No textbooks means more creativity

MADURAI: Classrooms over the next month will be the testing ground for teachers’ creativity, in the event of a lack of a set syllabus.Hammering in the point was K Kadasary, a teacher at Jayaraj Nadar Higher Secondary School, Nagamalai Pudukottai, who argued that proficient teachers do not depend on textbooks. “When teachers present the lesson in a creative manner, students learn better,” he said.  “Elements like rainwater-harvesting, health and hygiene, inculcation of personal, and social and cultural values are not really discussed in school, as we are under pressure to complete the syllabus. Without these pressures, we can teach students better,” he said.Another teacher laid the onus of making such an approach successful on the teachers. “In the hands of dedicated teachers, this one month will make a lot of difference,” he said.A Maths teacher, at a government school near Natham said, “Teaching basic elements like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division is a good way to strengthen the basics.” One senior teacher asked teachers to use this period to improve their skills and build a rapport with students.