Indian-American girl teaches English, life skills to tribal students in Yercaud

A 14-year-old Indian-American girl taught English, mathematics, and life skills to tribal students of Class V to VIII at a government middle school in Yercaud from July 3 to 7, through an internship programme

A 14-year-old Indian-American girl taught English, mathematics, and life skills to tribal students of Class V to VIII at a government middle school in Yercaud from July 3 to 7, through an internship programme.

For the 28 students of Gundur Panchayat Union Middle School in Yercaud, it was a bit of a surprise to listen to a person almost of their age teaching English to them.

Reyna Kannan, a IX grade student from Miami, got the opportunity as part of an internship programme offered by the Tamil Nadu Foundation, a non-profit foundation in the U.S. that provided opportunities for students of Tamil origin to link with their ancestral roots in Tamil Nadu.

The girl’s parents, Kannan and Sangeetha, were natives of Krishngiri district who settled in the U.S. in 2002.

Ms. Reyna said it was an enriching experience for her to understand the cultural differences (between the two countries) and learn some Tamil words such as Kalvi, Aarvam, and Salippu from the children. “At first, the students were a little shy to talk to me, as I knew only English, but was able to understand Tamil. I covered phonics, vocabulary, and grammar in English and decimals, fractions, percentage, and geometry in mathematics. Under life skills, I taught them about personal hygiene, health, yoga, taekwondo, saving money and budgeting, and making goals in life,” she said.

The teachers also assisted her to speak some words in Tamil to the students. “I would come again to the school next year if I get an opportunity,” she said. Her brother Sushant also got a similar opportunity in 2019 and he taught English to tribal students in another school at Yercaud.

The Gundur school headmaster, A. Baskaran, said the classes, especially those about personal hygiene, were useful for the students.