You know what!! This is a beautiful time of the year. I know....I know it is still Jun and the sun is beating down on us with all its might but it is also the time when summer vacations get over. Now, It is ok if you guys raise your eyebrows and wonder: how on earth do summer vacations impact him ? Is he not a working professional? He does not get summer vacations!! Relax people, you are right, I do not get summer vacations (though I don't mind!!) but the kids at AID NOIDA do. For the past two months, the children were far away from the hustle-bustle of the city. Most of them went to their village and met their grand moms and grand dads. But, they are back now!!! Once again, the community is bustling with kids and most importantly our classes are back in session.
Yes!! After two month of lull AID NOIDA centre is again full with kids and volunteers. But there have been some changes. First of all, The responsibility of senior batch (2007) has been transferred from I and Prashant to Prateek and Darshan. Secondly, I have been given responsibility for the Eureka Batch (2008-2010). Initially, it did not seem like a very big shift but last Saturday when I went to the class I realized that batch shifting is not that small a thing after all.
First of all, I will miss teaching the Senior Batch. The batch consists of the eldest and the most responsible kids studying at AID NOIDA. Being the batch owner for past 6 months I had seen a lot : Aashmina performing very funny" tum paas aaye... badbu phelaye" skit, Jaanbaaz, Sajaad and Subi managing junior kids and wonderful sessions on volcanoes, water cycle, earthquakes and many others topics. The innocence, the inquisitive nature and the sparkling intelligence of the kids have spellbound me. In fact, I feel personally attached to the senior batch and I will miss those classes.
Secondly, I was a bit nervous when I entered the new class. Yes, I was kind of worried how the kids in the Eureka batch would respond. Will they appreciate the change? Will they listen to me the way they pay attention to Anvita - Eureka Batch owner. What do I need to do to develop that trust? You think that I am being paranoid. No I am not!! It is not easy to teach in a class. One needs to connect with the kids. One needs to develop a bond of care and trust with the kids. It is the bond which lays the foundation of a healthy student-teacher relationship. I had developed that bond with the senior kids. It took me time, but slowly and steadily I was able to connect with them. Janbaaz, Sajjad, Subi, deepak, Danista, Julekha, each one of them had specific behaviour patterns and I knew how they would react to various situations. But now, I have a new batch and I need to start again.
Therefore, to make things easy during the transition, I requested Anvita and Charu to be present during the first class. Anvita arrived early and informed the kids about the change. The result: - the moment I entered the class Jainab said:"sir hum aapse nahi padhenge, hum Anvita didi se he padhenge"( Sir, we want Anvita madam to teach us, not you) . I had not expected that and I did not know what to say. I just smiled and sat down, knowing that many cute but big eyes are watching my every move. You know, it is a strange feeling when the kids observe you. Some of them look affectionately with their big black eyes, some of them have that curious look on their face - wondering “who is this new guy?” and some of them look confused and baffled, still contemplating on how to react. What did I do? I just maintained a broad smile on my face remembering what someone had said "A smile can go a long way".
As the kids settled in the class, we started a formal introduction session. One by one, the kids told us their name, the school in which they studied and the class they were studying in. Most of them were a bit jittery, scratching their head and speaking in barely audible voice but they still looked super cute. Actually I am quite lucky, majority of the kids in the Eureka batch are girls. The benefit with girls is that they do not create a ruckus like boys do. They will generally sit quietly and pay attention. After the kids' introduction, it was my turn. I introduced myself to the kids and asked them what they did during the summer vacation. Some of the kids raised their hands and I asked them to come on stage one by one. Everybody had an interesting story. If some of them just talked about the good time they had with their grand dad, grand mom and other relatives, others told us how they won a cricket tournament in their village. So, everything was going smoothly and I felt like I am on a roll but suddenly, out came a voice " Sir Khadoss lag rahe hain"( Sir looks like a strict person). After a split second of silence, just enough to realize the innocence in the words of the child, we all started laughing and I recalled my own words: "Himanshu, it will take time to connect with the kids. It will take time".
Overall, it was a good class. I met some wonderful kids: Jainab, Quaish, Gudiya and Gia. Quaish in particular, is a very inquisitive fellow. He wants to know new things. He tries very hard to grasp everything that is said in the class and when he is in doubt, he asks the most basic of questions without any inhibition. It is these instances that make me feel that we can learn a lot from the kids. We take too many things for granted because we know them now. But we forget the time when we did not know much. For e.g: we all know how to tell time on a Wall clock. Try teaching this to a kid. You will use angles, table of five and clock diagrams to teach them the very basic of all things: Telling time. To summarize, the fundamental concepts are brick walls which need the reinforcement of mortar named “teacher” to build a castle we know as “An Educated Adult”.
