Sameer – the boy whose smile just makes you forget every other problem that life throws at you in this mega city. Though he was in my class during the initial days, he was transfered to another section. One day, when I arrived at School, his Mom came running to me. “Sir, are you Sameer’s Teacher? He attended School in the morning but he made me wait for 30 minutes so that he can talk to you. He has been pushing me to talk to the Principal to ask for a transfer back to your class. Can he go back to your class?” I replied that I’d be happy to have him back in my class but it is upto the Principal to decide.

But, what made my day was what his Mom had to say next, “Sir,yeh bolte rehta hain ki..hamare class mein ek naye sir aaye hain. Hero jaise dikhte hain, gaate, nachte hain aur English mein sikhaate hain. Mujhe maarte nahin aur pyar se sikhaate hain..mujhe unke class mein hi jaana hain (Sir, he keeps saying that there is a new Teacher in my class who looks like a hero and he sings, dances and teacher us in English. He does not beat us and I want to be in his class)”. I just could not say anything in reply and just looked at a shy Sameer, trying to hide behind his mother’s legs. Every day evening, he has been calling me from his Mom’s mobile to talk to me since he left my class.

Hope he makes it back to 2-B ! We’ll wait for you Sameer 🙂

Mahek is one of the cutest girls in my class – ever smiling, eager to answer, follows class rules and actively participates in everything, though she started off as a very quiet, withdrawn girl. Today, I was giving out her name card and she said, in a very sweet but authoritative, commanding voice “Bhaiya, yeh KYA Hain?” I was almost startled and asked her smilingly “Kya haia Mahek?” “Bhaiya, yeh BANU nahin hain…BANO hain..O hain U nahin” in her name ! I immediately took a pen and corrected her name. What was striking about this story is the tone of her voice – strong yet sweet. I won’t be able to reproduce it here but I can still recall how she said it 🙂

(Pic: The long pin up notice board with class goals, class slogan, class rules posters. Rules poster is surrounded by these small rules sheets that were colored by the kids at home. The last pic shows the kids eagerly looking at the pictures where their friends demo these rules)

We have a set of Class rules that the ‘Champions’ will follow all the time.  [All kids in our class are ‘Champions’ and they aspire to become ‘Superstars’ 🙂 ] I and the children have spent many hours during the last 10 days, learning and practicing these rules. To encourage them to follow the rules and also generate some excitement, I started taking pictures of kids who demonstrate the rules and putting them up on the pin up board. Kids just loved this today ! These two rule posters were put up today before our class started and when the kids started coming in, they immediately noticed them and the buzz and smiles seeing these posters were awesome to look at. I have told them that everyone will get a chance to be photographed and be there on the board if they follow classrules.

PS: Thanks Milind Bhaiya for the awesome idea of printing out Class rules template in Word Art and making the kids color it !

There is a lot of renovation and painting going on in my school and hence there is scaffolding all over. The other day, while we were in the class, a painter Bhaiya climbed up the scaffold outside our windows and started painting. Occasionally, he peeped into the class and it attracted the attention of some kids. I stopped the class and asked all kids to look at Painter Bhaiya. I want them to learn to thank the everyday people in our life who are important. I explained to the kids how a painter beautifies our buildings and “So, what do champions do to people who help make things beautiful?” Kids replied “Champions say thank you !” and they said in unison “Thank you Bhaiya” to the Painter bhaiya, who, by now had a big smile. They also gave him a Champion’s clap !

Two more Didis in the school got a similar “Thank Yous” from the Champions – Marne Didi who makes Kichdi for the kids and Anitha Didi who cleans the class. They both were thrilled to see the Champions’ welcome song and Thank Yous !

After a few days in School, another Teacher told me that Rahul is supposed to go to another division (2-B to 2-H) and I have been telling him for 4 days that he must go to the morning division. But, everyday, he comes back to my class in the afternoon. Today, I took him aside and asked him, “Rahul, your class is in the morning, 2-H. So, from tomorrow you will go to the morning class. OK?”. “No”, replied Rahul. I asked, “Why?”.

“Kyunki main subah ut nahin paoonga  (“Because, I can’t get up so early in the morning !”)

Many of my champions have to sit on the floor due to broken / less furniture. So, after an hour, I ask if someone is willing to give up their seat for someone who has been sitting on the floor. The response is usually overwhelming. Many kids willingly give up their seat and sit on the floor. This usually gets them a shooting star and a champions’ clap !

Though, at first glance, it looks like my classroom furniture is awesome, many of them are broken. Today, I did a quick audit and found that out of the 27 desks and 29 chairs, 15 desks are broken (= unsafe, unstable, very inconvenient for children). 7 chairs are broken. On an average, I have 35+ kids attending class and I have no option but make the 15+ kids on the floor. The only mats I had, were given to classes which didn’t  have any furniture.

So, requirement = fix the existing furniture and buy new mat

Today, a child caught my attention by raising his hand. When I asked him what the matter was, he told me to come closer and gave me something that was in his hand. It was chewed, wet bubble gum. Seeing this in my hand, I didn’t react for a minute and then suddenly I started laughing ! Seeing me laugh, all the kids started giggling as well. I asked the child “Why did you give me your chewed gum?” He didn’t know what to say. But, I knew who had chewed it and thrown away on the floor. So, I closed my eyes and said that I ll count 5 and by then, when I open my eyes, the ‘Champion’ who chewed gum and threw it in class must stand up. I kept telling them that Champions always say the truth and they own up when they make a mistake, ‘kyunki woh banna chahte hain SUPERSTAR’ ! When I opened eyes, the boy who was chewing gum stood up and smilingly said that he won’t chew/throw gum in class !

There are days that completely drain all energy out of me in class. Today was one of them. After the 3 hour session at JSW, took the train to Sion, gulped a vadapav and lassi, grabbed a waterbottle and rushed to school (reached 20 minutes early), completely drenched in sweat (= lost salts). The other teachers were smiling to see me covered in sweat and remarked “Sir, why do you run to school? You can walk aaraam se na?” 🙂  Even without running if I’m sweating so much, what would happen if I ran to school ! Maybe I should keep a spare shirt in school. Not a bad idea.

No need to ask how the next 5 hours in school was … totally exhausting. Yet, it is the small successes and the wonder, happiness, eagerness in the faces of the children that motivates me to keep going despite the dripping sweat, drenched shirt, pouring chalk powder (from ‘Kores dustless chalk’), olive green trousers covered in yellow and white chalk powder, the strong smell of paint from outside the window, the fan that does not work and every other challenge that makes it a tough climb. I’ll face more challenges but it is all worth it to see my children happily climbing to close the achievement gap.

The classroom is the ‘dharma kshetre kurukshetre’ for me and it is here I am learning new levels of the Teach For India core values.  When I am facing the children, totally drained, failing in my every attempt to teach them something, keep them engaged, motivated and happy, I am realizing that I need to have a stronger sense of possibility and humility than ever before.