Been a while again...But when I was thinking this Sunday afternoon what should I share with you guys, my immediate thought was - "cuteness in the classroom". Yes, be it that my time in the classroom is filled with tremendous pressure, there is occasional cuteness that I get to see around which puts a smile and eases out my work load. Here are a few instances of the same...
Cuteness #1: The other day, I was teaching adjectives to the kids. I was writing sentences on the board and they were picking out adjectives and listing them in their notebooks. I wrote a sentence "Jainab is fair but Ruhi didi is dark." When I turned around, I saw Sonal raising her hand. She kept raising her hand in spite of being told to list the adjectives in her notebook. I asked her what she wanted, to which she replied "Didi aap mere liye fair hi ho (Didi you are fair for me)". I could not believe what Sonal said...It was not to flatter me. But this girl knew it did not matter how I looked from outside. I would be lying if I said I am not conscious about my skin color. That day was as if God spoke to me through Sonal's voice :)
Cuteness #2: In yet another grammar lessons when I wrote "The girls were sitting quietly yesterday"; Deepak cutely responded "that means there are not sitting quietly today". I not only smiled at his reaction but was proud that he was able to comprehend and add his own thoughts to something as simple as that!
Cuteness #3: We have JAM (just a minute) sessions at the end of the day. The kids are given a topic and they have to speak as many sentences as they can as a team. One of the teams got a topic "rabbit" to which Bhagyashree added "Rabbit is didi's favorite animal". I was only engrossed in counting the number of sentences at that moment. But when school ended Bhagyashree told me "Didi you remember? You told me that you like rabbit long time back." I smiled and at the same time was overwhelmed to hear she remembered something I completely forgot.
Cuteness #4: Vidhan is a pre-kg level kid. He is slightly above average at Math but extremely poor at reading. Due to this reason he keeps fidgeting when something that is not at his level of understanding is going on in class. Especially reading 3rd standard text books. One day I got furious at his attitude. I told him even if words are difficult for him he should not give up like this. Next day Vidhan's mother comes to me after school and tells me Vidhan said there is a lot he has to cope up with to reach 3rd standard level.
Cuteness #5: I was teaching kids about states of substances and the exact sentence I said was "we take in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide while plants take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen". Before I could move on, Shreyesh said "this is exchange of goods like we studied in History". I was so motivated that somewhere the kids were understanding and linking stuff together and my efforts were not going in vein.
Out of all these instances it revealed to me yet another time that kids minds are like clean canvases. Pour the right colors on them and they will make a beautiful picture for themselves. There is no limit to their cuteness :)
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Feel the rainbow in your heart...
This may not be directly linked to TFI, but as it happened during the same journey, I want to share with you what I would call "The most content day of my life". Yesterday, I was riding back home after school at 1 o clock. The sun was comparatively harsh for a winter afternoon. An old dark man caught my eye when I was on the Sinhagad road flyover which goes towards Chandni Chowk. The man was wearing a soiled white kurta and pajama with a traditional Indian white cap. He was gasping and walking snail speed. I stopped to offer a lift. He said no thanks initially and said, the mere thought of me stopping by and offering a lift was more than enough for him. I insisted him a bit and after a little hesitation he got on the bike holding his small pink polythene bag. He said he wanted to go to Dehu road.
I did not know where Dehu road was. To my surprise one of the milestones on way said "Dehu road - 23 kms". I asked the old man whether he was going to walk all the way to Dehu road. He said yes. To add further to my surprise, he came walking from Katraj ghat (10 kms+ from where I offered him a lift). I was puzzled and asked him why he did not take some bus? He said he had only 50Rs. with him which he had to save as he was going to see a doctor for some treatment. I was taken aback and decided not to go home (Chandni Chowk) and drive further to Baner so that the man had to walk a little less towards his destination. He said drop me wherever you please.
