As all educational classes, coaching and training sessions went online due to coronavirus lockdown, this teacher from West Bengal did something quirky to fight the patchy internet issues. He built a bamboo platform atop a neem tree and continued giving online classes from his native village. Scroll down to know the whole story.
How Did It Happen?
Subrata Pati, a 35-year-old resident of Bankura district of West Bengal teaches history at Adamas University and RICE Education in Kolkata. During the lockdown, he went back to his village in Ahanda to stay with his family. But the internet out there was giving him a tough time, which was hampering his regular classes. He was almost on the verge of giving up. But then this out-of-the-box idea clicked in his mind. Pati thought about the makeshift watchtowers ( locally called machan) that the villagers set up on tree-tops during the harvest season to keep an eye on elephants attacking the fields. He decided to build a similar bamboo structure so that he can climb up the tree and teach his pupils. He then crafted the platform with bamboo, hay and gunny sacks by taking help from his friends.
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What Else?
Every morning, Pati goes up the neem tree next to his house to teach about ancient civilizations and wars from the temporary wooden platform tied to the branches. He also takes food and water along with him while teaching. The best part is, by being at the height, he not only gets better signals on his cell phone but can also maintain the notion of social distancing. Harsh weather conditions like heat and storm often pose challenges for him, but he overcomes them as students are his first priority. No wonder, the attendance of his class is always around 90 percent.
As he said, “The students keep boosting my confidence. They have always been very supportive. They assured me that they would put in their best efforts to score well in my paper.”
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In a time where most people are business-minded and only aim at high profits, we need more teachers like Pati. Kudos to his creative and responsible efforts!