Our school had taken an initiative to teach various activities to students who are underprivileged and we were a part of it. Students from grade 7-9 and 11 had to choose any activity of their interest and had to teach them to these children. I have an interest in art and craft so I decided to be the in charge of craft. These services were given to kids on the weekends for 3 hours. Before weekends we had to make an agenda of what we are going to teach and coordinate with fellow members in the same group. Being in charge I had to take the initiative to deliver the ideas to everyone and had the order the resources accordingly. We aimed at teaching things which they could make easily and could use it in their daily lives. Few things that we taught them were windmill, door hangings and paper lanterns. Interacting with these children was fun as they were very passionate about learning new things and were enthusiastic, seeing their energy levels we were also motivated to put in more efforts and prepare better classes for the coming weekends.

The learning outcomes that I met were:

L1: Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth:

Before teaching kids I practiced things myself by looking at the tutorials. While making the demo pieces I perceived that I was making them exactly same and quite fast. I realised that my prior experience of craft which is my strength helped me in doing so which I could use as a tool to teach better items. It was important for me to identify my strength which is craft so that I work further on it to develop better skills. When we had a combined session of art and craft I discovered that I am not that good at drawing pictures which I will have to work upon as it is my weakness.

L3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience:

There were two students in charge for every six sessions. Mokshi, my classmate was there along with me. Together we took the initiative to make plans and coordinate with our juniors. We watched videos in our free slots so that we could teach these kids something which is creative yet easy to make. For the first class, we wanted to start with something basic so we decided to teach them windmills. Coordinating with the juniors and telling them to watch the videos before coming was a big task. Some of them were not ready to listen and ended up coming unprepared so we had to teach them quickly before these kids came. This experience is very helpful and in the near future, I know how I have to manage things and deal with people.

L4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences:

My companion and I showed commitment to planning the classes, coordinating with juniors and by ordering resources on time. We also had to come on Saturdays and Sundays which was very difficult for us as we had to get up early on our holidays. But to fulfill our responsibilities we were ready to do that.  We also showed perseverance as there were few difficulties that we faced. Our free slots timing were different from our juniors so we had to meet them during the breaks and had to tell them the agenda for the coming weekend. While implementing the task we faced few problems as some of the juniors did not use to come in the breaks so were unaware of the agenda and the kids were very small and were not able to grasp things quickly so we had to be very patient while dealing with them. We were successful in our task even after a lot of struggle due to everyone’s commitment and enthusiasm.

L7: Recognise and consider the ethics of choices and actions:

While interacting with these kids my behaviour and actions played a key role as they had different backgrounds than us. I made sure that I deal with the kids in a way which is pleasing to them and in which they are comfortable. I also made sure that I give everyone equal attention so that there are no biases, we as a group wanted to bring out the best in the kids and by giving them fair opportunities to excel and this was the ethics we took into consideration while taking any decisions.

The learner profile characteristics that are developed in this CAS experience are

1. Communicators: As we collaborated effectively with our juniors by listening to their individual perspectives or queries.

2. Thinkers: As we used our creative thinking skills to come with the best possible ideas that could to taught to children easily.

3. Open Minded: As we appreciated and respected the indifferences between these kids and us. We valued their actions and helped them learn.

4. Caring: As we had the commitment to service and wanted a positive change around us. We wanted children to have their best time experiencing new things and developing new skills which they will cherish in future. We also showed kindness, compassion and respect towards them so that they don’t feel shy.

This activity taught me how to work in a team and developed my leadership skills which will surely help me in the future. Overall it was a great experience teaching the kids.