An excerpt from 'Redrawing India- The Teach for India Initiative' by Kovind Gupta and Shaheen Mistri
Let me try and explain why teaching is the toughest job you can ever imagine. Imagine your best self. When that is happy, cheerful, forgiving, patient, loving, kind, generous, grateful, empathetic, focused. Now, think of the number of days in a year that you actually are your best self. Think of the situations in which this best self usually comes out and the people with whom it is easiest for you to be your best self.
Well, here's the thing. If you are a teacher, you need to be your best self, every single day of the year. In a dark, leaking, cramped room, or a scorching, asbestos roof shade, that acts as a classroom. When a child throws a tantrum, or calls you names. Even when the roof of your classroom leaks in the middle of a lesson.
My biggest learning as a teacher was this: the children learn vigorous academic content from what you teach, but they learn values from the person that you are. You can talk about grit all you want in the classroom, but the minute the children see you giving up on that one child in the classroom, they will give up too. You can talk about integrity and perseverance till your throat goes hoarse but you come late to school one day, or you come to school without a plan, and children will learn from that. You can talk about all the values in the world but unless your best self comes alive every single day, chances are that your children's best self isn't going to shine. That's why it is tough.
- Revathi Ramanan, 2011 Teach for India Alumnus and Program Manager, Teach for India.
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