On way it came to light that this old man was quite a wise person. He had flunked in 11th grade because of English. He expressed his irritation towards his school for promoting all kids even if they did not do well in English exams. He said he would have cleared 11th and studied further if his school had detained him for not doing well in English at the right time. He would have worked hard if he failed. He was working as a peon in an accounts department somewhere but now retired. He was going to Dehu road for a cataract surgery of his eye which was free under some policy post retirement. While riding, I was constantly thinking of how far Dehu road still was. I wished to drop this man all the way to where he wanted instead of Baner. But I was dreading that my bike would run out of fuel and there were no fuel stations around. We reached the Baner square where the man got down and touched my feet. In the bright sun, I could now see his blue colored cataract infected eyes filled with gratitude. I also noticed a thin bed sheet in his bag which he probably used to rest up on during his long walking journey. This old man, who was by now like my own grandpa, blessed me, wore his cap and started walking. I was in pain to see him walk again!
I started riding towards Nikhil's house in Baner; still thinking if I should find a fuel station, refill and go back to help the old man. When I reached Nikhil's house he was a bit surprised and asked me how come I was at Baner at that hour? When I told Nikhil about the whole story he wasted no time and took out the car to help the old man. We hit the highway again. The old man had not walked too far from where I had dropped him earlier. We found him at a roadside juice vendor drinking water. I told him "Aaba (grandpa), we have come to drop you to Dehu road". He was surprised, delighted, confused, thankful all at the same time. We all had pineapple juice and Aaba sat at the back seat of the car.
Nikhil asked Aaba where exactly was the hospital at Dehu road? And I was further surprised to know that he actually had to go to Mumbai and Dehu road was a destination from where he would get cheaper bus ticket to Mumbai. We were more shocked to know he started his journey on 2nd from Satara district (his home) to reach Mumbai on 10th for the operation. Yes! He walked in stretches everyday with only a cup or two of chai in the day. As he had not had lunch we took him to Hotel Tamanna at Hinjewadi. Nikhil and I were keen to know more about Aaba. We looked at each other with raised eyebrows when we heard that Aaba was 75 years old. We could notice and sense his age when his hands shivered as he held the glass of water. We spoke about his family and his work. Aaba observed the people and the hotel in amusement and told us this was the first time in his entire life when he had a meal at such a place. We exchanged our addresses and he said he would surely visit us when he came to Pune again.
After the lunch we went to Neeta Volvo office at Hinjewadi. We bought some biscuits and water and also gave him some money. In 15 minutes the bus arrived and we said goodbye to him. Aaba left...but he left Nikhil and me with countless thoughts. Here was a man who had the courage to walk from Satara to Mumbai...Here was a man who knew what saving 50Rs. meant...Here was a man who had dignity and was not asking for lifts or help and was hoping to reach safely to his destination on time...And here we were spending grands over useless things at times. I asked Nikhil if it was wrong to spend money on oneself. And I agreed to his reply "It is not wrong to spend money on oneself. But it is wrong to spend it on unnecessary things which could otherwise be used for a better cause."
Yesterday was a day when my mind was so so calm. It felt as if someone poured cold water on my head and wiped off all the unnecessary thoughts and worries. There are so many things in the world other than yourself to think about. Doing a bit for Aaba and making his day easier made me feel a rainbow in my heart! Some may find it funny and irrational to do such a thing...But only when you give whatever little you have, you experience what it means to be content. Don't even think you can change the world...Don't think how much difference your small bits can make...With no extra efforts just giving your little selflessly can make you feel the rainbow in your heart!!! :)
I did not know where Dehu road was. To my surprise one of the milestones on way said "Dehu road - 23 kms". I asked the old man whether he was going to walk all the way to Dehu road. He said yes. To add further to my surprise, he came walking from Katraj ghat (10 kms+ from where I offered him a lift). I was puzzled and asked him why he did not take some bus? He said he had only 50Rs. with him which he had to save as he was going to see a doctor for some treatment. I was taken aback and decided not to go home (Chandni Chowk) and drive further to Baner so that the man had to walk a little less towards his destination. He said drop me wherever you please.
