Sera Je Secondary School

This school is out in Bylakuppe, near Mysore. It’s a quiet place mostly, unless the students are out on the field. The buildings are old but they stand up well against the rain. We have many students here who stay in the area. Life moves a bit slower in this part of Karnataka. We don't have the big city distractions, just the hills and the trees. The classrooms have wooden desks that have seen better days, but they work fine for writing and reading. We spend a lot of time on basic subjects. Sometimes the electricity goes out in the afternoon, so we just open the windows and keep going with the natural light. It gets a bit chilly in the winter mornings, so everyone wears their heavy sweaters to class. The staff room is always full of tea mugs and old newspapers. We don't have a fancy website or anything like that, we just talk to the parents when they come by. The walk from the main road to the school entrance is a bit dusty in the summer. We try to keep the courtyard clean but with so many feet moving around, it’s a constant battle. Most of us have been working here for years and we know the families well. It’s just a regular secondary school doing what it can with what we have. Nothing more, nothing less. It is a practical way to spend our days helping out the local kids.