Maths Market and Geometry Field: National Awardee Manoj Sir's Class is Different

The Quint visited teacher Manoj Singh's class in Jharkhand to see what was special there.

(Photo: Quint Hindi)

On the occasion of Teachers' Day, here is one story of a teacher who teaches in the fields and takes his students to the market. He is one who prepares teaching aids from regular household articles, so that even children who used to find maths difficult, have started finding it easy.

This teacher is Manoj Singh of Jharkhand, who, due to his style of teaching, has been awarded the National Teacher Award.

Manoj Singh's method of teaching can be inspiring not only for the children, but also for the teachers.

The Quint visited Manoj sir's class to see what was special there.

This year 44 teachers of the country have received the National Teacher Award. Manoj Singh, a teacher of 'Hindustan Mitra Mandal Vidyalaya,' located in Jamshedpur city of Jharkhand, is one of those teachers.

We can also call Manoj Singh a scientist. In fact, before his arrival, only 10 percent of the children in the math class used to raise their hands to answer the question. But after the arrival of Manoj sir, today, 90 percent of the students of the school raise their hands and say that they will solve the question.

How Manoj Sir Makes His Classes Interesting

In a conversation with The Quint, Manoj Singh said:

"Online classes started during the lockdown. Students used to stay in the online class for some time but then suddenly disappeared. To prevent this, to make the class interesting, I made teaching-learning material for each chapter from the waste material of the house. With the help of this material, I made the online class interesting through activity. The children thought that they were playing, and the students learned maths through play. ”

You can see in the video below.

Singh further said, "In order to take learning out of the bounds of the classroom, I took a group of students to the market for teaching. I made them partake in purchasing there, so that children can learn the calculation of money. There, I taught the concept of money transaction, loss, and discount, so that they would learn mathematics quickly. To teach them about scales and weights, I took them to the sellers of kerosene and taught them the scales. I took the children to the fields to explain the shape of the geometry."

Manoj sir has converted one room of his house into a classroom, where all the necessary digital equipment – computer, camera, tripod stand, mic, headphones, large LED screen – are available along with the white board. From here, he kept on teaching children online in the lockdown.

How Manoj sir explains mathematical angles to his students.

(Photo: Quint Hindi)

Manoj sir's teaching aid for fractions.

(Photo: Quint Hindi)

Manoj sir makes maths interesting using shapes and colours.

(Photo: Quint Hindi)

Manoj sir teaches the topic of ratio and proportion with the help of this self-made slider.

(Photo: Quint Hindi)

Manoj Singh shares – "In 2014, I started educating children in nature's laboratory. For example, I made a solar family of children to explain to the students the solar system. While revolving around the sun, they would tell the qualities of his planet, which the rest of the children would learn by watching. When I got the opportunity to teach in tribal-dominated areas, it was a challenge for me. Young children did not understand Hindi at all. Then I learned the tribal language in order to teach them."

More About Manoj Sir

Manoj Singh was first posted as a teacher in 1994, in the primary school of Bodam in East Singhbhum district. At that time, the school did not even have its own building.

The school used to run under a tree, where Manoj Singh used to teach the children in his innovative ways by taking them to the field, and sometimes to the market. This is his second year at Hindustan Mitra Mandal Vidyalaya.

In his career, he has already received various honors at the national and state level. Manoj sir has received more than 2 dozen awards. He was selected by the National Metallurgical Laboratory as the Best Science Teacher in 2017. In 2001, during the census, he received a silver medal from the president for his outstanding work.

A mathematics book written by Manoj Singh is taught in the government school in Jharkhand. After his book was approved by NCERT, the Jharkhand government got that book printed under JCERT and instituted it in government schools. Not only this, Manoj Sir's e-content has been uploaded on the Government of India's single platform 'Diksha Portal.' Along with this, Manoj Sir's e-content is also taught to the students of Jharkhand on Tuesdays and Thursdays on DG App of Jharkhand.

Actually, Manoj sir is not a teacher by profession, who works for nine hours. It seems that he has given his life to his work. Manoj sir is a teacher by heart, and we salute him.