I cannot be a teacher without exposing who I am
- Paulo Freire
As a student of Masters in Sociology specializing in Sociology of Education, I got to explore the uncharted territories of my mind. I was compelled to question my own ways of learning and my aim of attaining education. Was it merely for the degree or for higher purpose in life. My life, my dreams and my visions were under scrutiny. Teaching, learning and schooling were redefined by borrowing from Emile Durkheim, Pierre Bourdieu, Michael Apple, Paulo Freire, Ivan Illich and M K Gandhi, Aurobindo Ghosh, only to abandon their ideas later.
I had always resisted taking up teaching as a profession as I never felt I was cut out for it. But life had something else in store for me. In 2011, I went to Mauritius to live and work for a while after my graduation. I wanted to explore the social cultural fabric of this multicultural country. Just when I had thought I had had enough and should return, just then I was offered to teach Sociology at Loreto College. I was swarmed by really difficult time of my life as I was too young, away from home and in a different cultural context to handle it all. French was a predominant language of instruction and apart from ‘bonjour’ and ‘merci’ I knew no more. After a lot of self counseling, I started translating all the theoretical learning from my graduate school days into practice. I started with dialogue. Realizing the need for engaging in a dialogue with the students, I joined French language classes and asked my students to teach me in return. This was the first barrier I tried to blur between myself as the teacher and them. The second step I took was to incorporate drama and digital arts in the teaching of sociology. So far, sociology for them was all about copious notes and mindless jabbering. I wanted to capitalize on the skills in drama and arts which I had. The students experienced sociological theories like feminism, interactionism, functionalism and Marxism; and sociological concepts like family, media, education etc. by participating physically, emotionally, intellectually and creatively with it. In no time, I was completely immersed in the culture of the school and my only focus used to be the welfare of the students. Informal conversations on one on one basis with the students especially after school on our way back home evolved me as a listener. We used to discuss our dreams, movies, books and music. The stint with Loreto College made me realize that ‘nothing can be taught’ and that we are mere learners of life. My subsequent work involved delivering lectures at the Mauritius Institute of Education. Here I had to face a challenge of other kind- Adult learners with ossified ideas. To make in-service and pre-service teachers realize the damage that unidirectional mechanical instructions are having on children was a herculean task. I found it to be an excellent opportunity for myself to advocate for dialogue with their students. I realized that I wanted to engage in making systemic changes in the field of teacher of education.
I Am A Teacher happened at a time when I felt the need to equip myself with more teaching and learning skills and be in a system that wants to revolutionize teacher education. Without batting an eyelid, I followed my intuition and landed up amidst a group of initiators of change. Six months helped me to reinforce my determination to work towards empowerment of the teachers and creating a learning community for dialogues to take place.
I am a firm believer in the power of dialogues in a learning space. Education should equip individuals to engage in dialogic transformations. As facilitators/ teachers, we have to participate in creating a social world which we envision.
I had always resisted taking up teaching as a profession as I never felt I was cut out for it. But life had something else in store for me. In 2011, I went to Mauritius to live and work for a while after my graduation. I wanted to explore the social cultural fabric of this multicultural country. Just when I had thought I had had enough and should return, just then I was offered to teach Sociology at Loreto College. I was swarmed by really difficult time of my life as I was too young, away from home and in a different cultural context to handle it all. French was a predominant language of instruction and apart from ‘bonjour’ and ‘merci’ I knew no more. After a lot of self counseling, I started translating all the theoretical learning from my graduate school days into practice. I started with dialogue. Realizing the need for engaging in a dialogue with the students, I joined French language classes and asked my students to teach me in return. This was the first barrier I tried to blur between myself as the teacher and them. The second step I took was to incorporate drama and digital arts in the teaching of sociology. So far, sociology for them was all about copious notes and mindless jabbering. I wanted to capitalize on the skills in drama and arts which I had. The students experienced sociological theories like feminism, interactionism, functionalism and Marxism; and sociological concepts like family, media, education etc. by participating physically, emotionally, intellectually and creatively with it. In no time, I was completely immersed in the culture of the school and my only focus used to be the welfare of the students. Informal conversations on one on one basis with the students especially after school on our way back home evolved me as a listener. We used to discuss our dreams, movies, books and music. The stint with Loreto College made me realize that ‘nothing can be taught’ and that we are mere learners of life. My subsequent work involved delivering lectures at the Mauritius Institute of Education. Here I had to face a challenge of other kind- Adult learners with ossified ideas. To make in-service and pre-service teachers realize the damage that unidirectional mechanical instructions are having on children was a herculean task. I found it to be an excellent opportunity for myself to advocate for dialogue with their students. I realized that I wanted to engage in making systemic changes in the field of teacher of education.
I Am A Teacher happened at a time when I felt the need to equip myself with more teaching and learning skills and be in a system that wants to revolutionize teacher education. Without batting an eyelid, I followed my intuition and landed up amidst a group of initiators of change. Six months helped me to reinforce my determination to work towards empowerment of the teachers and creating a learning community for dialogues to take place.
I am a firm believer in the power of dialogues in a learning space. Education should equip individuals to engage in dialogic transformations. As facilitators/ teachers, we have to participate in creating a social world which we envision.
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During one of my practice sessions, trying to understand French together.
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My PhilosophyRole as a Facilitator |
To cultivate critical consciousness through dialogues and limitless exploration of one's being.
To facilitate the exploration of the learners by being a fellow explorer. |
