I am
starting my story with a note of gratitude . I am grateful to God and life for
all the teaching experiences and opportunities. Experiences have moulded me to
what I am today. I believe every teacher is a learner at first. A teacher
learns qualities of empathy and patience when working with children.
I have
taught Biology, English and handwriting to children. It has given me immense
satisfaction to nurture young minds. I have taught first generation learners.
Their determination to come up in life in spite of their myriad challenges
inspired me to reach out to them and guide them. All they need is guidance,
encouragement, and proper direction.
As a
handwriting faculty, guiding children to overcome their difficulties, where
each child had their own share of problems, was a fulfilling experience. I
helped them in correcting letter formations, taught them spacing between words
using different techniques, and used mind programming tools to help
children change their conditioned habits. What a joy it is to see their
handwriting improve!
Nearing
forty, my hearing abilities had suddenly deteriorated recently. I was shocked
and scared. I could not hear the door-bell. I could not follow television.
Phone conversations became a challenge. Series of visits to expert doctors and
audiologists followed. Tests were done and I was informed that I was suffering
from profound neural hearing loss. Doctors said that this could be due to
damage to hair cells in the inner ear. Hearing aids came as a solution and I
started to use them. They were not much of help in terms of clarity. I reached
the nadir when my teaching activities got considerably reduced due to my
hearing issues.
Slowly, I
started to accept the situation and face the challenge with grace.
Now, in
the COVID pandemic, I got a wonderful opportunity to teach young girls
Microbiology and English online. My students come from a humble background. I
am so happy to see their inner drive to learn. They want to build their
knowledge. They have loads of dreams to succeed in life and are willing to work
hard and persevere. I am having a lovely time teaching and listening to their
voices and guiding them thanks to technology.
I also don’t mind taking calculated risks of using headphones (as per doctor’s orders I am strictly advised against using it as this can cause further damage to my ears). To balance I have cut down on music listening time with headphones. But I want to do what I love the most. That is teaching, creating happiness for myself, to guide children and make some positive impact in their lives. This gives meaning and purpose to my life.
I would like to conclude with another story. Recently, I got an opportunity to mentor a young girl. It was a one to one mentor- mentee program. When Universe gave me such a new opportunity, I did not want to say no. I am enjoying my interactions with her. I share my challenges, my learnings, and my experiences, apart from teaching academics. These are life skills. It is wisdom apart from knowledge. They are vital for shaping one’s confidence and gives maturity and courage to face life. I am happy to guide her. I feel touched to know that my mentee loves my approach and feels very comfortable. These experiences further boost my spirits. How lovely it is to be able to discover one’s passion and create happiness and meaning to our lives and also to be able to make a difference to the children’s lives! I feel happy and blessed to be a teacher.