Teachers beyond classrooms

Teachers beyond Classrooms

Teaching under challenging situations

By 05th Sep, 2014 | 02:27 am

When we think about teachers, we identify them with our schools, colleges, tutorials or any other educational institution. To us, teachers are responsible for disseminating knowledge pertaining to our school or college syllabus with a screen or a blackboard by their side.

In the process, we are expected to perform certain tasks they ask of us. If we don’t, we face certain consequencesunless we are able to come up with a smart excuse. It can range from having a massive power shortage in our vicinity to our family members being seriously ill. These excuses which we make up are actually a hard hitting reality for many school children in our country.

Yes, children crippled by the vagaries of their poor social economic strata struggle to make it to their schools and finish their work on time. Generally, we won’t find these children in our classes. Most of us come from well-to-do families who don’t have to worry about the necessities of life – food, power, shelter, clothes and water. Our only concerns are our studies. However, in our country, students as well endowed as us are only a minority.

Source-Indian Express

There are students who still live in darkness or they’ve to cross many hurdles to reach their schools due to their geography. There are many who would like to study further but are stopped by their parents. Their aspirations get nipped in the bud, and they end up starting a livelihood at the same age when we give our board exams. Imagine being a teacher to a class of such students.

In such cases, a teacher’s duty doesn’t stop inside the class but extends way beyond it. It’s a tragic tale of their valour to realise their less fortunate students’ aspirations. Sometimes, they succeed, but most of the times, they fail.

In a lot of urban and rural pockets, where generations have known no fruits of going to school, the teachers have to battle it out to fight off the prevailing dogmas. They’ve to go and plead at every doorstep to ask parents to send their children to school. They’ve to counsel them on the need for education. A lot of times, they’re shown the door or even abused.

There are many instances where teachers have had to take up the cause of the welfare of the slums either collectively, individually or being a part of an institution. They’ve to expand their roles from being just teachers to social entrepreneurs to make sure a child has access to roads, sanitation, clean drinking water, electricity, a safe environment and so on.

They even have to educate the parents to make them understand the value of education and maintain a healthy atmosphere where children can study. For these teachers, every day is like a battle where they’re left broken many a times. Without losing hope, they continue their endeavour of nurturing young minds who are unfortunate.

These teachers aren’t financially rewarded or recognised, but their zeal and enthusiasm never fade. We salute them this Teacher’s Day for their noble fight against education inequality prevailing in our country.

-Sayan Ganguly