By Pranav Sukhija
Fellow, Teach for India
As students, we don’t really view our teachers as leaders. We tend to ignore the value they create and the impact they make when they teach us in the classroom. I don’t think I ever appreciated any of my hard-working school teachers for planning their lessons so well or for an interesting assessment or quiz they designed. It was only when I joined the Teach for India fellowship that I began to understand the complexities of the teaching profession and the skills a teacher gains while working; it was only then that I realised that teaching is leadership. Like any great leader will have a strong vision for his organisation, invest and motivate everyone on board, plan out all activities in a coherent manner, constantly reflect to improve effectiveness, and work relentlessly to achieve goals and targets; an excellent teacher has to employ all these measures and more.
As a teacher of young students, who come from economically weaker sections of the society, my vision for my classroom and students has been to inculcate strong character traits and mindsets such as hard work, discipline, integrity, optimism, etc. in their minds which will set them up for success in life. I feel that I learned the most important lessons in life while working with other people. This is the reason that I focus a lot on experiential learning and holistic development of every child.
Fellow, Teach for India
As students, we don’t really view our teachers as leaders. We tend to ignore the value they create and the impact they make when they teach us in the classroom. I don’t think I ever appreciated any of my hard-working school teachers for planning their lessons so well or for an interesting assessment or quiz they designed. It was only when I joined the Teach for India fellowship that I began to understand the complexities of the teaching profession and the skills a teacher gains while working; it was only then that I realised that teaching is leadership. Like any great leader will have a strong vision for his organisation, invest and motivate everyone on board, plan out all activities in a coherent manner, constantly reflect to improve effectiveness, and work relentlessly to achieve goals and targets; an excellent teacher has to employ all these measures and more.
As a teacher of young students, who come from economically weaker sections of the society, my vision for my classroom and students has been to inculcate strong character traits and mindsets such as hard work, discipline, integrity, optimism, etc. in their minds which will set them up for success in life. I feel that I learned the most important lessons in life while working with other people. This is the reason that I focus a lot on experiential learning and holistic development of every child.
To make sure that all my students are invested and engaged with their learning, I have to constantly remind them of the importance and benefits of education, the countless opportunities they will have for themselves and their families if they choose education over marriage or labour. I also need to invest in their parents so that they too support their children in terms of nutrition and health, learning and moral guidance.
With thorough planning and effective execution, I have helped my students grow leaps and bounds academically from the day I stepped into their classroom for the first time. While earlier, most of them couldn’t speak or read English language, now they are so adept in even writing in the language, which is a really hard skill to master.
By constantly reflecting on my own effectiveness and learning from other people, I try to introduce new concepts into my teaching methodology, attempting to offer a better experience to my students every day.
Finally, by working extremely hard and inspiring my students to study harder, I believe that we will achieve our highly ambitious academic and non-academic goals and targets for the academic year.
Being surrounded by children all the time, I think I have become more positive and inspiring to other people. In order to teach excellent character traits to children, I work hard to model those traits every single day when I step into the community, school or classroom so that the children can pick up those traits from me. Being a part of a nationwide movement that celebrates diversity, encourages individuality and promotes collaboration and teamwork, I have become a better team player and manager, more assertive and practical, resourceful and organised, disciplined and dedicated, creative and imaginative, and a better public speaker and writer.
There is so much that you can gain from this fellowship programme. But it is not for everyone. It is only for those who are ready for a challenge; those who wish to take a leap of faith.
Apply for the Teach for India Fellowship online @ http://teachforindia.org/
Last date to Apply: January 30
Pranav Sukhija
Pranav Sukhija is a Teach for India fellow, a prolific writer and an explorer of everything that the world offers. When not working, he spends most of his time thinking about his kids and school and strives hard to give them a high quality education. He is a people's person and gets along well with most people. He loves taking out time to connect with friends and acquaintances and derives energy and power from them. He'd be very happy to connect with you, too. Please write to him at pranav.sukhija2011@teachforindia.org.
Pranav Sukhija is a Teach for India fellow, a prolific writer and an explorer of everything that the world offers. When not working, he spends most of his time thinking about his kids and school and strives hard to give them a high quality education. He is a people's person and gets along well with most people. He loves taking out time to connect with friends and acquaintances and derives energy and power from them. He'd be very happy to connect with you, too. Please write to him at pranav.sukhija2011@teachforindia.org.
