The year was 1975, as a fresh newly minted teacher I walked into my class. The eager smiling faces looking back at me expectantly, had me hooked; and thus began a journey that is still going on, though the roads and roles have changed.
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I was truly fortunate to have been a teacher in a school that allowed me to innovate, experiment and discover-a process that both the teacher and the taught benefitted from. Yes, my students have been my greatest teachers- it was from them that I learnt that I need not know everything but that I should be ready to learn. To beat the feeling of ennui that sometimes sets in, I went back to the University and bettered my qualifications and competencies. Some years later, when I felt more settled both personally and professionally, I took the big step of becoming a Principal.
Thus began my second innings ….
Heading a new set up, staffing, dealing with infrastructure, officials at the government and the board level was a new experience. What a task that was! Setting up a school from scratch, gives you a HIGH like no other. Several lessons were learnt, unlearnt and relearnt and in the process, I discovered newer facets of my personality. The 25 years of being a Principal were some of the best years of my professional life. There were challenges galore-handling parents, staff, students and other stakeholders was not an easy job, but my conviction, beliefs and passion in what I was doing made the passage easier. How many school Heads have a book written on them by the Parent body? I have been truly fortunate and blessed.
The icing on the cake was the recognition from the Central Government, thanks to a Board that kept a watchful and benign eye on all its schools and school Heads. Several other awards and citations too followed. Writing for a newspaper opened up another avenue for communication. Then there were training sessions which gave me an opportunity to travel all over and share my ideas and interact with other teachers. Somewhere in the midst of all these happenings, I found the time to complete my doctoral thesis; that was again another milestone.
Hard work, a lot of sacrifice, a strong sense of ethics and integrity, belief in oneself and of the innate goodness of mankind as a whole and above PASSION have been the cornerstones of my life. In the process I have met many mentors who have shared their knowledge with me and today as I look back and see myself as a Mentor to others, I feel that there has been a 360 degrees cycle.
Post retirement (is there such a word for a teacher)?.. I took on a new role- that of an Educational Consultant. Again it was here that I tapped on another aspect of myself….The new school in a distant suburb of Mumbai bears testimony to the collective commitment of my colleagues and myself. Age I believe is only a number and as long as one remains youthful and optimistic the energy and drive never flags. I am looking forward to the next venture soon and to impact another entire generation. What more can one ask for???
The writer is a recipient of the National award for teachers and the Director of Dosti Foundation School Shi-Thane.
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