Journey for a Dream

"I want him to get educated that's all", he almost shouted fighting back a tear in his eye. "He's my younger brother and it is my responsibility to make him successful. But he has not come to school for 2 months now. What do I do?", questioned someone who looked quite young to be speaking like this to the principal of a government school. "Madam, you ask him. He comes home at 10pm everyday. When I ask him where he was and why he was late he rudely asks me who I was to question him. Last month I had come to ask for TC so I can put him in some hostel but due to some problem I couldn't follow up." The principal was assessing the situation with the class teacher standing behind the irregular student whose elder brother was angry, saddened and determined all at once. She looked at the student and said, "What is your problem? Why aren't you coming to school? Would you rather be in a hostel?", the student nodded. He didn't real...

Recently, a Police Officer died in Punjab because of terrorist violence. On the same day, one of the kids in my school was burnt by his own brother. Why? Because the 7 year old used bad language. A week before that, two kids got into a fight and one of them ended up with a torn eye lid. The father of the “accused” arrived at school and beat up his child with a big cane! Yet another 7 year old demands to be hit by the teachers lest they want him to create chaos in the class. From probably the beginning of mankind, violence has played a key role. As a society, we might abhor violence but we resort to it ever so often. Our answer for murder is capital punishment, disagreement, is war and argument, a slap! What are we trying to prove here? That violence needs to have its “right reasons?” This is how I see it and this is how it probably works as well. Child is born. It starts assimilating the countless information that is present. Slowly it starts imitating the other humans around...

Having made a significant impact in the lives of 32 kids, I felt confident to move back to the city I called home. Sustainable change was what I had left behind and also, it was the very thing I wanted to bring here. I now had the bandwidth, network and support system to do so much more than I ever could! Welcomed by an ever smiling HM and 60 bubbling 3rd graders, I felt immediately at home. Being placed in a government school, I now had access to large grounds, spacious classrooms and freedom to move my kids anywhere I wanted. The uniform, food, books etc., were taken care of by the government. I had nothing to worry about, or so I thought! It was a wave that hit me in the face on the very day I started. During lunch, kids in the entire school (strength of 650+) just ran helter skelter, throwing food around, beating each other up, playing, shouting and every bit of chaos you can imagine. I have seen violence, way worse than I've seen here, but this is beyond violence, this i...

“You go. I will take care of him”, I said as she left with a heavy heart and wet eyes. While I walked him down to the office, I was confused and moved simultaneously. He was suffering from severe stomach ache which I had dismissed earlier. “Please call his parents and ask them to pick him up”, I requested the school admin who then took charge and asked the kid to sit down while she made the call. I was born with a certain set of luxuries that most of my kids don’t enjoy. I find it very difficult to understand their intricate and delicate issues because I have never known for them to exist in the first place;  I'm  a  koop mandook, to borrow a phrase from one of my senior colleagues. I have enjoyed the luxury of choice, of having an opinion, of attention and many more such subtleties of an upper middle class life. To come out of that and witness the world is not just overwhelming but also scary at times. But change is not easy, I knew that! I try my best to exp...

"Education is the greatest tool of a society" said Chanakya almost two millennia ago. Little did he realize that it will not hold true about two thousand years later. He did not take into account the shackles our society places on individuals and communities. Or may be he did and it is only I who is being cynical about it all. But how can I not be? I see children shaping their view of the world every single minute. My duty is to ensure they are able to make the right choices. I can sit any of my kids down and ask them about the various values they hold dear and how they can make sustainable changes in their class, family and society at large. They will give me answers that might very well put a saint to shame. We discuss equality of gender, religion, communities etc., to a large extent. They all articulate it well enough. But is it their perspective or is it their answer? I can never know. Living in extreme conditions, emotionally, physically and mentally, I believe...

"Today we shall all make sure we finish our work independently and on time, unlike yesterday. This will help us make time for the games at the end of the day. Are you all ready?" "Yeeessss!" As I transitioned into my lesson I felt proud of myself and the class. They genuinely listened and engaged. But then again, as always, there were a few who were drifting away. I have always had this issue. We start off well, like it was the best day ever then one starts abusing the other, then there is nudging, pushing and then before you realize what's happening, you can see the entire class indulging in fights or other related activities. Some who manage to stay away from all the violence, become busy in cleaning their bags, endlessly sharpening their pencils etc. Where do I even begin to solve this? I had figured out long back that these students lacked the skill to differentiate between right and wrong. They idolized violent dons, emulated local thugs and shrugge...

As we turned left onto the road that lead to our destination, I sensed something amiss. The two students sitting with me in the auto had fallen silent. They were vigorously turning their heads to assimilate everything that was there in front of their eyes. They were trying to grasp all the happenings around and understand its purpose and existence. They had never gone beyond a one kilometre radius of their house, ever! After having decided that I needed the kids to witness the working of a "normal" world, I announced amidst all the excitement in class, "In a week, the first three students who show values through actions will get to go out." Everyone wanted to help their friends, go out of their way to accommodate someone etc. Although, this momentum did not sustain after a couple of days, I pushed through. At the end of it, I had two boys and a girl who had made it. The two boys were anxious and overjoyed. But the girl... "I not come bhaiyya. I go to ...

It is said that a child brought up amidst violence will most probably take to it too. But we are also aware that education acts as an eye opener to many. It catalyses change in societies and ushers a future filled with possibilities. What if all of this is as true as Emmanuel Goldstein in the Orwellian state? An illusion created by a few to control the many? Seems too far fetched but I sometimes see it materialize in class. As a step towards exposing the kids to the world outside their community, we took them to India's best law school. The idea was to show them that there exists a very harmonious society where knowledge and values go hand in hand, where peaceful coexistence is a reality. Also, it is a great way for them to see things that they can aspire for, to experience the life of their possible future self. Witnessing things that defy what they learn at school, these kids fail to see the real purpose of education and this visit was an attempt to break t...

The human mind is home to millions of things that sometime don’t seem logical at all. With adults, this mind can articulate itself pretty well and make those around it understand and connect. But what about a child’s mind? Especially one that cannot even put into words its feelings and wants. Now add to that a constant irritable life that doesn't make sense in its holistic sense. It is a cruel world out there for them. Even though I knew what lacked in these kids’ life, I never really understood its essence. It runs so deep in their lives that the affects can be surmounted only through constant and slow progression. Living in cramped spaces that long for fresh air, these tiny minds are curbed in every possible way. From physical restrictions of movement to mental restrictions of “traditions” and “social norms”. The age where they ought to be outside playing, they try to overcome these unseen boundaries in their own ways. Some see these boundaries as challenges and turn re...

Everyday when I wake up I find myself torn between the world I live in and the one I just left, my dream. This is not because I am lazy but because of what I have to see when I get to my class. Tiny minds being moulded by atrocity and mediocre expectations. The only thing that keeps me going is my hope of bringing in that change. I did not see that hope, let alone belief in any of the students I have. Education is a very tricky concept. Where do we draw the line? Is it education if a child chooses to start a business instead of continuing school? Is it education if a child can score well in class and perform well in sports? As far as my understanding goes, it is something that changes the way you live even if it is in the most tiniest of ways. Now this goes beyond classroom, beyond teachers and schools. It captures every aspect of life itself. Hence, a child's development, does not limit itself to his/her school and home. And as a human being, nobody can change all parts of t...