Being a Teacher

If you aspire to be a school teacher, there might be two things in you that stop you from opting for any other profession. You might love teaching, and secondly might believe you can bring in change. And if you decide to be one with the tag of KVS attached to you, you might as well be ready to travel  to, and explore different cultures, accept and respect them.

At 25, I had idealised the profession, believing that I was going to change lives. But who has finally changed is a question I am yet to find an answer to. Has it been me or them? One thing is certain. Our students are smart. They manage situations and people, wisely selecting only what they need to.  Have I adapted just as well? I doubt that . They are definitely far more well equipped and more capable than what I was at that age. These smart ones can easily do without you and me. They just need a laptop and internet connectivity.

We seem to be perpetually complaining of the falling value system and forgotten culture. But haven’t vile minds and crooked ways always been a sad part of our changing societies? Can a transformation be possible?

Sailing in KVS doesn’t happen with favourable wind all the time. You are very often thrown into the tumultuous seas where you are forced to find your own ways. Most of us are dead scared of the annual storm called inspection. We feel we are righteous Christs about to be crucified because of someone’s different point of view. What matters is what the children think of us, we tell each other. But little do we try to know of that as well. Who would like to receive criticism for free?

KVS does spend a lot on you- unasked for, you are sent to workshops, courses ranging from one day to twenty one days, camps and exhibitions. I was fortunate enough to attend an HWB camp last week and came back with a wealth of experience .Having since childhood been too very fussy about hygiene and cleanliness, I often make others’ lives miserable if things don’t happen my way. My obsession with washing myself gets onto others’ nerves. Think of the lessons I learnt when I slept without electricity, when the taps in bathroom went dry, when I managed without a bath for the day and when the bed bugs crawled over me. I will now not take water for granted. Those seven days taught me more than seven years of my life.

If we talk of tolerance and patience in a KVS teacher’s life, I would, though unwillingly, admit that we are alarmingly lacking in them. Our students with their might of sixty in a class, play havoc upon our patience until we finally decide to be either ring masters or jokers. We are slowly mastering this quality of patience, with KVS helping us out with sites like shaala darpan and pisa. Sitting up at midnight, uploading data , and catching up with sleep in between the entries , we are managing things well enough, I would say.

The nation will not run out of talent and this mighty organisation will for sure find able administrators and sincere teachers in the days to come. Future will see it grow. Whatever we are , we belong here. This is the identity we proudly announce – A KV teacher.