Textbook is the most efficient, reliable and resourceful material inside the classroom. It is also considered as one of the easily available resources. Textbook works best in rural settings where either teachers do not have enough teaching learning materials. For teachers textbooks becomes a source of information while for student as a means of knowledge. Government of Nepal provides free text books to students of public school from primary level to secondary level. However, most of the students do not bring textbooks to the classroom, maybe lack of interest or lack of bag or for some other reason. Lack of enough textbooks for students in the classroom hampers the teaching learning process. After that it also becomes difficult for teachers to give homework while student may loose track of the chapter being taught.
I was placed as a Teach for Nepal fellow 2018 at Shree Ma Vi Bijaybasti, Parsa. During the initial days of my teaching in that school, students didn’t bring their textbooks in the classroom. Due to lack of textbook students could not focus on the content while I could not determine how much content needed to be covered. As I taught science, it became even more difficult for students to know the terms and definitions. The activities listed in the books that could draw the attention of the students also could not be conducted due to lack of textbooks. Due to less number of textbooks, students need to move from one place to another due to which the environment of the class and flow of the content got disturbed.
After small group discussions and personal one to one interactions with students who did not bring textbooks, some reasons of not bringing textbooks in the classroom surfaced. The students who did not bring textbooks in the classroom also could not perform well academically as compared to students who brought textbooks. One of the main reasons for students to not bring textbooks was lack of study area at home. Most of the times their books got displaced at home and in a hurry, they could not find it on time. Some students came to school direct after working in the tobacco fields, so they also could not carry textbooks. Some students could not afford bags and even if they could, school bags were used for different purpose.
After knowing the back stories of the students about them being unable to bring textbooks in the classroom, I could not take strict actions. I needed to be compassionate and empathetic. As students also felt shame to bring books due to lack of bags, I helped them by building their confidence. Each day I would explain the importance of textbooks for a few minutes of the class. The environment of the class was made in such a way that it was safe for everybody. Even the students without bags started to bring textbooks. I would share my own story as I also did not have study area at home, but kept my books safe at some place. I would ask students the reasons of not bringing textbooks in the classroom and would try to solve them. It was my success that students would tell their problems without hesitation. I also made students read texts from the chapters, underline the terms, due to which they preferred to bring their own textbooks. In group activities also, I would first make read from the textbooks and then only perform the activities, it not only made students better in content but also more understandable and increased interest in the activities.
Carrying their own textbooks also helped me to build sense of responsibility in my students. They used to take textbooks as granted, as it was provided free by the government. I could relate to other things that were free like air and water. With their own textbooks, they could focus more on the content, be disciplined in the class, took interest in studies, performed activities effectively, submit homework on time and performed academically better. Without knowing the backstory and being compassionate, I would not have been successful to make my students bring textbooks in the classroom. Of course, it took certain time and patience, but the results were fruitful.
