From the Teach( er) ing diaries

What students can make you do even by not saying anything …

It’s interesting how I’m realizing the storehouse of knowledge and information I have as a lecturer. You know what leads to this realization? The simple fact that I’m around students, knowledge, love, kindness and opportunities. Being surrounded by such beautiful things and people, definitely, brings out the best in me. 

I see sparks plays in the background, a soft hum that is literal and melodious. The kids and their souls are beautiful. Just yesterday, as I enquired from a student of mine, as to why he got up at 3 am, to cook noodles for our class potluck, he gave away, ever so spontaneously, that he had to cook biryani for his girlfriend’s potluck and then he blushed and felt shy! The expression was so adorable! What a wonderful boyfriend, isn’t he? 

Then I teased this one lovely student of mine, who looks at me with hearts in her eyes. “Madam, I wanted to ask you something!” she uttered in the class. Off I went mimicking her and she laughed, giggled at the same time, being unable to ask me in the same tone. She even asked me one day, when I would be going back to India, so she could follow me. It took me a while to digest the fact that she really wanted to ‘follow’ me!

The kind of love that students can offer, I’m learning, is perhaps all that is a reflection of the love and care that we teachers have for them. It’s not the first time for me, to form a bond with students, that is so strong, in a span of two or three months. To my surprise, everywhere I go, or have been, as a guest lecturer in the past, students, inevitably end up falling in love with me. As I write this, it is more of a self- observation than a narcissistic disclosure.

The other day, as I sat in the auditorium judging a research symposium, a part of me looked at myself in awe, for, there I was pointing aspects which students missed in their research, left, right and centre. The neuron in my brain fired to the extent, that I ended up intimidating the students who were presenting . Then came the compassionate and the kind voice within me, which spoke on the mike, letting them know, that there courageous enough to present and the symposium is an opportunity for them to learn and grow, than to be scared about. It definitely calmed them.

A friend of mine, to the left, asked me if I had supervised any of the students. I, very cooly answered “ I haven’t”. Just then, my Deputy Dean, whom I was assisting, for the event, answered “ But you will!” . That led to a gulp down the throat. Thoughts such as “How can I supervise a student for RESEARCH? I’m so bad at statistics!”, “Seriously, me supervise, a student? Just yesterday I was at JMC, being supervised, when did I grow so much to supervise others?” 

Today, as I write these words down, a little smile, comes by, it’s a circle of life, after all, all comes back. My heart may feel young, I myself just feel like a college student around these kids ( they are all in their 20’s, but I end up calling them kids, don’t know why) yet the experience has definitely matured the wine in me! 

That’s all folks from the diary today! 

Love

Aakriti

The Teach(er) ing diaries

The Teach(er) ing diaries

AB-SO-LUTELY love this pic:) with my students!:)

It’s been almost three months since I started working as a lecturer (full time) in a university here in Malaysia. I have to admit, it’s been a wonderful experience so far, interacting with students, sharing my knowledge with them, reading research papers on how to teach college students and learning about teaching from the feedback given by students. 

I’ve learnt, that:

• ·        Students have big hearts. They are so forgiving, or perhaps they can be forgiving once we show our humane side to them.
• ·        It takes enthusiasm, excitement and immense passion to be teacher: Because I possess all of these traits, my students end up catching some of these traits and can be seen as excited to attend my classes.
• ·        What we value can easily be passed on to the next generation, no matter what the age, what matters are the ways we communicate it to them.
• ·        Being kind, loving and giving always wins their hearts and make the student- teacher bond a stronger one.
• ·        Being non-judgmental helps in seeing a student for who they are, sans stereotypes, family backgrounds, looks
• ·        Giving students corrective feedback and expressing one’s wish for the betterment of the student often gives them the confidence to do better, even if it is just for the teacher.
• ·        Reinforcement is a great tool to modify behaviours
• ·        Being assertive and firm helps, even if students who are not used to a teacher being strict, they eventually mould, if the intentions are right.
• ·        Peer tutoring is a great way to make peers bond and help students, because some topics are better learnt with friends!
• ·        As a teacher we are constantly scanned and x-rayed in and out, so we better love ourselves for who we are, as it shows and sparkles.
• ·        No gift is more precious than students making an effort to attend your class.
• ·        Every kid has a story or many stories which a teacher is often not aware of, so why they are behaving the way they do, stems a lot from there. We have no right to comment on anything till we know their story.

That’s all for now…..Got a loooong way to go…..

Love

Aakriti

Evolved

Every time I look at my 'last published' column, I just realize that the gaps between the posts always increase. As we grow, a time comes when we start to keep things within and filtering them in our mind than just blabbering out any nonsense to the world. I'm also beginning to realize, thanks to the recent movies I have watched about internet and its impact on our personal lives , that we barely know the internet. In other words, there's so much at the background than at the forefront. So, its wiser to filter before we put anything out there....

Speaking of that, its been six blissful months since I have been away from FB and trust me there's a lot less junk in the mind that would earlier get generated with the mindless scrolling and peeking into other people's life. 

Here's something I penned down today and wished to share.......

EVOLVED

The time has settled in

Like water that seeps into

The pores of a cool earthen pot

With years the changes have settled

The earlier murk

Now clearer waters.

The stillness is coming closer

The vision is calmer and brighter

For change has happened with-in

And can be clearly seen

As bygones.

As I see myself in the mirror

Or look back at pictures of the yesteryears

I say: So much has evolved

Yet so much stays the same

Dear Beautiful me, you are loved

Grace be yours and gratitude forever.