A tryst with destiny
Divya Mishra
Long ago, when I was persuing my technical education, someone told me, ‘Whether you believe or not, there is a teacher inside you.’ I never thought of becoming a teacher. But some things are destined to happen. Five years ago, I became a teacher for very young four-year-old champs. I was a novice in the field of education. From seniors and people around me I learnt that if I wanted to become a good teacher I must also be a good learner. And this was a wonderful initiation into my journey as a teacher.
I have learnt more than I have taught and this article is my opportunity to analyze how my children have made me a better person.
Every morning, my students and I gather in a circle and talk about something. One morning after my 5 and 6 year olds sat around me, I told them we were going to talk about respecting our parents. I said, “My dears, did you all touch your parents’ feet before coming to school? Remember they are next to God, for all of us…,” but before I could finish my point, I heard a very humble voice, “Ma’am! Sorry but I am a Muslim. Touching feet is not in our tradition,” he said. I was surprised rather shocked at this unexpected statement. How was I to answer this boy? Was I asking my student to go against his religion? As I was still pondering, a little girl from the circle stood up and said, “Yeh Hindu-Muslim kuch nai hota hai Ryan. Mummy, papa toh mummy papa hote hain, ma’am ne kya bola? Parents are next to God, tu padd lena pair, kuch nahi hoga.”
I was shaken out of my skin for the second time that day. This little girl made me realize how sensible children can be no matter their age. The way she expressed her mature thoughts was really commendable and certainly it was a big learning.
Another incident. 2018 was a very challenging year for me with grade 1. Even after my best efforts I was failing to set the reading benchmark in my class. Two months to go and I almost gave up. Like every other day we started our classes with a reading session. As usual children were reading the grade 1 level text. There was a girl in my class, a fastidious six year old with a lot of attitude and conviction in whatever she was doing. She never interacted with anybody. It was difficult for the class to socialize with her. That day, she came to me and said, “Ma’am I have read all the books kept in the class library and now I am helping two of my friends to read these books. Can I get some more books?” Astounded by her words, I could see that a girl who did not like to interact much with anyone, was actually standing with me in my struggle, helping those she never considered her friends before. I realized that I was no more alone. She gave me back that ‘passion to evolve good readers’, which I had lost. I reworked on the reading program. I made buddy partners, gave them short-term goals in reading levels and much more. And finally, I was surprised to see the remarkable improvement in the reading levels of my children.
It was assessment time, a few months ago. My grade 1 was busy writing their exam, when suddenly I heard two children whispering. I immediately went to them and said, “Caught you! My dear, why are you cheating? Don’t give him the answers. He will not learn anything out of it.” Very calmly, the child replied, “Ma’am I am not ‘cheating’ rather I am ‘teaching’ him how to write.” I had no words. I realized that I was losing the positivity inside me and this child gave me back one of the most beautiful essences of life. Yes! He made me a ‘positive teacher’ again.
And only a week ago, I was struggling with the class dynamics. I could see the differences in the children because of the diverse environment. I was trying to build a healthy peer relationship in my class as I could feel the emotional disturbance inside the children. There were also children with special needs in my class. Some of them could not even express their emotions and feelings. It was becoming difficult for me. And while I was going through all this, a very strange thing happened. The children had to go for their music class. While they were leaving, I was busy arranging things for the next scheduled activity and I saw two children were struggling to arrange their things properly before moving to the music class. These two children were helping each other so that they could complete their task properly and on time. It was a very special moment! These were children with special needs, children who couldn’t express their feelings, speak about their needs were actually helping one another. It was so uplifting to see them like this. Looking at them I questioned my frustration about the classroom dynamics. It was nothing but a lack of patience that was causing this frustration. These children helped me realize that it was high time to raise my patience level, and then nothing would be impossible.
These experiences have made me strongly believe in what Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘Live as if you were to die tomorrow and learn as if you were to live forever’.
The author is a primary teacher at The Aarambh School, Raipur. She can be reached at divya@aarambhschool.com.
