I have always believed in doing a little extra to help people in need. I also firmly believe that it is very important to give back to life a little in return to all that it has given me. From my childhood I loved the idea of being a teacher. And I ended up being one as I grew up, though today, I am a trainer working in the corporate world. The good thing is that I still teach!
For the past 3 to 4 years I have had a strong desire to reach out to the underprivileged strata of the society and teach. I identified an opportunity to make my contribution when last year I saw the Times of India Teach India hoarding while driving. At that moment I couldn’t really figure what it was. After a couple of days I watched the television commercial which featured Bollywood star Aamir Khan. The commercial went like this, some kids came to him to learn something and he was in a dilemma whether he was capable of teaching. While he was thinking, one of the kids pronounced a word incorrectly and he immediately corrected the kid. While doing so he said to himself that even he, as a kid, used to make the same mistake, and how his teacher corrected him every time he went wrong. This commercial further strengthened my conviction about remaining a teacher at heart.
I realised that I could be a part of the Teach India initiative. Teach India is a social initiative from the Times of India that brings together children in need of education and people who can contribute a little time towards teaching them. I felt it was a movement to bring about a change in the way India lives. However, my excitement about joining this mission got completely shattered because I was told that by my Manager that I had to go to another city on a deputation and my working hours would be a little erratic. I was very upset but couldn’t do much as the job was also very important.
At that time I just hoped that this initiative continues and I could be a part of the same the following year. And yes, it did continue! Just a week and a half ago I was chatting with one of my colleagues when she mentioned that she enrolled to teach in the Teach India initiative and asked me if I would be interested. I immediately went through the site and registered, and this Saturday I am going for the induction. At the induction I would meet the volunteers from different NGOs who will assign me to a particular location and get details about the students and the subjects that I would be teaching. I am very excited and anxious to get started.
For the past 3 to 4 years I have had a strong desire to reach out to the underprivileged strata of the society and teach. I identified an opportunity to make my contribution when last year I saw the Times of India Teach India hoarding while driving. At that moment I couldn’t really figure what it was. After a couple of days I watched the television commercial which featured Bollywood star Aamir Khan. The commercial went like this, some kids came to him to learn something and he was in a dilemma whether he was capable of teaching. While he was thinking, one of the kids pronounced a word incorrectly and he immediately corrected the kid. While doing so he said to himself that even he, as a kid, used to make the same mistake, and how his teacher corrected him every time he went wrong. This commercial further strengthened my conviction about remaining a teacher at heart.
I realised that I could be a part of the Teach India initiative. Teach India is a social initiative from the Times of India that brings together children in need of education and people who can contribute a little time towards teaching them. I felt it was a movement to bring about a change in the way India lives. However, my excitement about joining this mission got completely shattered because I was told that by my Manager that I had to go to another city on a deputation and my working hours would be a little erratic. I was very upset but couldn’t do much as the job was also very important.
At that time I just hoped that this initiative continues and I could be a part of the same the following year. And yes, it did continue! Just a week and a half ago I was chatting with one of my colleagues when she mentioned that she enrolled to teach in the Teach India initiative and asked me if I would be interested. I immediately went through the site and registered, and this Saturday I am going for the induction. At the induction I would meet the volunteers from different NGOs who will assign me to a particular location and get details about the students and the subjects that I would be teaching. I am very excited and anxious to get started.
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