We all have been at a point where we complain about our terrible circumstances. We lose our hope and are not able to fight further. And that’s alright. It’s understandable that life hasn’t been fair to all of us at least once.
But what’s not understandable is that despite being the most creative creature on the planet, we sometimes underestimate our abilities. We end up not able to make the best out of the situation. We are not able to look at the opportunity that tough times bring.
Hereby, today we bring you the story of a common Indian man, professionally a teacher who made history winning the Global Teacher prize recently in 2020. Amid the tough covid pandemic, we saw a lot of pain but courage as well. We saw innovations and adjustments. We saw love and help. And this story is weaved with all of it.
Born on 20th November 1988, Mr. Ranjitsinh Disale is from Paritewadi, Maharashtra. Currently, he teaches in a government school changing lives all around him. But this journey started in 2009 when he shifted his mindset of being an IT engineer to being a teacher. He was appointed for a school that seemed simply dull. Full of ruins and despair, it needed a touch of magical beings like Mr. Disale.
A village where child marriages became a decade long ritual and where women were looked down upon needed the magical touch. Many women were not allowed to study after
the basics, and many not ever in their lifetime. This was a village where not only were the schools dull and broken but also the people, especially children.
Often in our lives we come across similar situations but we deny to change accordingly. Or we are helpless. We cannot see something beyond the given fate and that’s what doesn’t change the situation at all. Later, we either accept or say everything’s our fate.
But people like Mr. Disale binds us with faith. These people bring hope to the society via their deeds. What were his deeds?
It was the innovation and creativity of a common teacher who decided to make education fun for all the students.
Mr. Ranjitsinh Disale after visiting the school and teaching the children, found that there were a lot of hurdles which stopped them from learning further. The first hurdle was the language barrier. Children didn’t know how to learn from textbooks as these textbooks were not present in their first language.
This made Mr. Ranjitsinh introduced QR codes in the textbooks of the children in order to set a gateway to their language. Additionally, it was made learning very entertaining. Students could get access to audio poems, fun educational games, videos and more which made them understand concepts very easily. Apart from that, he soon started designing personalised textbooks for kids. Based on the individual growth, he would design tests and textbooks to skyrocket the growth of everyone.
Resultantly, he got noticed. He won the ‘Innovative Researcher of the Year 2016’ award and then ‘National Innovation Foundation’s Innovator of the Year 2018’ award as well. And in 2020, he won the biggest of all the prizes, the Global Teacher prize. The prize was of $ 1 million and made people wonder what this man will make out of it. Probably he would improve the condition of his family or school or buy some luxurious stuff for himself etc.
But to everyone’s surprise, he asked to share the prize with other contestants. This humbling and selfless deed of Mr. Ranjitsinh swayed people across the globe. And while he is still making the best of whatever he has, his story keeps inspiring millions of people on the planet.
Takeaway:
Life of Mr. Ranjitsinh Disale tells us to keep hustling and striving for the best. Whenever humanity loses hope, stories of such people inspired millions to change. To change for the better. You might not have the best PC to learn editing on, or the affordability to buy the best books, but what you have is enough to get you wherever you want to be.
On one hand, when Mr. Disale saw the condition of both the school and children, he could have easily chosen to separate his path from it. After all who would fight it all to make the best of the dull? But he didn’t. And that was when a hero was born. We hope this inspired you to go for whatever goal you have on your ‘to-do’ list.
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