ‘Time Out’ and building a word wall for better visual learning were also introduced to teachers.
Day 2 of training began with a module of conversational English. Since the children of the tea plantations come from various linguistic (and economically challenged) backgrounds, English can be a way out of the vicious cycle of poverty, helping them to be better equipped 
The third day was reserved for group demonstrations of the concepts learned. The participants were divided into groups of ten, and given a concept each, which they would have to demonstrate creatively. In the august presence of Sri. Y Raghuvanshi IPS, SP Alipurduar the newly equiped teachers demonstrated various pedagogical skills with elan. In his very pertinent speech, Mr. Raghuvanshi pointed out that education will help spread goodwill among the community, which in turn would help governance. He encouraged the civic volunteers to go beyond what was expected out of them, and become true representatives of the community. Smt. Ranjana Sengupta, Secretary Nanritam, and Sri. Sarada Prasad Namhata, who spearheads Education for All Project, handed over essential Teaching Learning Materials for distribution among the Learning Centres. The participants also recieved certificates of particpation. 
Education can make things happen. And when zeal and passion gets added to the pursuit of quality education even far flung states across the nation, like Ladakh and West Bengal, can make the impossible, possible. Two schools, Filix School of Education, Para, Purulia a remote district in West Bengal and New Millennium Education Foundation in Leh Ladakh bear testimony to the claim made above.
The first day of the workshop began in the presence of the august company of academicians. While Filix was represented by its Secretary, President and Principal, the presence of Founder Gyenley of New Millennium Education Foundation, Managing Director, Principal, Ladakh DIET president, President Award Winner Teacher Sonamji , and many other eminent teachers joined. The first session opened with the discussion of Classroom management strategies which have a multi pronged approach to building a classroom community and promoting a positive culture in the school. While strategies like classroom constitution help maintain discipline, it also teaches the children the first lessons of democracy. Affirmation board helps in bringing out the positive qualities of the students and also makes the classroom a safe, happy community. The teachers from Ladakh enthusiastically participated in various hands-on activities like building a word wall, classroom constitution and affirmation board. 
Day two began with a discussion of Gross Motor and Fine Motor Skills. Both these skills are essential to the physical and psychological development of a child in her early years. Rhymes and songs which promote a lot of physical movements were enacted by the
The Basic Science session comprised a number of experiments that could be conducted in classrooms to demonstrate the principles of light and air pressure. The equipment used were a torch, mirror, transparent box and plastic bottles.
Creativity lies at the heart of every learning in the Filix School of Education. Since its inception in 2014, Filix has embraced experiential learning. Covid induced lockdowns had been a set back affecting the entire education scenario. Though Filix continued with the online classes, most of the children used mobile phones for classes with erratic internet connection. The children missed their schools and also the way they learnt.
The ‘Learning Festival’ is a celebration acknowledging the importance of experiential learning. The class teachers divided their classes into groups to demonstrate their learnings in different subjects. Each grade had groups of students assigned to English, Bengali, Hindi, Science, Mathematics and Social Science. Each group prepared demonstrations. A three day period was chosen for the festival.
In addition, the third day saw eminent guests from all around the globe drop in. Prof. Kaushik Basu, Professor of Economics, Cornell University, a beloved and distinguished patron of Nanritam graced the Learning Festival with his visit. Prof. Basu spent hours with the students talking, solving riddles, watching live demonstrations and asking incisive questions. 
These 
Filix School of Education
A high-quality education facility, Filix School of Education, established by Nanritam in its campus at Purulia, West Bengal, is a CBSE affiliated school, currently upto class X
Nanritam
Nanritam is a non-profit organization, working primarily in the domain of Health, Education, and Agriculture, in remote and neglected areas of WB
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This short clip brings us the voices of the educators who have been through our Teacher’s Training program, and are implementing in their learning centers. So heartening to hear their feedback!
