UDUPI: What does it take to distract students from the pandemic blues and make them focus on studies? Answer: An energetic and enthusiastic teacher with a flair for social media. Surendra Samagara fits the bill to a T.
For the past 13 years, Surendra, hailing from Byndoor in Udupi district, has been teaching at Sri Siddalingeshwara High School on Magadi Road in Bengaluru South. When the pandemic forced classes to go online, this social science teacher realised that students will need much more to stay interested.
Looking to give the kids something more so that their enthusiasm is not diminished, he went the extra mile, coming up with a YouTube channel – Surendra Guddehotel – where he uploads videos of lessons during his “free time”. The channel now has close to 2,000 subscribers and students are impressed by his friendly and engaging style of teaching. Surendra’s seven-year-old son Samarth pitches in, helping with recording the lectures.
Surendra told The New Sunday Express that his aim was not just to teach the subject. “I wanted to bring a smile on the faces of those stars (as he calls his students),” he said. So far, the committed teacher has conducted no fewer than 27 classes for SSLC students on YouTube.
Students, too, have appreciated Surendra’s remote learning solution. Sathish, a Class 10 student at a school in Bengaluru, who watches Surendra’s YouTube classes, says that he could learn as well as get mentored. “I am grateful to have Surendra as my mentor,” he adds.