Bengaluru: This Teacher’s Day, 20 primary and 11 high school teachers will get the state teacher awards. Of these, three are from schools in Bengaluru. TOI caught up with them to understand their passion for the job and what keeps them going.He ran classes under treeKrishnamurthy KS, Govt Model Higher Primary School, Gruhalakshmi Layout, recalls how he got an order copy for joining the police force and becoming a teacher in 1998. His parents refused to let him join the force, so he became a teacher. And after that, there was no looking back.He recalls his deputation in 2009 to the Gruhalakshmi Layout school, which had no building. “Classes were taken under a tree in an empty site. The school had two students, and I was the lone teacher. I took it as a challenge and developed the school. I approached corporates and NGOs to develop the school,” he said.“Today, it can compete with any private school in the neighbourhood. There are 850 students in 26 classrooms. We provide all facilities like smart classrooms, robotics, computer science from primary level,” he said.She finds joy in teaching mathShaina Kumari M, 43, teaches math at Karnataka Public School at Jeevanbheema Nagar. Originally from Udupi, Shinekumari hails from a family of teachers. Her grandfather is also a state award winner, while her father taught science.“The atmosphere at home was such that everyone was into teaching, which naturally motivated me to step into the same profession. There is special joy in teaching math… There’s an inexplicable joy when you make it easy for a child and he gets the answer right,” she said.She is a novelist, a teacher trainer and a resource person for various activities of the education department. “Govt school teachers are brilliant. But, non-teaching work like SIR and census work is keeping us away from the classrooms. We request the govt to ensure that we are allowed to focus on teaching,” she said.Playing role of parentsRatnamma NM teaches general subjects from classes 1-7 at Kembattahalli school. “These are young children. Their parents mostly go to work and they have no one at home till late evenings. So, we are like their parents too. It is so exciting to see them being happy,” said Ratnamma.“In all the schools I have taught which did not have a PE teacher, I took up that role too. I made them do yoga, aerobics and other exercises. We have ensured the school gets all learning materials. We take them for trips to places like Wonderla. I have been a resource person with DSERT (Department of State Educational Research and Training). It is truly joyful,” she said.
