“I now know that there should be no gender inequality in the world”, Kartik Kamble, Grade 9 student
- Manasi Thacker
- September 9, 2019
Recently, we were contacted by Smita Mishra (English Teacher, Grade 9, iTeach Kai Keshavrao Jedhe English Medium School, Pune) and Nishi Gogate (School Leader, iTeach Kai Keshavrao Jedhe English Medium School, Pune) who wanted to share with us the on-ground impact Wonder Girls is creating in their classrooms. Smita incorporated Wonder Girls into her curriculum, and in this conversation both Smita and Nishi talk to us extensively about their experiences. We were also joined by Kartik Kamble and Shrutika Sutar, students, who wanted to share their thoughts with us.
Kartik Kamble
Smita on Wonder Girls in her classrooms
Wonder Girls book fulfills some of the most basic requirements of teaching. It introduces students with the values of grit and determination by exposing them to the idea of having to strive hard constantly to achieve goals. In a ‘life imitating art’ manner, students learn to emulate the actions of Wonder Girls in their own lives. What Wonder Girls also serves to do is to be the most excellent repository of less than conventional career choices. Time and again while reading Wonder Girls, students find role models that they can either identify with or discover paths that seem to appeal to them.
One of the ways that Wonder Girls comes to life is that each chapter espouses a prominent value. For example, after teaching chapter 3 from the book in my classrooms, I conducted a few practical sessions on time management for our students.
Smita Mishra
Nishi on stereotypes students battle
Our students generally come from less privileged backgrounds, and as such there are many stereotypes they must battle, both about their own backgrounds and those of others. All the girls chronicled in Wonder Girls come from ordinary middle class backgrounds (while our students are from low income backgrounds) and yet face their share of obstacles and they have to work hard to overcome those challenges. This serves as an important lesson for our students, that even those with slightly more comfortable lives have to face their share of struggles to achieve success. They also learn that all struggles are ultimately surmountable. We just need to carry on.
Nishi on the long-term value of Wonder Girls
As far as the careers profiled in Wonder Girls are concerned, with the course of time they may become less relevant. However, the values and belief systems that form the crux of the book are the things that will remain eternal. And from that perspective Wonder Girls remains a book that will be important for us even after a decade.
Nishi Gogate
Smita on what sets Wonder Girls apart
Textbooks often serve as information tomes rarely encouraging discussions. In that aspect, Wonder Girls is wholly conducive to igniting opinionated discussions in the class. Students become more forthcoming about their own experiences and how they relate to chapters in the book.
Shrutika Sutar
Students speak
“I want to become a doctor and Dr Vasundhara Rangan is my role model” – Shrutika Sutar
“I want to become a navy pilot and Rucha Nirale is my role model. I have learned so much from the book and I now know that there should be no gender inequality in the world and that girls can also work outside their homes and get so many opportunities just like the boys.” – Kartik Kamble
Smita and Nishi also want to use the book to forge a dialogue between parents and students on aspirations and giving equal opportunities to both boys and girls. We are super stoked by all the conversations that Wonder Girls is generating on-ground. Because it is through difficult and excitingly novel conversations that we see change happen in communities.