Searching for inspiration

Another month goes by, and now its been exactly three months since I have started teaching.A lot has changed during this time, in me and hopefully withing the class too.Things for sure have improved but I am not too sure whether the pace is right. There are days when you really have to think of methods of making the classes more interesting in order to maintain the attention of the students.I try taking inspiration from my day to day activities and also from arbit things happening around that I can use in class to demonstrate or talk about so as to make the kids understand their application in life. It has been a very enriching experience so far and am looking forward to making it a 'enriching and valuable' experience for the children too. There are times when I really need to dig deep to get the best out and at times it is a complete failure. It is these moments that one needs to avoid even more so because the time spent within the classroom is as it very less. Compounding it is also the number of holidays, events in school, time wasteage and not to forget that my stay here is only for two years and I need to ensure that the kids get to understand and learn what I have to offer within these two years. I don't know whether I will be able to do so with all the 58 kids that I have, but if I am able to make a difference to the lives of even 15 of them I will feel reasonably happy that I have contributed in some form to their lives. There are also times when one feels helpness about not being able to help someone else despite knowing the weakness but none the less I am these days a big optimist and always have the belief that everyone can improve. Some just need to be given additonal time...the wait may be long but when the result is achieved the joy is an surreal feeling. I hope that in the next two months I have opportunities to show the kids what growth means and teach them values that will help them later on in life.

School Atlast...!!!

Yes...finally...have started the real work of teaching and now have been 1 month into the job. It feels amazing...reflecting on how the last month has passed just makes me wonder on whether things could be done a tad baeeter but then things in hindsight can always be improved upon.
Given that I am a novice in the teaching profession, I must say my first few days of school were a mixture of nervousness and anxiety. What if I am unable to live up to the expectations of the students, what if something goes wrong in the middle of the class, what if I don’t get along well with my colleagues and numerous other questions. I am happy to say those fears were just a passing phase and have improved everyday as teacher and more importantly towards becoming a better human being. I teach Grade 2 students of a municipal school in Pune which has kids coming from underprivileged backgrounds but the amount of zeal and the urge to excel is second to none. When the kids come up words like Blink or Bluff in a phonics lesson or be it the sheer inquisitiveness in questioning everything right from why do we sing the National Anthem to what is the need to learn addition or the mere innocence portrayed when they ask “Bhaiya, why don’t we have extra class today?”, one just can’t help but have the faith and sense of possibility that one day they too will be able to lead the life they want and the education they get will alone be the gateway to their goal. Yes, there are a few who are slight out of line but I have the faiththey too will slowly improve.
. They should be able to develop a process of framing opinions and questioning every action taking place around them and take independent decisions. If they are able to transform their thoughts into action in terms of action and being a good citizen I will be satisfied with the work that I have done. On a personal level , teaching is an extremely difficult profession where in one has to put a lot of thought in terms of planning a lesson and thereafter executing it while keeping in mind the mishaps that can happen during a lesson. One has also bear in mind they are role models for innocuous children and enormous amount of responsibility rests on that of a teacher to shape the future of a kid. There is a lot that can be learnt in a teaching exercise and my respect for teachers has increased manifold after this experience.
Luckily for me I have all the support from my colleagues at school and the Principal herself. Despite being a new entrant in the system and having a different background, they have been very accommodative and helped me. Yes, there will always be differences between two idealogies but I guess one needs to live with it and try changing things. However I am sure things will be much better as the year progresses.
Ultimately when you reflect about your day in school thinking about the various lessons, you will always come across a better way of doing the same thing again but the critical point is to be aware that you gave your best shot today and that your kids are approaching the desired mastery level.