TO MY DEAR STUDENT

TO MY DEAR STUDENT

From your “unconventional” teacher

I would rather call myself an unconventional teacher because I always try to break the stereotypes of being a teacher. Not just being a teacher I always try to move beside the conventional lines of different roles set by this society. When I talk about raising voice for men rights, also when I talk about stopping discrimination based on gender biases, also when I say that not just women but we should talk about the respect of every person in the society.

I began my journey as a teacher virtually when I was appointed as a nursery teacher at a local area school. At some point of my life I never wished to be a teacher but as sooner I was allotted to do a job of teaching nursery kids I found it as a way of living life. Yes, there were times when I got frustrated with all those shrilling crying sounds and irritating demands and then I used to question my degrees. From all my merit holding mark sheets to post graduate degree, everything seemed to be useless. “If I had to spend time with these toddlers, why did I waste lakhs of rupee in earning professional degree?” Haunting questions troubled me many times. I left that post and went on to finish up my post-graduation.

After all those years, right from 2010 to 2018, eight long years I am still discovering myself as a teacher. I everyday discover myself as a person. My dear student, I wonder coming from one side of the bench to the other side from student to teacher is a journey that changes life upside down. I wonder why here in our society people see teaching as their last career option. I too did the same. When I got dissatisfaction everywhere, I chose to teach. Everywhere everybody I see, selecting various newer ways for their career options but teaching is never on their priority list. This is where our society lacks good teachers and good learners as well. We enter in to this profession by chance not by choice. I would, at this point of time will definitely love to see some of you choosing this line as a career option.

A line that I draw between you and me can be that bench by which you are standing on the other side where I stood back ten years. Long ten years of my life. It was year 2008 when I passed out intermediate. Looking back I sometimes feel old. But my dear student what I learn in these long ten years is that earning degree is just a matter of few years but earning knowledge is all that works. While discussing with colleagues we derived many equations and one of them made me realize that we while learning and teaching humanities create humans, create citizens, create morals, create values and not just robots.

I may not exceed much from you in terms of age but still this experience of ten years matters a lot. Some of you have entered graduation and others may be passing out. My dears, now is the time when we come out of our shell. We try to break the walls of idealistic approaches and try to become much practical. This world is a huge jungle where every single person tries to over shadow the other for their own selfish motives. I will be quoting Charles Darwin here for giving us the philosophy of “Survival of the fittest”. But you know what, in the run of being fittest we are forgetting being human. Success has varying definitions depending upon person to person. Earning handsome salary and making good name is everyone’s dream but what about being a good citizen of a nation or what about those moral values which we used to learn and recite in daily school prayers. Are they irrelevant? No!

Here let me tell you that life is a box of surprises, some good and some bad. Bad times test that who our friends are and good times test that who are we friends with. Rudyard Kipling in one of his poem to his son wrote so many things of being a true human.

My dears, whatever you do in life, wherever you go, may you earn handsome salary but make sure you always earn blessings. Learn a lot and earn a lot. A few must do things I will suggest being an unconventional teacher. Be mischievous. Laugh your heart out and also cry your heart out. Do fall in love. It’s amazing to fall in love. You will learn to care, you will learn to help, to empathize, you will grow emotionally, you will feel loved, you will feel connected, you will feel on the top of the world. Also my dears face breakups. You will feel broken and that will make you strong, you will feel distressed, you will feel questionable and that is the time you realize your friends. You will gradually overcome. And that is the time you grow mature as a person where you learn letting go and forgiving.

My dears, I love to teach and write. And in this letter I found myself writing to you as a very close friend. I always try to be friends with you. And as a friend I want all my dears to develop, flourish and nourish their being in such a way that they become a human in true sense. And that day will be the day when I will proudly say that I have received my “gurudakshina”.

I have so much to write but I put my pen to rest with lots of love to all of you.

Unconventionally and unconditionally your teacher

Aanchal