The batch that graduated
May 6, 2019
A few years back a girl was admitted to my English class. According to me, she was quite bright, but her parents had constantly complained about her. She used to study in one of the Hyderabad based techno schools. Parents and teachers were very unhappy about her performance.
On one such meeting, we thought it would be good to change her school as she was unable to cope up. So they put her into another school.
This girl was getting into a shell, I was constantly worried about her. Parents had been very supportive and were always ready to help her. In the second school too, she was unable to perform and parents were called by the school. They briefed them about her studies and that she was not performing.
As the year drew to an end, it was visible that she was not going to pass and everyone had started losing hope.
Parents came and discussed with me again and we decided to change the school yet again. We also decided that she would come to my place for tuitions. I have been against this business called tuitions. But seeing the situation I agreed.
So our journey began, initially, I would sit with her and later my teachers started spending a lot of time. As we started working together with her, we found that this girl was intelligent. She would grasp really well. The only challenge though was writing, she would make a lot of mistakes.
We gave her a lot of time to relax, enjoy, dance, spend time with friends. We had slowly seen her getting better marks and the confidence that she was gaining. Though the first term marks were not up to the mark, she failed in 3 subjects, but we didn’t give up.
Parents on one of the occasions told me that she is just going to the school for the sake of going, what we were teaching mattered the most.
Along the line, we had taken a few more kids who needed help and support. My teachers in the evening are two young girls, one who’s been with me right after her 10th class and recently she finished her MCOM. The other girl is in her undergrad program.
Teachers and kids put in a lot of effort, the only difference here was that all of us were on the same side. We didn’t complain about the kids. We gave them enough room to learn.
And as the academic year was coming to an end, we were waiting with baited breath to see how they had performed.
On 22nd her results were to be announced, and I could see the tension on her face. She knew she had done well but was very scared to go and take her results. I wonder what she went through these last few days. By noon she came dancing with her marks card.
She had passed!
More than the marks she had got, I was overwhelmed by the way she had changed from a scared and depressed girl to a confident young girl. She has promised to get a better percentage next year.
Well, I know it’s been a long story, but I thought of sharing it with you all. Its a story of a girl who could have lost a lot. She could have stopped studying. She had clearly lost the motivation to do anything in life. We have been fortunate enough to make a difference in her and a few more kids.
Last few years I have been so lost in my world that I have spent very less time with my friends and family. I always wondered and felt bad about it. It’s like I am reliving my years in school where no one cared whether I existed or not. This is like a win for me from the system and the so-called teachers who let so many children go through schooling with so much difficulty.
I have been sharing that if I could change one child’s life, my job as a teacher was successful. I feel so thankful to this girl and her parents for believing in me and my team.
This is a small success story but worth mentioning.
Thank you for being patient.
Lata,
Poshan
