Rubi Ma’am The Pride Of Tiruchengode

Rubi MA’am

THE PRIDE OF TIRUCHENGODE

Prashanth S

“All I wanted to do was teach students who found Maths boring and really difficult. All I wanted to do was to show them that there is indeed another way to study Maths and other subjects, and this is what God has given me. Rusty, worn-out joints and bed rest for three months. I can’t see my students for three months. Is this what I deserve?” says Rubi Catherine Theresa, shedding a tear while talking about the excruciating pain she is in. Rubi Theresa, referred to as “Rubi Ma’am” by almost evereyone works as a teacher in Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Tiruchengode. Her claim to fame is her YouTube channel, which has about 218k subscribers, which is rather interesting, considering the fact that she posts Maths videos in Tamil. If you drop by the school, you can hear her explaining to her class how to remember all the prime numbers from one to hundred or how to remember the multiplication table of 19 using charts. She spoke to Prashanth Saravanan about her life, how she began teaching and the struggles she goes through on a daily basis to continue doing what she does best. Excerpts from the interview:

WHEN DID YOU DECIDE THAT YOU WERE GOING TO BE A TEACHER?

It was way back in 1989. I was in dire need of money, and I decided to ask a tuition teacher nearby to let me coach one student of hers so that I could get something out of it. Naturally, I was given the slowest learner of the batch. After he started scoring well, more students joined, and I ended up being the more popular tuition teacher in my locality. I eventually found my passion to teach from a supposed one-time thing of teaching to earn money.

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THESE INNOVATIVE METHODS OF TEACHING THIS OTHERWISE DREADED SUBJECT?

My son introduced me to YouTube and I started watching Math-related videos after school hours. There was this one time, I came across a video where a person was trying to teach the multiplication table of 5. I got to thinking, and tried to apply the same logic with slight modifications for other numbers, and that was how I got creative with the multiplication tables of 13 and 19. I made a PowerPoint presentation with the help of my son and showed it to my students. The content seemed to click with them, and I chose to teach them the subject this way because they couldn’t hate Mathematics after I showed them another way of looking at multiplication tables.

WHY DO YOU THINK YOUR VIDEOS ARE POPULAR THAN ANY OTHERS WHO’VE TRIED TO DO THE SAME?

Every other YouTube channel that does the same thing and my channel have one thing in common – we try to break the stereotype that Maths is a boring subject. We try to make the subject more interesting by trying to be creative and all the others excel in that part. What I think sets me apart from the others is connecting to the person watching the video, and that is what I think is my selling point. All the videos taken are when I am in class, teaching my students. So, the connect I establish with my own students is the connect I establish with my viewers. It’s more about the people connecting with the content that I had to offer than the content.

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEA OF UPLOADING YOUR METHODS ON YOUTUBE?

(laughs) I did not upload the videos for the sake of recognition. I had to do it because I did not have any more space in my phone to make and edit more videos to show it to my students. Eventually, it got a bit popular and people started asking me to do more videos more often because it made the subject easier for their children. And that was when I knew what I was doing makes an impact and so, that’s how this whole thing started.

Back when I was a tuition teacher, the students I had to teach came from well-off families. But now, these students come from not-so-economically secure families. Despite all the problems they face at home, they make it a point to not miss school for it is these 8-odd school hours that gives them an escape from all the hardships that they face at home. I feel that being kind to these kids can help change their lives. That is what I’ve been trying to do – be kind and not take out my emotions on these students and that is what sets me apart from other teachers.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO TELL PRESENT-DAY TEACHERS?

Teaching is not any profession. Teaching is not a profession. Teachers have this ability to change lives and provide new career paths for students. It’s how we treat these students that will decide what sort of a person they choose to be in this society. And the first thing to do is to accept them for who they are. Teachers nowadays lash out at students for getting a problem wrong. The role of a teacher is to make the subject interesting enough for a student to follow it with intent, and if a student fails to see the subject as interesting, it is the teacher that has to change her approach and not the student.