Where law-breakers don't know the consequences of their actions,
Where government servants are not charged up about their work,
Where criminals are out on the loose, contemplating murders, robberies and rapes,
Where parents don't realize how and when their boys turn into brutes,
Where these brutes can't contain their urges at the sight of a woman,
And where women don't feel safe outside, many in their own homes as well...
India, you are truly incredible.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. ”
