"Surendar bhaiya, jara coffee lana."
"Aur, newspaper kahan hai?, aaj client ka coverage aana hai, regionals main."
"Sir, lagta hai aaj phir server down hai. I have to check an urgent mail from the client, aa hi nahin raha!"
From conversations like these in my usual mornings few years back to now when I work as a teacher, my mornings have taken a 360 degree turn. When you work as a teacher, the first one hour after arriving at work is mostly spent waiting for your daily dose of coffee. You are still adjusting to being awake and out in the world. Your social skills aren't really ready yet. And you don't have that luxury of sinking in the comfort of a chair checking emails, right at the start of the day. Intense are the mornings, what with greeting children and trying to welcome them in a manner that they feel that their school is the most exciting place to be.
Well, children' life are no less chaotic! For those who just left the warm embrace of their parents and home, the comfort of their beds and assuring hands of their folks seems like a distant dream. Suddenly, they find themselves in a bustling area full of competitiors for applause and attention. Now they are just another face in a crowd! They hesitantly scan the classroom for their friends, some are happy to find their mates, but others may find the transition little less joyful. They hate it, and won't accept it. Atleast for another few years.
However, amongst all this settling in, the best part of the routine and my favourite one remains the CIRCLE TIME. That's how we began our day at the school. It is almost impossible not to feel pleased when you look around and see a bunch of growing people pouring their hearts out to you and to each other. Circle Time is the real meat and potatoes of the day, as the experts say. For someone who is unaware, Circle Time may appear to be nothing more than constant blabbering, singing and dancing, but in actual, it's a perfect head start of the day.
My day moves on, sprinkled with what I would like to call "gems" like these:
"When I grow up I'm gonna be a doctor and a dad and a slingshot. Basically, I can be whatever I want."
"You can't stop the weather because the weather just keeps coming back!"
"Let's play real life."
And as I relish my students' figments of imagination everyday, I also realise that they are special - people who years later will sink into the bitterness and inhibitions of adulthood.
Being a teacher or a parent is one of the toughest job. But an important one, so if you have chosen this - thank you. The world needs people like you to keep it going. It's often tiring. You have to take a breath before you react to most of the things. Easier said than done, at times, I know.
We can learn a lot from them.
....and that's what I told my husband the other day, " You know, I love this feeling of being surrounded by young curious minds at work."
He smiled.
He had heard this often from me.
"Sir, lagta hai aaj phir server down hai. I have to check an urgent mail from the client, aa hi nahin raha!"
From conversations like these in my usual mornings few years back to now when I work as a teacher, my mornings have taken a 360 degree turn. When you work as a teacher, the first one hour after arriving at work is mostly spent waiting for your daily dose of coffee. You are still adjusting to being awake and out in the world. Your social skills aren't really ready yet. And you don't have that luxury of sinking in the comfort of a chair checking emails, right at the start of the day. Intense are the mornings, what with greeting children and trying to welcome them in a manner that they feel that their school is the most exciting place to be.
Well, children' life are no less chaotic! For those who just left the warm embrace of their parents and home, the comfort of their beds and assuring hands of their folks seems like a distant dream. Suddenly, they find themselves in a bustling area full of competitiors for applause and attention. Now they are just another face in a crowd! They hesitantly scan the classroom for their friends, some are happy to find their mates, but others may find the transition little less joyful. They hate it, and won't accept it. Atleast for another few years.
However, amongst all this settling in, the best part of the routine and my favourite one remains the CIRCLE TIME. That's how we began our day at the school. It is almost impossible not to feel pleased when you look around and see a bunch of growing people pouring their hearts out to you and to each other. Circle Time is the real meat and potatoes of the day, as the experts say. For someone who is unaware, Circle Time may appear to be nothing more than constant blabbering, singing and dancing, but in actual, it's a perfect head start of the day.
My day moves on, sprinkled with what I would like to call "gems" like these:
"When I grow up I'm gonna be a doctor and a dad and a slingshot. Basically, I can be whatever I want."
"You can't stop the weather because the weather just keeps coming back!"
"Let's play real life."
And as I relish my students' figments of imagination everyday, I also realise that they are special - people who years later will sink into the bitterness and inhibitions of adulthood.
Being a teacher or a parent is one of the toughest job. But an important one, so if you have chosen this - thank you. The world needs people like you to keep it going. It's often tiring. You have to take a breath before you react to most of the things. Easier said than done, at times, I know.
We can learn a lot from them.
....and that's what I told my husband the other day, " You know, I love this feeling of being surrounded by young curious minds at work."
He smiled.
He had heard this often from me.
