Of Teaching And Learning

When you start to teach... There's so much that you learn yourself. It's a two-way process.

I will be narrating one such process here. This is when I fully understood the potential of the teacher's influence over her students. One of my personal favorite. Story of a young teacher who grew to understand the value of teaching and learning as a parallel path to overall growth and development.

I joined teaching way back in 1994 and having completed 26 years in this field, I feel like I have been blessed. I started out as a starry-eyed young girl from a small Citytownship - Meerut. At that age, one thinks the world is yours to change and recreate.

Well... The dream kept me going. My first experience was in a smaller school in Dehu road Cantt. The boys in my class 11&12 were taller than me. I used to teach them History( in hindi).This was one of those schools, which had sections ability-wise. So to my dismay, I had the lowest ability group. The first day I walked into the class, the boys threw a flying kiss at me ... Aghast!! I ran out... A teacher passing by calmed me down and braved me up to re-enter the room. I did that and started speaking... The crispest and refined English I knew. Only to learn this group of kids barely understood a word... I soon realized I would have to teach in Hindi to get across to any one of them.

I took out a dictionary... Sat with it each day to translate words like "Alliance" Conflict " " Treaty" Nationalism, militarized, and the list goes on and on and on. I would cry through the nights, deliver through the day. Say my "Gayatri mantra" Every day before I entered the class. Never did I bother about maintaining discipline... I just delivered and came back.

The first unit test told the story I predicted but feared most! The girls did extremely well but the boys failed the test!!!

I went to my class very disappointed that day... I had determined to hold the bull by its horns. At the entrance, there was chaos, upon inquiry one realized the teacher of the previous lesson was in trouble - he had slapped one of the tallboys, and the boy had lifted the chair to hit him.!! I scooted for dear life.

Later I was told the teacher had lashed out in my defence... The boys passing snide comments at my teaching skills, at how beautiful I was and that they attended my classes, not for the subject but to stare at me... "Taaadne ke liye" they said. All of 23, fresh out of my B. Ed course, newly married to an army officer. The 'proper' me was scandalized beyond words. I reached the principal and asked her to relieve me of my duties. She sat me down and like true leader taught me my first lessons of "what makes a teacher ".

I went back, shivering inside. So jittery and jelly-like... But what I spoke that day still echoes in my ears and it must for the students sitting in the class that day. I spoke in Shudh ( pure) Hindi and uttered every word with an emphasis that could instill the fear of God in even the Devil himself!

"I am here as your teacher, you like me, you find me beautiful, you want to stare- go ahead! I am honored that you should think so. You don't hear what I say, don't .but read these notes I made for you staying up the whole night, just so that you don't fail the upcoming test. As I said I am here as your teacher but I can be your mom, your sister, your friend, your guide, your buddy... Choose. I most definitely cannot be an item to stare... That insults me. So I request you to not insult me but help me to help you. If you still are not convinced then let's get into this challenge - let's stare at each other every day... Let's see who wins ".

I smiled, patted the boy who got into the tiff with the other subject teacher and said: " Beta, aapse start karte hain challenge " ( son, let's start with you).

Thrown off balance and off guard, under the pressure of the other mesmerized students, he was drawn to a blank. Every time I felt stared at... I'd look deep into the eyes of the starer... And the look was averted. Things settled down. They started to warm up towards my teaching strategies.... Not as much as to the person.

September... Teachers day, my dreaded day... I didn't want to go to school. I woke up crying, ran to 'my army personnel ' for support, of course, got none. Dressed half heartedly and landed up at school... The younger kids surrounded me, flooding me with flowers and cards... Happy faces, smilling gestures. Till I had my lesson with THE BATCH. No boy wished me, girls were courteous. Anyways the half an hour got over and I ran to the comfort of staff lounge.

Later in the day, we all gathered in the assembly area for the celebrations. Each senior student had to escort the teacher out to the field, present a flower and say crew words for them. Of course! I had the most number of flowers, students and praises... They had planned this surprise for me. The "boy" went on the stage and said, "aapne humein dikhaya rasta, aapne samjhaya jo kabhi nahi tha ho sakta, aapne chodha nahin saath, aapko de na sake hum maat" ( you showed us the way, you taught what nobody else could, you didn't give up on us and we, therefore, accept defeat). And then this tall huge boy comes across the field hugs me, touches my feet and breaks down to ask for forgiveness.

That was 25 years back... I learned never say die for "my kids".They are all "beta", they are mine and I work at all, all my children equally hard... Because I can never give up on them.