The Power of Sharing

Like most people I know, I get impacted by the thoughts and actions of other people and I do experience those occasional moments of frustration, loneliness and grief. Often times I get too anxious and it directly impacts my work and productivity, relationships with friends and colleagues. I had a rough last week and until this afternoon, I was affected by the negativity which emanated from those unpleasant experiences. I was carrying the burden of those strong emotions in my head and it was making me feel sick. I needed something cathartic; I needed to do something that would leave me feeling better about myself; I needed to speak to someone and pour my heart out. A cup of hot coffee and an hour and a half later, I am feeling charged up and ready to take on the world! In fact, I just ticked three things off my to-do list.  

TFI Mini-Diary-VI

Continued from here. I am aware of the fact that my kids have learned and been exposed to tremendous amounts of new things ever since I started teaching them. They have bigger and more beautiful aspirations in life and I know for sure that many of them will attend college and work afterwards. This definitely puts them in a better position than their peers in school and community. By getting them to lead their own teams, work in pairs and groups, solve their problems themselves, speak in public, write well, listen to everyone, be respectful, feel great and confident about themselves, they are learning some of the most important values, mindsets and skills needed to be successful in life.

On Death: Some Lessons

Life never ceases to surprise and, in some cases, shock anyone

I did not know them very well. But the shocking news of their untimely demise sent chills down my spine and made me sit back and take notice of the harsh realities of life. I feel it's time to shed away those rose-tinted glasses.

                        

Death creates voids, but love helps in filling up those empty spaces

It is tough, really tough to deal with the loss of a loved one. The only way out, I feel, is to live on for them; their souls wouldn't like to see us inconsolable and anguished. Let our love for them never die.

                         

Life is too short and too precious to live with bitterness or any regrets

I am determined to live a life of purpose, want to take in as many experiences and give back as much as possible. I want to feel universal love, live through testing times, overcome my fears, taste successes, expand my locus of control, envision a better world and create it, celebrate happiness and inspire positivity before the final goodbye.

Love for Children

As I struggled to breath a sigh of relief after a hard day at school today, little Armaan ran towards me and touched my feet. I always tell him not to do so; he doesn't listen to me. I gave him a hug and then he went away. He is not my student, not even in my school, and yet we have formed a special bond. People talk about love in different contexts. For me, love is the reason that I wake up every morning to leave for school despite sleeping late at night, continue teaching even when my throat aches and voice cracks and keep thinking about my children even when there are other relevant things to think about. 

TFI Mini-Diary- V

Continued from here. I finally planned my Be The Change project and began working on it. It was difficult to convince all stakeholders but somehow I managed. My project is titled The Smart Student Project and is about offering different experiences and exposures to all children of my school, in the form of workshops, competitions, music and dance activities, sports, promotion of reading, playing indoor and outdoor games, and learning beyond the classroom. The overall objective is to make the schooling years of all the children joyous and fun, and I have already started seeing a difference. 

TFI Mini-Diary- IV

Continued from here. I knew from day one that the fellowship was going to be hard. Year one was a real struggle as I hadn't taught before and teaching isn't the easiest of jobs in the world. Year two posed its own major challenges because the organization requires its fellows to not only teach with the same rigor and enthusiasm as in first year, but simultaneously do a project (in their schools) which impacts and benefits ALL children, and not just those in their classes. And so I began planning for my BTCP (Be The Change Project). I spoke to the teachers in my school about this and they gave me their ideas. I compared the facilities and experiences I received in my Alma mater with what this school had to offer its students. By this time, I had also formed my definition for an excellent education. 

An excellent education is a combination of various favorable factors for a child, including academics, non-academics, values and mindsets, sports, social-consciousness and spirituality. All these factors plus a healthy and joyous environment at home and school, exposure to the world around to promote the learning and development of a child.

TFI Mini-Diary-III

Continued from here. After bidding farewell to my friends and colleagues from Pune and Mumbai, I came back to Delhi and started teaching in my placement school, an all-girls’ Municipal school. I became a teacher of class 3 and was given an English-medium class. I was in for a rude shock. Unlike my students in Pune, these children knew no English and for the first few days, I don’t think they understood anything about the things I was telling them. It took time, perseverance, relentless hard work, reflection, more learning, un-learning and a never-say-die spirit to reach a point where I concluded that all my children were following me. But that was not enough. I wanted them to communicate with me, not just orally, prove that they were learning and understanding, which took more time. With a little help of my friends, and the support of my managers in the organization, I finished off my first year of teaching successfully in March, earlier this year.

TFI Mini-Diary- II

Continued from here. These were my thoughts as well when I joined the Teach for India fellowship programme 16 months ago. My passion to serve the children of the nation got me into FLAME, Pune where I met hundreds of young men and women, who were just as passionate about this cause. Some of these people had left their well-paying jobs to serve this cause, while others, like me, opted for the fellowship after their graduation. We were taught how to teach, and we practiced by teaching for a month in low-income schools in Pune. Each day and each night, we worked relentlessly hard to plan lessons and activities for our children, teaching them to do well in their end of unit assessments, and doing a showcase event of all that they learned over four weeks. The training programme of the fellowship was exhilarating.

TFI Mini-Dairy-I

When you visit a low-income school in any part of India, there is a lot you will see that will make you really angry and a lot that will make you really, really inspired. You will feel angry when you see students studying in dire conditions, available resources not being put to their best use, real teaching never happening in the classrooms, and innocent dreams of children getting crushed each day. And these are the same sorts of things that will inspire you to put your foot down and say, “enough is enough, I have to take a stand. These children deserve a better education and I will provide it to them. ”