Learn2Teach: An Interview with Founder Insiyah Rahim, a Nardagani Partner in India

Nardagani curriculum partner Learn2Teach, which usually focuses on teacher training and has graduated hundreds of teachers over the past five years, has pivoted this summer. Insiyah Rahim, the Founder of Learn2Teach, decided to not only continue teaching teachers but also is actively using The Nardagani Reading Program in India. 

Nardagani spoke with Insiyah about her exciting new Nardagani summer program.

Nardagani: Please tell us about your new Nardagani class this summer? 

Insiyah Rahim: With the second wave of COVID hitting India, children found themselves locked up in their homes. With travel restrictions and not being able to step out of their homes, I wanted to offer The Nardagani Reading program to children to help them improve their reading skills. Traditionally, we had offered the sessions over a period of twelve weeks (two, one hour sessions per week) but with the lockdown we wanted to engage the children everyday. We offered the program daily for 60 minutes (Monday-Friday) over a period of four weeks from May 10th to June 4th, 2021. We wanted to help children use their free time productively vs. passive screen time and video games. It was an experiment for us, we were not very sure if it would work or not. The previous tried and tested method (i.e. having two sessions a week) gave students time to review the concepts. Having class everyday could result in children losing interest if it was getting monotonous. We had to ensure there were lots of fun games, individual attention and small groups of five-six students learning online via Zoom platform with one instructor. 

Nardagani: What are your expectations for these new students this summer?

Insiyah Rahim: My aim was to ensure the children improve a minimum of one grade level in reading in the short term. In the long term I wanted to ensure the children enjoy reading and fall in love with the books and stories they would read. I wanted the children to be lifelong readers and not just focus on engaging them for 20 sessions. The results were phenomenal, even better than before. Having class everyday, made the children not forget the symbols as they were constantly in touch with what they were learning. The student and facilitator formed a bond, started sharing with each other and were able to learn very well. That is the beauty of the Nardagani program. It makes reading so simple, it works for every age group, offline, online, sessions daily or even spread over multiple weeks. We spread the word in the parent community and instantly had four batches full!

Nardagani: How does teaching these students resonate with you personally? 

Insiyah Rahim: I absolutely love to read! The best time of my day is when my daughter Aaliya (9 years old), my son Rehan (5.5 year old) and I spend 30-60 minutes reading before we go to bed. It is like a family reading time. My son usually asks my daughter to explain some new words he might come across. He learned to read through the Nardagani program and reads above his grade level. Teaching children to read through Learn2Teach is so fulfilling for me, for multiple reasons—I am able to employ facilitators and help them have a source of income from something they are passionate about, I am able to enhance, learn, improve reading skills in children through a simple and highly effective manner. The frustration is out and confidence is in!

Nardagani: Have you taught Nardagani to adults yet?

Insiyah Rahim: As I had some extra time due to the lockdown and pandemic situation, I decided to teach two of my live-in house helpers to read. When I offered them this, they couldn't believe it! They had spent years trying to read English in vain. In just 8 sessions they were able to read the first two books! They thank me everyday and I feel proud to have empowered them. We still have a few weeks to go and I cant wait to see them read fluently and independently. It will improve the quality of their life if they are able to read.

Click here to learn more about the Nardagani Reading Program, take our Masterclass, and watch Narda’s TEDx talk, “A New Way to Learn to Read English.”