Thank you for writing in, all of you. After agonizing over the decision long and hard, I decided to go for it. I am now a teacher – something I never thought I would be. The mate challenged me that since I have such strong opinions on the education system, I am being given a chance to put my money where my mouth is and I should have conviction enough to go for it.
Of course, he thinks that I will totally rise to such a challenge. And I know that he is pushing for this because, in his eyes, this is an “ideal job” for me and he infinitely prefers me to be here rather than in the corporate rat race. The timings as well as the travel that comes with corporate life will take away from “our quality of life” for “mere money.”
While I can see through this well enough, he is right when he says that I am committing to something I believe in. This school is an artsy place and truly believes in educating the whole human being and in teaching children at the conceptual level, rather than rote learning. Now that is something I believe in. It also has spaces for everyone to succeed - art, music, academics, dance. Everyone participates in everything, so kids get to constantly challenge themselves and also explore new territories.
There are no "school leaders" or "class captains" – the older kids serve as mentors for the little ones. They take in kids of all kinds of abilities. And the class teacher stays with the class for 3-7 years - which is why I had to make the 3-year commitment. Most of the teachers are there because they believe in the school and truly love the children. Now, I cannot think of anything more idealistic than this kind of environment – somewhat reminiscent of the Gurukul. The great thing is that they actually follow all they say - something I could see for myself after being there. These are not paper promises.
Careerwise, I am exploring a completely new territory. Somehow, I have always found that all the career decisions I have made have helped me immensely in any future jobs I take. Even staying at home for the last 3 years has helped me explore reading to my children, telling stories, helping with school-work, sewing, painting – all of which will be immensely useful to me at the school. There are loads of learning opportunities and I still have enough free time to pursue my boutique idea as well as write. And perhaps this will offer me some skills that will help if and when I decide to move on.
As for the money, the mate still earns enough to keep us in comfort, and I will be earning enough to at least ensure some sort of basic living were I thrown to my own devices. The school says that it plans to raise the salaries over the next couple of years. So after weighing and thinking and careful consideration, I feel certain of my decision. So I am letting the mate believe that he talked me into this and from June, I will be a teacher. Let's see what adventures come out of this.
11 comments:
Wow! reading this gives me some confidence that may be, even I can get some work I would love to do and not crib about everyday.
Now that I will be taking a long break in a few months and seriously thinking about career alternatives, this should be a starting point - to jot down the alternatives first.
Teaching has always been on my mind but exactly all the reasons that you have mentioned in your previous post apply for me as well. I was eagerly waiting to find out what decision you would make :)
I would want to talk to you about this just to make sure if I would be eligible to take up this profession. Will email you to discuss this.
Long enough post. I wish you best luck!
- Vani (regular reader but not-so- regular commenter)
Thank you, Vani. Do write in at carelesschronicles at gmail dot com and I will be glad to talk to you.
Hurray! This is inspiring. Thank you for sharing :)
@SimplyBored: Thank you.
I think you are going to make a great teacher. I still remember what some of my favorite and much respected teachers taught us and their views on Democracy, equality and gender equality have made a permanent impact of me. I am sure yours will be a lasting impact too. Best wishes.
Hey, just caught up with your posts! Such wonderful news! I've always wanted to get back to teaching after my 1 year stint at it. Hope you're liking it! Good luck!
@IHM: Yes I too had some wonderful teachers and some terrible ones. The education system with the overload of potions is not really designed to promote a close teacher-student relationship. The relaxed environment at my school which works at a much slower pace allows me to get to know the students really well. Also, moving up with the same group means that we really have a bond. I am really looking forward to this. I'm sure we'll have a lot to teach each other. I already find myself becoming a more relaxed mom.
@ Tarantismo: I think India needs inspired smart teachers. We should make teaching a more lucrative profession, so that smarter people join it.
Read a few posts of your's today and i am so happy to know about such a wonderful schooling system..I have heard about one here in Delhi too. I wish i could do such work some day. I have loved teaching in the past and have been completely smitten by everything associated with informal teaching.
@ Sangeetha: It has been a very soul satisfying experience so far..
Is it a Waldorf school? I agree with your comment above - teaching should be lucrative enough so that the smartest people make a choice to join the profession.
@ Shachi: It's something on those lines. Yes. I feel that way too. And I completely overestimated the time involved. I have never been busier - training, reading, preparing, reviewing the kids, coming up with individualized plan of action. I haven't done anything other than school stuff since June.
Post a Comment