Interview with Mr. Maunthrooa

Mr. Deepak Maunthrooa teaches English Language and English Literature to students of Form 1 to HSC. He currently works at Ebene Boys SSS. 

Tell us about yourself and why did you choose to become a teacher?

Did I choose to become a teacher or did the profession choose me, I won’t be able to say. After 14 years educating, coaching, teaching, counselling, supporting and encouraging students, I find that this is the career meant for me.

– It has become a popular view that the current generation of students are no longer interested in “learning”. Do you agree with that statement?

No, it is just that “learning” has changed and should no more be done as it used to be done some decades back. The chalk-and-talk method has phased out. Some believe that students should adapt to teaching but I believe that we Educators should adapt our teaching to some extent for the benefit of our students.

– What is the “Cooperative Learning by DM” facebook page?

This is a group I created on Facebook some years back after completing my PGCE at the MIE. The name itself (Cooperative Learning) is a term I encountered during one of my modules. The group regroups my actual and ex-students and it is meant to be a platform of sharing, coaching and learning, where more mature students share with the juniors. I normally post whatever I find useful for SC & HSC level and I have received much praise from those who seriously make use of the resources I put at the tips of their fingers.

I do my best to relate my lessons to what I post in that group. Whenever I plan group work and project based lessons, the students are required to use that group; those not on FaceBook are also taken into account, no worry about that.

– Do you think that Social Media can play a role in the education of our youth?

At a time when many parents come to school and say that their sons/daughters spend most of their time on the Net, on FaceBook, on Instagram, I have used the social media in a way to fit my teaching. We have to face it, students are using it, so why not put it at their advantage and have them use it judiciously. They need to be guided towards proper and relevant resources and means.

What are your thoughts about JA Programs?

I encountered the JA Programs during my spell at RCPL in 2011. The person in charge, Mrs Reekoye, took me under her wing and the JA Program flourished during the following years. Taking the lead to launch JA at Ebene SSS-Boys during my first few months there already gives an idea about what I think of the JA Programs. I just hope to have more dedicated colleagues to give me a helping hand; in the end, we are doing all these for the benefit of our students.
I have also used FaceBook to post pictures of what I normally do in JAM activities, so as to create some awareness among my students.