When a woman gets to teach students, she is not only a teacher, she pours in her blood and flesh to mould children, there comes the feeling of motherhood… this is what I had read in a book where a teacher who was awarded by the President had to say that she “loved her children “.
I began my journey as a teacher in 2010, little did I know about what I was to discover about children; my role that destiny has decided to shape students. I began my journey as a part-time teacher when my daughter was less than a year old. Every day in class, I felt that time flies in class.
Gradually, as my daughter grew, I began increasing my teaching hours and I kept elevating my levels. From a part-time teacher to an educator and a counsellor, my transit was unbelievable. I always have been child-sensitive. I could feel the pain of the low score of the average learner. I am always pulled toward notorious children.
It’s been 12 years and I have been dealing with teenagers from grades 9 to 12. There is a transition of mindset in this age group. Their perception of everything keeps evolving every year. Probably that’s what we call the increase in maturity.
As a woman, I have felt that biologically I am a mother of one, but sentimentally, all those whom I teach, I feel are my children. I always have a soft approach to students. Along with my teaching career, I did 2 master’s degree courses, whenever I had assignment deadlines or exams, I got the real-life experience to put my feet in students’ shoes.
I feel that if children are treated well, understood from their perspective, and taken care of with love, they have enormous potential to bloom.
I began feeling the pains and would identify stressors of students in my journey. I started feeling that overburdening a child with excessive work is creating a barrier for children to do activities that would bloom them 360•. For this, at our institute, we developed a system where every child; be a scholar, average learner, or an academic struggler learns at ease. I began giving them exposure through field trips. Instead of learning answers, they began feeling the topics….What I observed is that with less stress they perform better, they go calm, they stay happy, and become better communicators
It is during the pandemic when children were physically away, that I realized that an integral part of life was missing. They began sharing their issues with me. This made me realize that there is a need of teaching them beyond academics. I developed modules that shape the mindset of teenagers. My venture, Discover U, The Counselling Lab is getting lots of love and appreciation, both; from children and parents. I feel that our nation has a bright future with the wonderful talent of children if dealt with care. So satisfying it is to me when I contribute my part to nation-building.
Written by Richa Bhagdev
