Look at Me

                   ‘I sit in a corner of the class. Few of my friends have crowded around their favorite teacher who comes to our class to teach English. I wonder how they laugh and talk to her. Why is it that I am not able to join them? How is it that they understand her teaching and score good grades? Why is it that I am not able to perform well in my class? What is the difference between me and them? I want my teacher to look at me too!!’

                    These are the thoughts of a girl in the 7^th grade. I used to teach them English. This child was an eye opener, learning experience in my career as an educationist and thought provoking for all the stakeholders in pedagogy. Those were the earlier days in my career and little did I know how to handle children. Moreover, the school was situated in the suburban area of the city.  

                    Harika was in the seventh grade who always felt inferior to her classmates. She came from a joint family comprising of her uncle, aunt, cousins and grandmother besides her own family of father, mother and a little brother. Her father worked in an IT industry and mother was a housewife who had to take care of the entire family. As soon as she came from school, Harika had to get ready and go for tuition. She had to satisfy her hunger with tea and biscuits as it was difficult for her mother to feed all the kids with snacks.  Her parents had high expectations from her with little support and understanding. This left the young mind in a dilemma wondering how to score well with no help.

                  I am sure you all would be wondering how all this could be true! How was it that I am able to know about her family and her challenges. Well…. I looked at her!!! Can you believe that? Sometimes I get baffled as to how we get transformed overnight! But that’s what happened. One day I saw the child sitting in the last bench totally lost in her thoughts. Wondering what she was thinking when the class was going on I called her to my side. Though I wanted to admonish her, I heard myself asking her gently to confide her problems to me whenever I was free. I could see the smile brightening up her face with tears in her eyes.   

                 She started confiding her problems and it was my turn to help her solve those. I discussed about the child with her parents and changed her place in the midst of children who were not only bright but were also helpful. Though I was skeptic about her progress, I was certain that eventually she would gain confidence from peer learning. And that was true! The fact that I was her teacher only for that year did not retard her progress. It was overwhelming by the time she got through her 10^th grade in that school.

                 Looking back I feel that my journey in the path of my career gave me immense pleasure to evolve myself with the rich experience contributed by all the stakeholders. This is one of the many instances that I cherish as it made me realize that every child is unique. They look up to us educationists and parents as their guides and support systems. Today’s younger generation needs training for building up their career which could be initiated from the early years of schooling. Training programs, workshops and orientations could be devised for all the stakeholders. Especially a guide to look forward towards the future……. I appeal the parents and educators to look at them and help them to achieve their potential before deciding their career.

The Author, Rathi Menon is an educationist who is passionate about transforming education and integrating values in pedagogy to help students imbibe the right skills and attitude. She has authored several text books that focus on life skills as part of the curriculum for CBSE and ICSE boards.