To clear a student’s doubt regarding a scientific fact, science teacher K Sureshkumar approached several leading academics in Kerala. When he could not find a satisfactory answer, he dashed off a letter to APJ Abdul Kalam, former president of India. Not only did he get his doubt clarified, but he also got a letter of appreciation from Kalam.
The 62-year-old national award-winning teacher (2012) says that the mark of a good teacher is his/her ability in igniting a child’s curiosity and encouraging her to ask questions. To practise what he preaches, in 2017 he opened a pedagogical laboratory, Total Empowerment for Science Learning Activities, at Kootapara, near Karakulam, on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram.
Like many woke senior citizens, Suresh is all set to begin a new career as a mentor and help children enjoy Physics and its fundamental laws and concepts by giving them hands-on experience in his laboratory. In large airy rooms overlooking the Karamana river, students get to explore scientific facts taught in their textbooks. More than 100 experiments, mostly in Physics, have been set up in the 5,000-square feet building that he constructed on 15 cents (equal to 6534 square feet) of land.
