I was really looking forward to the component of Experiential Learning Module (ELM) as part of the course, Young India Fellowship, and was more than happy to get on board with an organisation, SwaTaleem Foundation founded by YIF alumni – Ananya and Vaibhav. I am really passionate about working in the education sector, of having taught students in some capacity before, I had the full support of my team here at YIF and the team at SwaTaleem to make it one of the best experiences of my life. We were mentored by experts in teaching STEM to students, conducting gender sensitization workshops which helped us shape and form our lesson plans, accordingly.
While we have done sessions spanning months, one of my most memorable incidents was teaching my kids about Kamladevi Chattopadhyay, the first female politician to stand for elections and one of the forefront freedom fighters during our struggle for Independence. I went over her life story, highlighting the important events, to which the students attentively listened. When I asked them on the need for the importance of education and whether they believed it has the ability to take one places in whichever field they liked, the kids responded with a resounding, “yes.” It was quite a heartwarming feeling for the kids to feel passionate about learning and working in the space to eventually impact the society and the country, as a whole. For the purpose of co-education, the kids were more than eager to share the story with the other group, with a special mention on education and how it is necessary and beneficial.
About the Author: Arshmeen Baveja
Arshmeen, having worked in the IT industry for about 1.5 hours, has also been deeply interested in the development sector, especially in the education space. She has taught underprivileged kids creative arts as part of Slam Out Loud fellowship. She is currently pursuing the Young India Fellowship 2020 and has been a part of SwaTaleem in the capacity of an ELM team member from the Young India Fellowship, Ashoka University, since October 2019.