On way it came to light that this old man was quite a wise person. He had flunked in 11th grade because of English. He expressed his irritation towards his school for promoting all kids even if they did not do well in English exams. He said he would have cleared 11th and studied further if his school had detained him for not doing well in English at the right time. He would have worked hard if he failed. He was working as a peon in an accounts department somewhere but now retired. He was going to Dehu road for a cataract surgery of his eye which was free under some policy post retirement. While riding, I was constantly thinking of how far Dehu road still was. I wished to drop this man all the way to where he wanted instead of Baner. But I was dreading that my bike would run out of fuel and there were no fuel stations around. We reached the Baner square where the man got down and touched my feet. In the bright sun, I could now see his blue colored cataract infected eyes filled with gratitude. I also noticed a thin bed sheet in his bag which he probably used to rest up on during his long walking journey. This old man, who was by now like my own grandpa, blessed me, wore his cap and started walking. I was in pain to see him walk again!
I started riding towards Nikhil's house in Baner; still thinking if I should find a fuel station, refill and go back to help the old man. When I reached Nikhil's house he was a bit surprised and asked me how come I was at Baner at that hour? When I told Nikhil about the whole story he wasted no time and took out the car to help the old man. We hit the highway again. The old man had not walked too far from where I had dropped him earlier. We found him at a roadside juice vendor drinking water. I told him "Aaba (grandpa), we have come to drop you to Dehu road". He was surprised, delighted, confused, thankful all at the same time. We all had pineapple juice and Aaba sat at the back seat of the car.
Nikhil asked Aaba where exactly was the hospital at Dehu road? And I was further surprised to know that he actually had to go to Mumbai and Dehu road was a destination from where he would get cheaper bus ticket to Mumbai. We were more shocked to know he started his journey on 2nd from Satara district (his home) to reach Mumbai on 10th for the operation. Yes! He walked in stretches everyday with only a cup or two of chai in the day. As he had not had lunch we took him to Hotel Tamanna at Hinjewadi. Nikhil and I were keen to know more about Aaba. We looked at each other with raised eyebrows when we heard that Aaba was 75 years old. We could notice and sense his age when his hands shivered as he held the glass of water. We spoke about his family and his work. Aaba observed the people and the hotel in amusement and told us this was the first time in his entire life when he had a meal at such a place. We exchanged our addresses and he said he would surely visit us when he came to Pune again.
After the lunch we went to Neeta Volvo office at Hinjewadi. We bought some biscuits and water and also gave him some money. In 15 minutes the bus arrived and we said goodbye to him. Aaba left...but he left Nikhil and me with countless thoughts. Here was a man who had the courage to walk from Satara to Mumbai...Here was a man who knew what saving 50Rs. meant...Here was a man who had dignity and was not asking for lifts or help and was hoping to reach safely to his destination on time...And here we were spending grands over useless things at times. I asked Nikhil if it was wrong to spend money on oneself. And I agreed to his reply "It is not wrong to spend money on oneself. But it is wrong to spend it on unnecessary things which could otherwise be used for a better cause."
Yesterday was a day when my mind was so so calm. It felt as if someone poured cold water on my head and wiped off all the unnecessary thoughts and worries. There are so many things in the world other than yourself to think about. Doing a bit for Aaba and making his day easier made me feel a rainbow in my heart! Some may find it funny and irrational to do such a thing...But only when you give whatever little you have, you experience what it means to be content. Don't even think you can change the world...Don't think how much difference your small bits can make...With no extra efforts just giving your little selflessly can make you feel the rainbow in your heart!!! :)
Monday, November 22, 2010
Ahemdabad Retreat 2010...
