A week or so to go, and the end of this term is in sight. Being a person of minuscule-Marathi and with my Hindi-full-of-holes, every year I face a new batch with some amount of trepidation. Yes, I know I teach Business Communication, which is supposed to be taught in English, but by public demand I have to teach bilingually, once in English which the students write down laboriously but incomprehensibly, and once again in Hindi with a lot of examples culled from movies and television which they enjoy and understand (hopefully). Wading through the syllabus with my feet in bi-lingual boats, I sometimes flounder if the batch of fish/students is too unruly/noisy/unresponsive.
This year, I am pleasantly surprised as I seem to have bonded really well with all four divisions of my students (usually I have a jinx with students of ‘B division’, as they call themselves). Of course, there are the rowdy back-benchers who sometimes hoot and hiss when my back is turned. But I’ve managed not to get ruffled even once this year.
This year, I’ve enjoyed teaching (like I enjoyed teaching Literature back in Kolkata) to a section of students who are interested (they even wait till the final lecture for my classes) and responsive (they answer, and correctly, when I quiz them). Even a handful of such students make a world of difference to a teacher, and this year has been wonderfully different so far.
It’s nearing term-end now and it’s been a term well-spent. Thank you, students. I'll cross my fingers and hope for a repeat next term.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
TERM’S UP!
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5 comments:
I'm happy for you Sucharita! I know how satisfying it is to teach a responsive class. I myself shudder at the thought of teaching at college and am quite happy with my cute, teacher adoring 2nd graders!
I've taught literature only once - to a 12th grade Korean boy who had very bravely chosen British Lit as one of his subjects! I throughly enjoyed it - especially seeing his expressions change as he began to make sense of the seeming nonsense of Shakespeare!
Keep up the good work!
Lucky you!! I sincerely believe that some of the teachers changed forever during our student days in school-- such was the level of involvement of our batch in all things unparliamentary.
Hi Scatterbrain, Lazyani,
Thanks for the different perspectives on the teaching-learning scene from both sides of the desk.
Even I'm happy for me this term.
Nice. I didn't enjoy teaching because I felt burdened by responsibility. However, I do think about my grade 9/3rd formers who baked me brownies for my birthday and gave me gifts on teachers day. They loved me and I loved them.
That was at an all-girls high school. I taught afterwards for a short time at an all boys high school. I was supposed to be there for 8 months, I left after two. But one class was sweet. Twice they serenaded me: Once was for teacher's day - they all sang I Just Called To Say I Love You (by Stevie Wonder) as I walked into class. Another time, they broke into song as I was leaving, singing a song by Shawn Kingston that goes "Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh. Why'd you have to go oh away from me, mi love."
Hi JR,
That's a cool way of showing appreciation!
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