Inspiration
Mrinalika Rathore: Changing societal mind-sets and empowering children to speak up, analyse, dream, grow
Teaching children from the slums during her college days is when Mrinalika realised that if there was anything that could bring about the transformation in the mind-set of people, it was only education.
Our series "Teacher Warriors" honours some of the country’s best and bravest teacher warriors, striving to give kids a fighting chance at a better present and a future floating with possibilities. In the ninth episode, Anjana Deepak speaks to Mrinalika Rathore, founder, Sashaktikaran, Rajasthan:
A young girl from a small town Nagore in Rajasthan, born and brought up in a conservative Rajput family in Jaipur, had big dreams to help underprivileged children. Witnessing how chains of orthodoxy and pointless rituals restrict an individual from doing what he/she CAN do, hearing that a girl should not get educated beyond school as it can ‘spoil’ her or will make it difficult for the family to find a groom for her in the community… These things always bothered her. She often spoke to her father about these issues but her questions went unanswered. Teaching children from the slums during her college days is when she realised that if there was anything that could bring about the transformation in the mind-set of people, it was only education.
What was your motivation to start your educational project Sashaktikaran?
In my second year of college, I joined a small student run community project called Chehel. At Chehel we taught students from a slum called Zamrudpur, near our college. And this is where I got all my answers. This is where I realized that if there was anything that could bring about the transformation in mind-sets, it was only one thing – and that is only and only education. I joined Teach for India as a fellow in a government school for two years (one of the best decisions I ever took!) and during my fellowship I came across some brilliant teachers, children and beautiful people. I want every child who is growing up to feel empowered to dream and speak up the way I could! And that is why Sashaktikaran… because education empowers like it empowered me and so many of us.
What is your vision for education for children?
My vision is an education that empowers our children to make a well informed choice in their life, to do what their heart says, to speak up without any fear or inhibition and, most importantly, to analyse themselves and strive to become better human beings for something bigger than their own selves.
In the course of your work, what are the challenges you continue to encounter?
Some of the challenges I continue to encounter are subtle opposition from people around me, finding the right set of people to work with, building investment in all the stakeholders from school to community and, last but not the least, personal conflicts of not being able to do my best every single day.
What are the positive changes you feel happy to have brought about through your work?
Firstly, the change in my own home! My father was one of the strongest critics of the work I did and did not support a lot of exposure for girls in the family but now the change that I see in his mind-set is incredible. Secondly, there is the change in the children whom I have worked with. I see them expressing gratitude for little things, taking responsibility for their own learning, and working hard for their dreams. Thirdly, I see the change in people. All the people I have worked with or have been connected with have been impacted by my work in some way or the other.
Do you feel there is more that the government needs to do?
I feel the government really needs to collaborate more with other private and non-profit stakeholders and use their learning to improve the current system. At the same time, awareness regarding policies like RTE is really low. Just creating policies won’t help if people are not well informed and the execution is not happening efficiently.
What reinforces your belief in your mission?
My mission is to transform learning in schools through transformational teachers. To provide an empowering education, a teacher plays the most crucial role. I have seen my own children transforming through my work. There is no other experience that reinforces my belief in this mission.
What do you see as the role of parents in the education of their children and the degree of their involvement in the school setting?
Parents are the biggest teachers of children. I think 80% of what the child is and how he behaves comes from his/her parents. Parents need to be facilitators who ensure that their child wants to learn and provide him/her a supportive atmosphere to help him/her grow. I think as much as school administration, teachers and students are a part of the decision making process in school, parents are equal stakeholders.
This article was originally published in the June 2017 issue as a part of our cover story on Teacher Warriors. Subscribe to ScooNews Magazine today to have more such stories delivered to your desk every month.
< EP8: Mittal Patel | EP10: Navin Gulia >
Images courtesy – Mrinalika Rathore