I was in Ahemdabad for 3 days for a retreat...it has left me with so many things to ponder on. Let me take you on a quick ride through what I saw and felt...We did quite a number of things at Ahemdabad...We met people from other NGO's like Manav Sadhna, Indicorps and Gandhi Fellowship...Each of these are unique in their own ways and has left me thinking there is so so so much work to be done around to make the world a better place. It has left me being a much more humble person who feels no work is big or small. It is your intention towards the work that makes it big or small. It took me back to my first meeting with Teach for India people where Rebecca asked us "When is the best time to plant a tree?" Her reply to which was "it was either 10 years ago or it is right now!" This whole 3 day experience has made me realise the kind of work I am into may not show immediate results and this fact should not bog me down...but 10 years from now or may be 20 years from now it surely will grow like a tree...
A lot of my take aways from the retreat were from the community stay I had in Ahemdabad. I spent a night and about a day in an urban slum with a family. It was the first time in my life that I was walking through what looked like an endless slum with tiniest and darkest of rooms but with the brightest and loveliest of smiles to welcome us in their homes. I was assigned to stay with Puriben who lived with her husband. She also had her two year old grand daughter Pooja staying with her as Pooja's mother was expecting another baby soon. Puriben lived in a two room house which was lit using a small yellow bulb. Come in she said and I sat feeling extremely hot, realising there were no fans and the house had a tin roof. Puriben was in the middle of cooking dinner. I offered to help but she said rest today and you can help me tomorrow. The evening passed by having the most amazing food of my life, meeting Puriben's relatives and playing with Pooja. I did feel a little uncomfortable earlier but in about an hour I felt as if I knew all these people since long. They all looked like a family. I had one of the most peaceful sleeps under that tin roof which seemed to be boiling earlier. The next morning started early at 5.30 when I walked towards an open land with Puriben to answer natures call. Puriben and a lot of other families did not have their own toilets and they used open space. Puriben shared how it was so difficult especially for women to manage without toilets. It did feel awkward but I was open enough to experience what most of them went through their everyday life. Puriben was treating me more like a guest initially. She wanted me to eat the best, sleep on the best mattress and watch TV. But I switched off the TV and asked her for some work. I wanted to join her husband with his work which was distributing tiffins around the city. But it was not feasible for some reason and I stayed back helping Puriben with her daily chores. I swept and mopped, washed utensils, cooked on a kerosene stove etc. When Puriben and I went out to get vegetables for lunch I realised they lived literally hand to mouth. She bought oil and spices that were enough only for cooking one vegetable. She bought flour that was enough only for one meal. The sweetest thing she did was also buying a little ghee to make some sweet as I was going to leave that afternoon. The day ended faster than I thought it would and it was time for me to leave. In a hurry I forgot to exchange numbers with Puriben. I was pleasantly surprised to receive Puriben's call on one of the volunteers phone asking for me and my number. I may have not learnt as much about life in slums in one day. But one of the things I learnt was these people are so happy and content. They live in the most challenging situations, their homes get flooded with water in rains and they move to a secure place in tents, they have enough food only for a day and yet they are so enthusiastic about life! They give their 100% and take pride in the work they do. Most important of all they have hearts of gold filled with selfless love...
