Self-Teaching Day

The self-teaching day is one of the most interesting projects undertaken by our Vidyalaya. One full day during the year is reserved for the occasion. Besides teaching on the day, the students-leaders manage the entire school. All the teachers, peons, clerks, sweepers and even Principal are “off duty” for a day. Students take up their work. The following are the objectives of this programme.

• To create a sense of responsibility among students;
• To help students understand the organizational structure of their school and its functions;
• To develop among students an aptitude for teaching as a profession;
• To let the students understand and appreciate the difficulties of a regular teacher, support or administrative staff.
• To develop confidence in themselves.
• To realize that a position of power has to be held with utmost competence, responsibility and sensitivity.

HOW IS IT ORGANISED?

The Students’ Executive invites applications from students to become teachers, clerks, peons, sweepers, etc. a fortnight in advance. They use their discretion and with the help of regular subject-teachers select the most suitable pupils. After confirming appointments, assignment-sheets are issued, duly signed by the ‘pupil-principal’ who is conventionally the General Secretary of the Students’ Union. The pupil-teachers are expected to prepare the unit or lesson they have to teach on the self-teaching day.

This is done with the help of the regular subject teachers. All the assignment forms are submitted to the pupil-principal who, being in charge of administration, takes the entire responsibility of preparing the time table for the day.

At last comes the day for which they have waited with great excitement. It is very interesting to watch students on this day. The confidence with which they walk, talk and teach cannot be described easily. The Pupil Principal starts with an address delivered to all the students in the assembly and make them conscious of the responsibility they have to shoulder. The pupil-teacher try and behave in the same way as their regular teachers do on other days.

The student-peons are active through the day. The clerks are seen typing circulars (one or at best two-finger typing). The pupil-sweepers do the washing and cleaning with a sense of dignity and without any shyness or hesitation. The malis weed and mow, leaving tricky affairs like pruning and grafting for the following day. The whole school is found in perfect order.

On this day, the most encouraging response and results have been recorded by our Vidyalaya. Making allowances for unavoidable shortcomings, everyone who has watched students on such an occasion has unhesitatingly praised the degree of discipline, sense of responsibility, resourcefulness, initiative and confidence displayed by the students.

The project really has proved very valuable in inculcating in our students an understanding of the Vidyalaya’s policies, philosophy and practices.