Page 6 - October 2021 Newsletter
P. 6
October 2021
The He(art) of Teaching:
A P A G E F R O M A T E A C H E R ’ S D I A R Y
Here I am, back on campus – transitioning behold, a brave heart from the crowd jumped
back into on-campus teaching. Everything into the lake and grabbed the child. He came
looks familiar. The smiling guards welcoming back triumphantly with the child in his arms.
everyone at the gate, the same old campus A courageous man indeed! While the crowd
decked with flame of the forest trees in full cheered, the rescuer, taking no heed of the
bloom, my cozy office, and the lively applause, was looking for someone in the
classrooms. Everything comfortingly familiar! crowd. “Who are you looking for?” asked a
man from the crowd. The brave heart replied,
Well, not really! “Familiarly unfamiliar,” I “I am looking for the person who pushed me
should say. A lot has changed: socially into the lake.”
distanced classrooms, masked colleagues
greeting everyone with elbow bumps, As teachers, we are in the same predicament
sanitizers galore, vaccination and temperature with the mission of bringing a bunch of online
checks, and these have brought along more groomed students back to the shore of
challenges than anyone could have predicted. mainstream education. Where do we begin?
We begin with acceptance – many things don’t
A story I heard when I was a child comes to my go as planned and we have flipped and un-
mind. The setting is a bustling village with a flipped our lessons several times. We have
large beautiful lake. Some children were learned to be flexible, adaptable and patient.
playing by the lake. Suddenly, one of them fell
into the lake. He was drowning and cried for I know we will weather it out together because
help. Villagers gathered around screaming and we believe in the slogan “Together We
shouting, “Somebody save the child!” No one Succeed.” Let me conclude with the immortal
dared to jump into the deep lake to rescue the lines of my favorite poet, “If winter comes, can
child. Then, there was a loud splash. Lo and spring be far behind?”
-Mahija Nambiar