Last 3 days have made one thing clear for me. I really look forward to staying in the social sector in some way. I absolutely do not know where my life is heading in terms of career and where I will be after my fellowship ends. I loved what Jayeshbhai from Manav Sadhna said in his talk "take your work like a torch light. You will see only up to a distance but, when you cover that distance the torch light will guide you further." I am so glad I am a part of Teach for India...yet again! :)
A lot of my take aways from the retreat were from the community stay I had in Ahemdabad. I spent a night and about a day in an urban slum with a family. It was the first time in my life that I was walking through what looked like an endless slum with tiniest and darkest of rooms but with the brightest and loveliest of smiles to welcome us in their homes. I was assigned to stay with Puriben who lived with her husband. She also had her two year old grand daughter Pooja staying with her as Pooja's mother was expecting another baby soon. Puriben lived in a two room house which was lit using a small yellow bulb. Come in she said and I sat feeling extremely hot, realising there were no fans and the house had a tin roof. Puriben was in the middle of cooking dinner. I offered to help but she said rest today and you can help me tomorrow. The evening passed by having the most amazing food of my life, meeting Puriben's relatives and playing with Pooja. I did feel a little uncomfortable earlier but in about an hour I felt as if I knew all these people since long. They all looked like a family. I had one of the most peaceful sleeps under that tin roof which seemed to be boiling earlier. The next morning started early at 5.30 when I walked towards an open land with Puriben to answer natures call. Puriben and a lot of other families did not have their own toilets and they used open space. Puriben shared how it was so difficult especially for women to manage without toilets. It did feel awkward but I was open enough to experience what most of them went through their everyday life. Puriben was treating me more like a guest initially. She wanted me to eat the best, sleep on the best mattress and watch TV. But I switched off the TV and asked her for some work. I wanted to join her husband with his work which was distributing tiffins around the city. But it was not feasible for some reason and I stayed back helping Puriben with her daily chores. I swept and mopped, washed utensils, cooked on a kerosene stove etc. When Puriben and I went out to get vegetables for lunch I realised they lived literally hand to mouth. She bought oil and spices that were enough only for cooking one vegetable. She bought flour that was enough only for one meal. The sweetest thing she did was also buying a little ghee to make some sweet as I was going to leave that afternoon. The day ended faster than I thought it would and it was time for me to leave. In a hurry I forgot to exchange numbers with Puriben. I was pleasantly surprised to receive Puriben's call on one of the volunteers phone asking for me and my number. I may have not learnt as much about life in slums in one day. But one of the things I learnt was these people are so happy and content. They live in the most challenging situations, their homes get flooded with water in rains and they move to a secure place in tents, they have enough food only for a day and yet they are so enthusiastic about life! They give their 100% and take pride in the work they do. Most important of all they have hearts of gold filled with selfless love...
Last 3 days have made one thing clear for me. I really look forward to staying in the social sector in some way. I absolutely do not know where my life is heading in terms of career and where I will be after my fellowship ends. I loved what Jayeshbhai from Manav Sadhna said in his talk "take your work like a torch light. You will see only up to a distance but, when you cover that distance the torch light will guide you further." I am so glad I am a part of Teach for India...yet again! :)
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Reached one fourth of the journey...
I can't believe I have actually travelled one fourth of my journey with Teach for India...It has been a total roller coaster ride...when I look back I see colours of joy, pride, humility, sorry, strength and hope to name a few...My beginning of year tracker was filled with mostly zeros all over...and somewhere in between I was pretty upset over my kids not showing progress...but, I had the most amazing feeling when I saw many of those zeros change to a 100% mastery at mid of year! My kids have done exceptionally well at math...their grammar and comprehension has improved to quite an extent...we sure have a long way to go but celebrating their first success during Diwali time:)
Over the Diwali break my kids were always there at the back of my mind...it seems like yesterday that I stepped into the classroom with faces questioning me 'where is our old teacher?' and today after the first semester kids actually saying 'we are happy when you are around, sad when you are absent and angry when the other teacher comes in your place!'....yes maybe I have done some good to these children...but at the same time I feel there is nothing great in what I am doing. And this feeling probably comes because I see and know there is so much one can do and I do not know if what I am doing is really making a difference. A close friend tells me it is not a job where you can expect immediate results...I feel like I am becoming a Yogi at times...I say I am doing my best and I do not care about the rest...I do not think I would have got to see the numerous colors of life had I been sitting in a cubicle in the corporate world...I would truly recommend every person to do something like this to know the real you in you :)
Over the Diwali break my kids were always there at the back of my mind...it seems like yesterday that I stepped into the classroom with faces questioning me 'where is our old teacher?' and today after the first semester kids actually saying 'we are happy when you are around, sad when you are absent and angry when the other teacher comes in your place!'....yes maybe I have done some good to these children...but at the same time I feel there is nothing great in what I am doing. And this feeling probably comes because I see and know there is so much one can do and I do not know if what I am doing is really making a difference. A close friend tells me it is not a job where you can expect immediate results...I feel like I am becoming a Yogi at times...I say I am doing my best and I do not care about the rest...I do not think I would have got to see the numerous colors of life had I been sitting in a cubicle in the corporate world...I would truly recommend every person to do something like this to know the real you in you :)
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Hitting my first long low at TFI...