This time, the kids are even younger with easy to mould habits and personalities. We need to tread carefully, one kid at a time, because in a very short time the mould will harden and habits crystallize. We at AID Noida have to make sure that no cracks or air pockets go unnoticed. Let us see how it goes.
Cheers!!
Yes!! After two month of lull AID NOIDA centre is again full with kids and volunteers. But there have been some changes. First of all, The responsibility of senior batch (2007) has been transferred from I and Prashant to Prateek and Darshan. Secondly, I have been given responsibility for the Eureka Batch (2008-2010). Initially, it did not seem like a very big shift but last Saturday when I went to the class I realized that batch shifting is not that small a thing after all.
First of all, I will miss teaching the Senior Batch. The batch consists of the eldest and the most responsible kids studying at AID NOIDA. Being the batch owner for past 6 months I had seen a lot : Aashmina performing very funny" tum paas aaye... badbu phelaye" skit, Jaanbaaz, Sajaad and Subi managing junior kids and wonderful sessions on volcanoes, water cycle, earthquakes and many others topics. The innocence, the inquisitive nature and the sparkling intelligence of the kids have spellbound me. In fact, I feel personally attached to the senior batch and I will miss those classes.
Secondly, I was a bit nervous when I entered the new class. Yes, I was kind of worried how the kids in the Eureka batch would respond. Will they appreciate the change? Will they listen to me the way they pay attention to Anvita - Eureka Batch owner. What do I need to do to develop that trust? You think that I am being paranoid. No I am not!! It is not easy to teach in a class. One needs to connect with the kids. One needs to develop a bond of care and trust with the kids. It is the bond which lays the foundation of a healthy student-teacher relationship. I had developed that bond with the senior kids. It took me time, but slowly and steadily I was able to connect with them. Janbaaz, Sajjad, Subi, deepak, Danista, Julekha, each one of them had specific behaviour patterns and I knew how they would react to various situations. But now, I have a new batch and I need to start again.
Therefore, to make things easy during the transition, I requested Anvita and Charu to be present during the first class. Anvita arrived early and informed the kids about the change. The result: - the moment I entered the class Jainab said:"sir hum aapse nahi padhenge, hum Anvita didi se he padhenge"( Sir, we want Anvita madam to teach us, not you) . I had not expected that and I did not know what to say. I just smiled and sat down, knowing that many cute but big eyes are watching my every move. You know, it is a strange feeling when the kids observe you. Some of them look affectionately with their big black eyes, some of them have that curious look on their face - wondering “who is this new guy?” and some of them look confused and baffled, still contemplating on how to react. What did I do? I just maintained a broad smile on my face remembering what someone had said "A smile can go a long way".
As the kids settled in the class, we started a formal introduction session. One by one, the kids told us their name, the school in which they studied and the class they were studying in. Most of them were a bit jittery, scratching their head and speaking in barely audible voice but they still looked super cute. Actually I am quite lucky, majority of the kids in the Eureka batch are girls. The benefit with girls is that they do not create a ruckus like boys do. They will generally sit quietly and pay attention. After the kids' introduction, it was my turn. I introduced myself to the kids and asked them what they did during the summer vacation. Some of the kids raised their hands and I asked them to come on stage one by one. Everybody had an interesting story. If some of them just talked about the good time they had with their grand dad, grand mom and other relatives, others told us how they won a cricket tournament in their village. So, everything was going smoothly and I felt like I am on a roll but suddenly, out came a voice " Sir Khadoss lag rahe hain"( Sir looks like a strict person). After a split second of silence, just enough to realize the innocence in the words of the child, we all started laughing and I recalled my own words: "Himanshu, it will take time to connect with the kids. It will take time".
Overall, it was a good class. I met some wonderful kids: Jainab, Quaish, Gudiya and Gia. Quaish in particular, is a very inquisitive fellow. He wants to know new things. He tries very hard to grasp everything that is said in the class and when he is in doubt, he asks the most basic of questions without any inhibition. It is these instances that make me feel that we can learn a lot from the kids. We take too many things for granted because we know them now. But we forget the time when we did not know much. For e.g: we all know how to tell time on a Wall clock. Try teaching this to a kid. You will use angles, table of five and clock diagrams to teach them the very basic of all things: Telling time. To summarize, the fundamental concepts are brick walls which need the reinforcement of mortar named “teacher” to build a castle we know as “An Educated Adult”.
This time, the kids are even younger with easy to mould habits and personalities. We need to tread carefully, one kid at a time, because in a very short time the mould will harden and habits crystallize. We at AID Noida have to make sure that no cracks or air pockets go unnoticed. Let us see how it goes.
Cheers!!
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