At a time when parents and school authorities across the state are struggling to make young students focus on tedious online classes, a teacher from Tamil Nadu's Pudukkottai district has adopted a novel approach. Instead of merely using blackboards and paper to teach students of Class 1 the Tamil letters, M Meena, a government primary school teacher at Kavaraipettai village, decided to create a song and dance routine to interest them in classes.
In her video, which has now gone viral, Meena can be seen swaying her hips and clapping hands, among other dance moves, as she sings the Tamil Mei Ezhuthukkal (Tamil alphabet). Before she starts the session, she explains in the video that this is a way to keep students excited about school classes even if it is online.
"Today, on August 17, the government has told us to start classes for the Class 1 students. We have started classes at our school also. Parents were very dissatisfied by this," she explained, tracing the events behind her decision to perform.
"They were worried that despite joining the school, the children won't learn anything. Children were excited to come to school but their enthusiasm was curbed by this situation," she added.
Meena pointed out that for younger children, teachers usually deviate from traditional modes of instruction and use art as a tool for learning.
"After these meetings with the parents, I had an idea when I came back to my house. When it comes to Class 1 students, music and dance are important. Teaching them using colourful pictures, singing songs and dancing is key," said Meena in the video. "In a continuation of that pattern, I am going to teach Mei Ezhuthukal in Tamil to these students through video," she added before she started her class.
In the one-and-a half-minute performance, the teacher both sings and dances, swaying as she put the letters into tune. Meena can be seen performing a series of steps, increasing the speed until she comes back to a regular tempo, in an effort to engage her students and make learning enjoyable.