For those of you who have been wondering where I got lost, I am pretty much here feeling like I am having an endless battle...without any positive outcomes...fell ill and missed a few days of school midst the numerous holidays that came and erased a lot of what the kids had mastered over the days...seems like I am back to square one! The results of their recent assessments have depressed me. I had taught them so much! They had mastered the same...but when it came to putting it on paper, it was as if I never existed...I am talking particularly about English. The kids have written exams before Diwali which will again eat up a lot of time...its more of a battle against time and a bit of my inefficiency of managing it well. Wish I had enough time to get the kids to the level of reading and writing they should be...It is a sad truth, but kids have to study history-civics, geography, science, computers, g.k. all in English when they barely know any English...I know that is why I am here...my job is to get them to do exactly that...I really want to get out of this phase of doubting things which will probably hold me back from giving my 100%...I broke down silently for many nights now...a strange fear has been gripping me and asking me "what if I fail? Will whatever I am doing, really make a difference?"
Nevertheless a lot of things keep happening in school which make me feel I am needed there. The kids need me. Even though I am there with them only for less than two years now, let me give them all the love and knowledge I can. Today, Aakanksha puked in class as she was unwell. Her entire dress was soiled. I took her to the washroom and started cleaning it with tissues and water. It was too sticky to come out and after a while I started feeling pukish because of the smell. That's when I decided to call the peon of the school to help me. She made a disgusted face as if the child had committed a crime. In front of Aakanksha she said "why do you want to bother? Tell her to wait outside class and call her mother to take her home." I could see Aakanksha needed me the most this moment! I told the peon to go and I will figure out what to do. I could here my class kids making noise and their study time being wasted. But I decided to stay with Aakanksha until her mother came. We both waited outside class. I could not help but shed a tear when Aakanksha said "thank you didi" before she left school.
School for me has become something beyond a place where I teach. I have developed emotional ties with my kids. And I realise a lot of me hitting the lows is because I care for what will happen to these kids...all of this is really not as simple as I had thought it would be. Let me be selfish and ask for all your prayers to make this a fruitful ride for me :)
Nevertheless a lot of things keep happening in school which make me feel I am needed there. The kids need me. Even though I am there with them only for less than two years now, let me give them all the love and knowledge I can. Today, Aakanksha puked in class as she was unwell. Her entire dress was soiled. I took her to the washroom and started cleaning it with tissues and water. It was too sticky to come out and after a while I started feeling pukish because of the smell. That's when I decided to call the peon of the school to help me. She made a disgusted face as if the child had committed a crime. In front of Aakanksha she said "why do you want to bother? Tell her to wait outside class and call her mother to take her home." I could see Aakanksha needed me the most this moment! I told the peon to go and I will figure out what to do. I could here my class kids making noise and their study time being wasted. But I decided to stay with Aakanksha until her mother came. We both waited outside class. I could not help but shed a tear when Aakanksha said "thank you didi" before she left school.
School for me has become something beyond a place where I teach. I have developed emotional ties with my kids. And I realise a lot of me hitting the lows is because I care for what will happen to these kids...all of this is really not as simple as I had thought it would be. Let me be selfish and ask for all your prayers to make this a fruitful ride for me :)
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Filling it in...
