"SHIKHA SOPAN" An Initiative of IIT Community for social upliftment

people of Indian Institute of Technology initiative, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

Shiksha Sopan continued its activities in all three sections of Shiksha, Sanskar and Swavalamban. There were contact programmes in Hostels, visit by eminent personalities, Special lectures, a Science workshop for teachers of local schools close to IITK Campus etc., apart from regular activities of Evening Learning Centers, Sopsan Vidyalaya, GAK, SSK, PPY etc.

Visit of Information Commissioner Mr Shailesh Gandhi

Mr Shailesh Gandhi is one among the handful of people who have not detached from the common masses after occupying high positions in the administration. Down to earth person he is the Information Commissioner, in India's Central Information Commission (CIC) and convener of the National Campaign for People's Right to Information. During his visit to IIT Kanpur in connection to setting up RTI cell in Kanpur, he came to know about Shiksha Sopan and made it a point to personally visit centers and meet children and the workers. He visited Sopan Vidyalaya and Swavalamban Kendra on 7th Sept, 2009. In very simple words, he addressed the children and gave the concept of social responsibilities and the relevance of RTI for common people as individuals and as society. Dr. H.C.Verma delivered a presentation to him in which he summarized about the various activities of Shiksha Sopan, and how Shiksha Sopan is striving hard for the upliftment of the children of the weaker society. All this impressed Mr. Gandhi immensely and he asked for Shiksha Sopan’s support for the same cause in Delhi municipal schools.

Vishwakarma Puja

On 17th September Sopan Swavalamban Kendra conducted Vishvakarma puja, dedicated to the divine architect of the universe according to Hindu Scriptures. It is celebrated on Bhadra sankranti, the day when the sun transits from Singha (Leo) to Kanya (Virgo) sign. Artisans, craftsmen, mechanic, smiths, welders, industrial workers, factory workers and workers of all kind perform the puja on this day and pray for a better future, safe working conditions and above all success in their respective fields. Dr. O. P. Mishra and Mrs. Pooja Mishra also participated in the ceremony. ‘Prasad’ was distributed to everybody present there.

LWIST (Local Workshop on Innovative Science Teaching)

There are a large number of schools in the vicinity of IITK Campus, many of them having minimal facilities and exposures. They cater to a large number of population but there is no arrangement for any empowerment of teachers in terms of subject knowledge or teaching methodologies. Shiksha Sopan conducted a Science Teachers’ workshop named ‘Local Workshop on Innovative Science Teaching (LWIST)’ on 20th September 2009 in L13 at IITK in which 32 teachers from 22 nearby schools (up to 2km) participated.

The workshop started with Lamp lighting and Sarasawati Vandana. In the inaugural speech Dr. Kunal Ghosh emphasised the need of developing the culture of working with own hands together with theoretical knowledge. It was followed by a presentation by Prof. H.C. Verma on the theme ‘Science in Ancient India and inspiration for future’. He said that it is the responsibility of the teachers to recognize the inherent scientific aptitude of the student and provide him/her a strong initial backing so that he/she is capable of carving his/her own niche in the world of science.

The presentation was followed by sessions in which small experiments related to concepts like centre of gravity, air pressure, light and heat were conducted. Using very low cost materials like balloon, bottles, clips, scale, magnets etc., a large number of Physics demo experiments were demonstrated which can be performed in the classrooms in 2 to 5 minutes while teaching a particular topic. The sessions were divided into three parts and each part was followed by a tea break/lunch break. The experiments were performed by Mr. Amit Bajpai, Deepak Agnihotri, Ranjit kumar and Deepak Mishra. All these are students in Kanpur University and active Shiksha Sopan workers in the Science Cell.

During the sessions the teachers equally participated in performing the experiments and at the same time they raised all kinds of queries which were satisfactorily answered by the team members. It was heartening to see that many of the teachers of much less reputed schools also had a good amount of enthusiasm towards learning. The workshop proved to be a success as the teachers really got to know how they can use waste materials to teach their students the basic concepts. These workshops make us all the more enthusiastic and give us the encouragement to hold such activities on a regular basis.

SHIKSHA SOPAN CONTACT PROGRAMME AT VARIOUS HALLS

Power Point Presentations were delivered by active members of the Sopan family at various halls of IITK in September, 2009. The presentations basically were aimed at providing the students of IITK the information regarding the various activities in which Shiksha Sopan was involved. They told the students about the pathetic condition of the children who belong to the lower strata of the society, and also brought out the fact that there was extreme dearth of good schools for such children who can’t afford education in big and expensive schools. Information about how the various Sopan centers support the children in various ways was given through facts and photographs.

These presentations were given in Hall 4, Hall 7and GH1 by Dr. H.C. Verma and Mr. Ashish Bhateja while the same were given in GH2 and Hall 8 by Dr. Sameer Khandekar and Mr. Chandra Shekhar Sharma. They also asked the students to support these activities by volunteering to work for Shiksha Sopan and also by generating funds for the same cause. The team members received a good response from the IITK students who participated in the discussion actively. After the presentation Mr Someshwar Pandey of Hall-7 actively persuaded a number of his friends to donate for Shiksha Sopan on Monthly basis from their bank accounts.

GAK celebrates Teachers Day

Gahan Adhyayan Kendra celebrated the auspicious occasion of teacher’s day on 5th September, 2009. The children, the teachers and the volunteers involved in the management of Gahan Adhyayan Kendra dedicated this function to Dr H C verma whom they all symbolized as their TEACHER. All of them promised that they will work harder to attain the goals of Shiksha Sopan. The teachers of GAK presented a beautiful Ganesh idol to Dr. H.C. Verma to pay respect and gratitude. The teachers also expressed their commitment towards the noble cause of Shiksha Sopan. The feeling of belongingness to Shiksha Sopan could be sensed from the very faces of the students and the teachers on that day.

NEWS

Lecture on “Rediscovery of India”

A lecture was given by Mr Vikas Trivedi, a final year student of BSBE department at SAC on 13th September, 2009 titled “Rediscovery of India” where he brought out the Indian tradition of doing Science. He brought out amazing details about important dates of Lord Rama’s life based on the astronomical data given in the scriptures and the modern softwares capable of calculating constellations at any given time. His lecture helped the audience learn many concepts related to our mythology and differentiate between the objective reality and the myth.

Shiksha Sopan to set up Science lab for “Children of Mother Earth”

Children of Mother Earth is an NGO run by Mr Ravi Manas and his team for the abondoned children who spend their life on Railway platforms. At four centers at Gorakhpur, Lucknow and Delhi, they keep such children with them and give them shelter, food and education. They have requested Shiksha Sopan to set up a Science Lab at the standard 6-10 for their centers and we are working at it.

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Report by-

Dr. H. C. Verma

Professor

Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur

www.shiksha-sopan.org/