Dr. Baalappa Eerappa Chinnagudi of Savadatti has been working as a Block Resource Person (BRP) at the Savadatti Resource Center. He has worked as a teacher for 9 years.
He thinks comprehensive learning is unlikely to happen by just studying 5-6 books. He quotes from NTF that the text has to be richer than the syllabus. He believes the child has to touch and experience his/her learning. Hence he worked on numismatics and museums. He conducted a workshop on the prerequisites for a child to visit a museum. Every Monday students would bring old objects from their house. They did with curiosity and brought unexpected items such as an old sword and a 'charaka'. He divided those objects according to their material, length, height, shape etc. He remembers a child bringing a mobile charaka, which was unheard of.
He then conducted a workshop with an expert Historian. Children started recording the measurements of the items that they brought. It was possible for the children to learn naturally. Once the children visited the museum in Kitturu, they were able to relate that knowledge. He puts emphasis on the thought that History happens by everyone, now. He recalls how, with the old charaka, they were able to trace the history of women freedom fighters in their area. Children understood the value of History.
He introduced the children to coin collection. His idea was to see the children think in different ways. Normally maths learning is easy with coins as they think about the value of the coin, numbers etc. They could also get some sense of science about the coins. Coins made them think about the socio cultural context of the society. They can also throw light on astronomy! He thinks coins can be an integral part of learning for children.
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