Can't believe its been about a month that I put down my thoughts last...been wanting to write since so long! I have to admit I was not able to juggle all the things so well. So what was I up to? Where are my kids and how are they doing? Any improvements? Any interesting stuff to share? What was good and what was not so good? Gonna fill it in...Read along :)
I see a good change in my kids in terms or behavior. They have completely stopped hitting each other. They actually know the meaning of the "be nice" rule in my class. YEH!! A few of them have started speaking in English be it broken sentences or sentences that sound more like the figure of speech-inversion:) I am just glad they are making an effort. And yes! My kids love home work...they make sure they do their home work for that little appreciation from didi or an added star under their names for excellence. My biggest delight was to know from two parents that their kids do not want to stay back home. They want to come to school every day. The parents were happy to see this change in them. Another such incidence happened the other day when I was to conduct a Math test. This kid Jaideep, apparently was held back at home by his mother because the rickshaw wala did not turn up. Jaideep is not very good at Math. But he cried and cried and told his mother he has to go to school and give the Math test as he had studied for it. Jaideep's mom called me up an hour after the school started. I told her to drop Jaideep to school and he had the biggest smile on his face when he entered class:) Another incidence that touched me this morning...During assembly a kid who barely knows his alphabets raised his hand to come up and read the pledge. He completely failed but I am so proud of his willingness to try.
Yes, did face some lows too. No matter how hard I try with this kid Atharv he refuses to write. He knows the answers orally but says its too boring to write! I have tried a variety of stuff with him from changing places to being soft and hard. Absolutely nothing seems to be working! :( And the other day I reached some 10 minutes late to school and some of the kids were standing on my chair and trying to put on the lights and fans. The principal got to know about this and she yelled real bad at the kids. I was for some reason feeling low that day. And after the principal left, I burst out into tears in front of my kids. They felt sorry that their behavior made me cry. The next morning, Rohan (who did absolutely nothing the previous day) got me a flower and said "didi kal ke liye sorry"...my heart melted. Savita wrote a small chit which said "my didi is so nice...smile didi"
All in all I would say things are going okay. There is not a major change in terms of kids reading, writing and understanding English on their own. It is surely not going to come that easy. I do get overwhelmed at times. So little time and so much to do. But its the morning every day when I enter class and see kids hiding under their desks and popping out to wish me, its the parents who say there is some good change in their kids, its the kids who raise their hands and admit they have not understood, its the pride in the kids eyes I see every time I put a star in their notebooks for good work, its all these priceless feelings that keeps me going...The best part about this job is there is no jealousy among colleagues, there is no feeling like I am not getting paid enough for my work, there is no competition...its pure work! Its pure satisfaction! Yes it does have a very big weight tied to it. I do feel restless at times thinking so many kids are dependent on me. Their parents want results. It is physically very strenuous as well. Just need all your blessings and things will fall in place :)
I see a good change in my kids in terms or behavior. They have completely stopped hitting each other. They actually know the meaning of the "be nice" rule in my class. YEH!! A few of them have started speaking in English be it broken sentences or sentences that sound more like the figure of speech-inversion:) I am just glad they are making an effort. And yes! My kids love home work...they make sure they do their home work for that little appreciation from didi or an added star under their names for excellence. My biggest delight was to know from two parents that their kids do not want to stay back home. They want to come to school every day. The parents were happy to see this change in them. Another such incidence happened the other day when I was to conduct a Math test. This kid Jaideep, apparently was held back at home by his mother because the rickshaw wala did not turn up. Jaideep is not very good at Math. But he cried and cried and told his mother he has to go to school and give the Math test as he had studied for it. Jaideep's mom called me up an hour after the school started. I told her to drop Jaideep to school and he had the biggest smile on his face when he entered class:) Another incidence that touched me this morning...During assembly a kid who barely knows his alphabets raised his hand to come up and read the pledge. He completely failed but I am so proud of his willingness to try.
