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There are certain life experiences that will stay with us forever and truly shape the way we see the world as well as our place in it.
I had volunteered for the Teach for Change initiative for the last year and had written Part 2 of the blog in September 2019. Today I had this sudden urge to write the concluding part about the year gone by at the school.
As I was reflecting on my experiences since I started this journey last year, I do want to share a couple of things through this blog.
There were many occasions I came back from the school teary eyed. Well, almost every single time. The love showered by kids made me overwhelmed and valued.
I had gone to the school on 14th August 2019 and asked the kids about what they knew about Independence Day. During our discussion they shared they had to come to the school on 15th August. “We will be scolded if we don’t come, one kid said with innocence”. The irony of the situation made me feel helpless.
There were few late new admissions in the class. Many super intelligent kids (especially girls) had joined the class. Lakshmi Prasanna- there is no way I can skip mentioning your name. You make me so proud as your teacher. Since she had joined the school late, she could not get the exercise book distributed by TFC as the books were over.
She literally pestered me to the point that the very thought of going to the school to me would mean explaining her the reason for delay in issuing the book. This girl was so keen on learning and actually made me religiously follow up with the administration team to expedite the issuance. I really liked her attitude and sincerely pray that some good opportunities come her way in the future.
4th September 2019 was the day that the kids had study desks. One of the Corporates had sponsored the desks as part of their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibly) initiative. They could not contain their excitement the moment I reached the class. I also felt a sudden spurt of joy inside me. That day I considered myself eligible to sit on the chair kept for teaching staff.
There was a drawing competition organised by TFC on Children’s Day and the volunteers were supposed to conduct and judge the same for their class. I was simply amazed by how creative the kids could get.
The entire process and associated experience made me a better person in terms of appreciating smaller joys of life.
I have more patience now to deal with any situation specially while dealing with my own kids as I can empathize with them better.
Technically speaking, I did manage to complete the syllabus and had just one last visit pending in which I was supposed to conduct the exam for the students. This is still pending because of the lockdown, due to Coronavirus and I kind of feel incomplete because of this.
Through this blog, if I can inspire anyone to be part of any teaching initiative, I will feel my efforts of penning it down have been fruitful. And trust me you will come back richer!
This blog was first published on http://beyondstories.in/
Image Source: yourstory.com
Happy Soul, believer in gift called life, avid traveler and explorer, sometimes restless but mostly sane, respect relationships and believer in goodness all around. Student of my two sons who teach me many lessons of read more...
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After some time, unable to bear it any longer, I signed off from the home lunch. My MIL must've heaved a sigh of relief because my portion of groceries would be saved!
Until I married I had never imagined even in my wildest dreams that my diet/ food intake could assume such alarming proportions and affect conjugal harmony. Having stepped into my marital home I discovered to my bewilderment that the four female inmates were frugal eaters. My spouse and his dad ate moderately well.
The family faced a dilemma: my requirement surpassed those of the ladies but most certainly couldn’t be clubbed with the men’s. Why? Simply because they were MEN. “How could you even think of it”? They snubbed me often. (Incidentally, the parents-in-law refused to accept contributions from either of us). They probably expected me to be demure and submissive since I was ‘‘eating off” their money.
So each morning as I left for work I was served three chapattis with a few spoonfuls of curry. Can you believe this curry catered to the ladies’ lunch the previous day, and dinner for all six inmates? The horror of horrors, it crept into my lunch box too. The chapattis made at the crack of dawn were fine till breakfast but by lunch, they turned leathery; the accompanying curry insipid, tasteless.
We can’t bombard impressionable young women in the name of enlightened entertainment to feed them the same drivel. At least let us not label misogynist movies as helping the cause of women.
I have watched at least 2 ‘purported’ trailblazing Bollywood movies in the recent past that left me with a feeling that I had taken part in the ice-bucket challenge all over again. This time around, however, without even the satisfaction of having supported a worthy cause.
Both the movies have about a 90% liking rate on IMDB/Rotten Tomatoes. Both are touted to ‘sensitively’ portray the taboo topics that seem to be mostly hidden underneath a layer of banana peels – dangerous to even tread nearby.
Letting children enjoy themselves in their own way and use their free will to learn and grow is essential, even if difficult for parents.
Letting children enjoy themselves in their own way and use their free will to learn and grow is essential, even if difficult for parents. A very honest, introspective post.
When is the last time I left my six year old daughter all by herself, doing and enjoying whatever she loves?
When is the last time I allowed her to play a game, that is not related to anything educational?
Ankita Mehra is a strong woman who not only came out as a lesbian on the Roadies show to create awareness, but is also working actively to make workplaces more inclusive.
‘A strong woman stands up for herself. A stronger woman stands up for everybody else’ ~ Unknown
And that’s exactly what Ankita Mehra did. After making the brave decision to tell the world (through her Roadies audition) that she was a lesbian, she then decided to use her talent and entrepreneurial skills to spearhead EQUIV, India’s first platform focused on hiring Women, LGBTQIA+, veterans, and persons with disabilities.