A sense of weird nausea, a feeling of anxiety, a strand of optimism and an awful lot of excitement. As I entered the school premises, nostalgia took over. It was the same feeling I remember having had on the first day of my school. There was no sadness, or nervousness. Just a tiny speck of uncertainty which converted to silent observation of the surroundings, trying to gather as much and get lost in the crowd!
Nobody ever knows what they're up to until they actually face it. You can plan all you want and rehearse for days together but time will always beat you to the line. Dynamism and patience are the key to any teacher's life, more so when your students are grade 2 kids who cannot focus for more than a few minutes. It is a daunting task to not just keep them all engaged in productive work, but also convince them that they don't need to tinkle every five minutes. Another major issue at handling them is the hyperactivity.
As I greeted each child entering the classroom with a high-five, I could see that their eyes longed to be understood, to be paid attention to, to have the opportunity of learning great new things. But, there are also kids who cannot just stop being a nuisance. Everything you do is a failure, every statement you make is blatantly ignored without the slightest remorse. "Why should I sit? Why should I not go eat? I have to meet my friend and take my food." are but a few tricks they try, to assess the 'enemy', you. Giving in is not an option, not because we are all egoistic morons, but because asserting ourselves as the authority in class is imperative.
One bubbly girl raised her hand for every question asked with ever increasing enthusiasm. It was quite evident from her energy that she had a great interest in studies. She completed every test given and followed every rule set. But, after a point she stopped paying attention. She stopped listening or responding. I went to her and spoke gently so as to understand the sudden change. She shrugged and turned away. Being the assertive and composed teacher, I did not stop to engage. But it kept nagging me at the back of my head, throughout. Did I do something wrong? Is something wrong with her?
We all face situations such as these where suddenly things turn for the bad. When they randomly turn themselves inside out and hit you hard in the face. But there is always a silver lining, especially when it comes to kids. An almost deathly schedule became worth every sweat when at the end of the day, she came up to me and handed over the book to read. It said, "I love school. New Bhaiyya is very nice. He teach new songs and lessons. I like him very much. I come again everyday."
If you can imagine it, you can achieve it.
If you can dream it, you can become it.
All it takes, is a little bit of patience!
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