Yes, did face some lows too. No matter how hard I try with this kid Atharv he refuses to write. He knows the answers orally but says its too boring to write! I have tried a variety of stuff with him from changing places to being soft and hard. Absolutely nothing seems to be working! :( And the other day I reached some 10 minutes late to school and some of the kids were standing on my chair and trying to put on the lights and fans. The principal got to know about this and she yelled real bad at the kids. I was for some reason feeling low that day. And after the principal left, I burst out into tears in front of my kids. They felt sorry that their behavior made me cry. The next morning, Rohan (who did absolutely nothing the previous day) got me a flower and said "didi kal ke liye sorry"...my heart melted. Savita wrote a small chit which said "my didi is so nice...smile didi"
All in all I would say things are going okay. There is not a major change in terms of kids reading, writing and understanding English on their own. It is surely not going to come that easy. I do get overwhelmed at times. So little time and so much to do. But its the morning every day when I enter class and see kids hiding under their desks and popping out to wish me, its the parents who say there is some good change in their kids, its the kids who raise their hands and admit they have not understood, its the pride in the kids eyes I see every time I put a star in their notebooks for good work, its all these priceless feelings that keeps me going...The best part about this job is there is no jealousy among colleagues, there is no feeling like I am not getting paid enough for my work, there is no competition...its pure work! Its pure satisfaction! Yes it does have a very big weight tied to it. I do feel restless at times thinking so many kids are dependent on me. Their parents want results. It is physically very strenuous as well. Just need all your blessings and things will fall in place :)
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Love the way kids comprehend...
So, the other day I was checking the diagnostic papers of my kids. Most of them totally messed up at Math not because they did not know the answers but because they did not know how to read the question. They have a pretty good number sense. When asked orally or in Hindi they know the answers. If this was the case with Math, you can imagine what English Grammar and Comprehension must have looked like....sigh...Nevertheless the English Grammar paper left me smiling...especially the singular plural forms...
The way kids comprehend can be so awesome! Just check this out...you will love it! There were two columns. Column "A" had singular forms with pictures. And column "B" had their plural forms, supported by pictures. Kids were supposed to fill in the blanks. The question was something like shown in the image.
The way kids comprehend can be so awesome! Just check this out...you will love it! There were two columns. Column "A" had singular forms with pictures. And column "B" had their plural forms, supported by pictures. Kids were supposed to fill in the blanks. The question was something like shown in the image.
And this is how some of my cute little babies answer them-
One kid- Poor thing! She thinks the picture of boys on the plural side is not really visible. So she fills in the plural as "no more boys" :)
Another kid- For mango, she sees 4 mangoes on the plural side. So she writes "mango mango mango mango" :) And for sheep "sheep sheep" as there were two sheep in the picture!
3 or 4 kids- I love their sense of logic! If you notice, in the question, the 4th one is given as an oxen on the plural side and the kids were supposed to fill in the singular side i.e. ox. They actually got it correct out of logic by removing the "en" from oxen. And they added "en" to all other words. So the answers they came up with were "boyen" for boy, "mangoen" for mango and "sheepen" for sheep! :)
And these kids proudly raise their hands and say "didi finish"...I love their innocence. As long as they are not giving up and using their brain to come up with some answers! And coming to think of it, none of the answers above are illogical. I love my kids for what they are and the way they comprehend :)
One kid- Poor thing! She thinks the picture of boys on the plural side is not really visible. So she fills in the plural as "no more boys" :)
Another kid- For mango, she sees 4 mangoes on the plural side. So she writes "mango mango mango mango" :) And for sheep "sheep sheep" as there were two sheep in the picture!
3 or 4 kids- I love their sense of logic! If you notice, in the question, the 4th one is given as an oxen on the plural side and the kids were supposed to fill in the singular side i.e. ox. They actually got it correct out of logic by removing the "en" from oxen. And they added "en" to all other words. So the answers they came up with were "boyen" for boy, "mangoen" for mango and "sheepen" for sheep! :)
And these kids proudly raise their hands and say "didi finish"...I love their innocence. As long as they are not giving up and using their brain to come up with some answers! And coming to think of it, none of the answers above are illogical. I love my kids for what they are and the way they comprehend :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)