KOCHI: Being an academic trainer was not something he had planned, but S Balagopal seems to be enjoying his vocation. The accountancy and math tutor at Nirbhaya, an institute related to the activities of the NGO Ekatha, has been in this field for around four years now. He is set to lead a series of ‘Topup Math’ training session at schoolkutti.com children’s library in the city for children of classes 5,6 and 7.
While Math is something which most kids despise, Balagopal feels that it doesn’t have to be that way. He believes that the subject can be taught in a fun way, so that children can grasp it better. “Most of the children find Math boring. If it is not taught in a fun way, kids end up leaving the classroom without understanding anything,” said Balagopal.
It is this situation that Balagopal tries to counter through his math sessions. He states, “Mine is not a typical math class. Imagine if I start a class stating that ‘I will be teaching fractions today’, students will find it boring. I believe in teaching math through live examples. “ This means using examples such as sweets, toys, pens and pencils. Elaborating on his style of teaching, the trainer said, “For instance, it’s your birthday, and I buy a cake, cutting it into eight pieces. You have two pieces and I have a piece, and someone else has another piece. What is left are four pieces. This is how I explain fractions to these school kids.”
Though he has always enjoyed teaching, being a full-time trainer was a path he never decided. Becoming a part-time tutor in the beginning, he decided to pursue academic training as a vocation after finding his own style of teaching helpful to others.
Balagopal said,“I was initially teaching a class VI student, a girl who was very weak in math. After a few classes, I started seeing an improvement and she started grasping everything fast and started getting good scores,” he said.The trainer, who believes that math could be introduced to kids in a more playful and fun manner, says that he has been getting favourable comments and response to his teaching technique. S Balagopal will be leading the training session at Schoolkutti.com from September 24.