Voices from Manzil’s Online Classes

An artwork by Khushi, 18, Reasoning Class

Due to the ongoing COVID pandemic, we shifted to online teaching since the month of April this year. These online classes have their own style and uniqueness and we thank all our Manzil teachers to make these classes fun, loving and interesting. Similarly, the contribution of all students is something worth sharing with you all.

As the year comes to an end, we immensely want our readers to get a sense of how our students are doing in their classes. Many students, enrolled in various courses, were given an opportunity to describe how they personally felt amidst this new pattern of learning and their responses have been nothing short of touching and remarkable.

Reasoning Class

Vishal Kashyap, 21, from Jagrik Class says, “I took admission in the Jagrik class so that my understanding would increase more towards the activities going on in the society which actually happened. I got to know about many political issues like how to decide which party to vote for in elections, CAA, NRC, preamble, what all rights we have got in our constitution etc, about which I had little knowledge earlier. The most important thing that I felt was that our classes started before this year's Delhi Legislative Assembly elections, due to which we could also raise the issue of elections in the class and understand who we should vote for.”

Some students were profoundly impacted by Manzil in the sense that they too were motivated to serve their community. 

Written by Tanvi, 8, Eng Mini

Chander Prakash, 21, who joined Manzil about 2 years ago as a student, tells about his journey with Jagrik class specifically which he joined in the month of May 2020. He says, “I was curious as I wanted to learn how to become a responsible citizen. I love working for people, so I started my own organization (Education for Local Eyes) to help children and young adults in my community to make their future bright and provide them resources to achieve what they wanted to become.” Adding further he says, “This class not only helps us learn about responsibilities of a responsible/aware citizen, but also teaches us how to raise our voices against things that need to be changed in our community and system.”

Suraj, Music Teacher 

Kamla Bisht Ji, 38, a housewife, is currently learning English and Music in Manzil. She shared, “I think the best thing about Manzil, is the way everyone speaks here. The teachers here explain things to all the students very effectively, whether they are small or big, they treat everyone equally and do not discriminate between anyone. Everytime my teachers (Suraj bhaiya & Preeti di) teach or sing anything, I feel like listening to them even after the class is over.” 

Another music student, Surjeet Jainwal, 22, writes about how happy he is to be learning music for the last 10 years with the help of the music teachers here at Manzil who he refers to as Preeti di, Anjali di, Suraj bhaiya. He has been deeply impacted by their overflowing knowledge about music and the calm environment at Manzil which helps him learn everything easily.

Manav Kumar, 9, a student of Smart Mini, with a very basic level of English, says “I am very happy to be a part of English class through which I have been able to understand and learn the language. Aman bhaiya, our teacher teaches everyone through games and group activities. I have taken a lot of tuition elsewhere, but could never get the attention, love and care which Manzil has offered me.”

Hemlata, 40, a pre-primary teacher of Manzil Kotla school who is learning English currently shares, “I also wanted to learn how to speak English but due to lack of time, my desire could not be fulfilled, but in these last 6 months I utilized my time to learn English while staying at home. Tulsi ma'am, our English teacher, is very soft spoken and she began by teaching me the basics of English language and now I am not only confident to write in English but my English grammar has also improved which had not happened in all these years. The credit for this goes to Tulsi ma'am for teaching me so well.”

Eng. Practice Class

Megha Ukey, 19, a student, says that English classes have changed her outlook on life. Megha was very delighted to join the English classes. Before joining the classes, she was hesitant to speak English in front of anyone. Her spoken English has improved lately. She likes the way teachers at Manzil teach. “They are very friendly and have interesting ways of teaching.” She says to improve their skills everyone is given an opportunity to speak which is a very useful way of improving one's communication skills. Here she also gets to practice through role plays in which she is given a character and a situation, and then she has to speak. These activities have increased her confidence and she can confidently speak with anyone.

She credits her teachers, Akansha and Tulsi for bringing the change in her. They put in all the efforts that they can to make their students understand their concepts. She further adds “I get to learn and improve through these classes everyday. All the tasks that the teachers give us, motivate us to speak confidently in the class without any hesitation.”

Kathak Junior

Pushpa Gupta, 32, from PowerPoint class shares, “During the lockdown, I got myself enrolled in the PowerPoint classes and learnt how to prepare PowerPoint slides. Our teacher, Anil Bhaiya first told us the importance of PPT in today's time and its usages in various places. During the classes, we used to prepare presentations on a particular theme. Besides that, we also learnt how to add a song in the background, apply an animated picture and also add our voices in a presentation. Anil Bhaiya also called three guest teachers, Shivika, who taught us how to make Google Sheilds and how to add colours in slides, Sanju Bhaiya taught us how to make professional PPTs and Shahbaaz who taught us how to make a font and the front page of a book”

Apart from regular classes, Manzil is also a place where one can showcase their inner abilities and talents. Such was the case for Pushpa Gupta who while learning Kathak was so motivated by her teacher, that she herself started teaching Kathak at Manzil. She says her journey began when Gulati Aunty Ji encouraged her to learn Kathak at Manzil. Her guru, Deepti Di, also gave the students an opportunity to attend Birju Maharaj’s workshop and learn from him. She shares “Newcomers come and learn from me and to further improve their skills they go to Deepti Di”. She is glad to be Deepti Di’s student. She thanks Manzil and it’s teachers for teaching her how to manage things, how to work in groups and how to dance beautifully.

Grown at home by a student

This online revolution also introduced a new class in Manzil called ‘Urban Farming’. During one of the sessions, the process of composting was explained (which involves organic matter, moisture, oxygen, and bacteria) through which students can turn available wet/green waste into compost. Composting not only helps lessen the pollution levels, but also helps in saving the environment. People interested in nature are always encouraged to join these classes.

Indeed education and learning are lifelong processes that keep taking place as people continue to grow and to change. Here at Manzil, the family of students and the teachers help make this journey easier for the students and help them realise their potential and talent through hard work, love, encouragement and talented teachers.

Written By Khushi Nagam(Manzil Volunteer) and Tulsi Kohli (Newsletter Editor)