OUR EX-STUDENTS PLAYING THE ROLE OF IDEAL TEACHERS

Let’s share with you why we are so proud of 2 of our volunteers and why they are so special to us. They’re 16 years olds – the youngest amongst the lot. They’re our ex-students who’ve just passed out of SSC in March ’06 and are now in Junior College. 

“Sunbeam gave us an opportunity to quality education and now it’s our time to give back to the society in some small measure what we have received with so much love.” This is what Pooja and Sangita have to say each time that they brush aside our thanks for volunteering on a daily basis.

Initially, after their SSC board examination results, they weren’t able to understand how to go about contributing to Sunbeam in any significant way. Yet, their strong bond with Sunbeam is what kept bringing them back to the Bandra education center where they had belonged in the past so many years. One day, their education coordinator at Sunbeam come up with a suggestion, “Sangita and Pooja, would you be interested in teaching English and Computers to our 5^th std. batch in your free time?”  They were thrilled at the idea. It was just the opportunity they were waiting for. The next week saw them among the 9 year old Marathi medium students listening to them intently as they went about laying a foundation in English for them.

“How is it different to be on the other side of the bench? How does it feel to be a teacher as compared to your experience as students of Sunbeam?”  They respond by saying that it’s been a learning experience. They add that though our trust in their ability to teach has boosted their morale, it has also brought along with it a lot of responsibility that goes with the role of a teacher.

Sangita is appreciative of the Sunbeam teachers’ efforts and it comes across clearly as she states, “I’m surprised that our didis can manage a batch of such restless and inattentive students and yet get such good results.” Reminiscing of the days when she‘d get frustrated, Pooja quipped in by not talking about failure but of her determination as a teacher and her coping skills. She stated, “We come up with different ideas to keep the children’s attention and interest levels high – be it teaching via interesting anecdotes or via games.” Our 16 year olds talk with the maturity that our B.Ed. teachers possess when they say that they’ve understood how to talk to the 9 year olds in their own language and with love and affection to get the best of results.

Their teaching experience has been full of moments – both of joy and despair. Joy when 25% of their students scored 80 % to 90 % marks in their monthly test. Despair at the scolding that they (as volunteers) received from a Sunbeam teacher who chided them for having expelled a student who came to class an hour late on the day of the exams. What perhaps our 2 dear children, Sangita and Pooja, are also learning is that in dealing with Sunbeam beneficiaries (especially the younger ones), one has to have vast reserves of patience. 

Their reward lies in being loved by their 20 mischievous but adorable students who eagerly await their presence in the class. Today, with their free time being taken up by the Accounts and Organization of Commerce classes that they‘ve joined, they are no longer in a position to meet up daily with their students. Yet, they’ve committed to continue to walk with them as and when time permits.           

Email - sunbeamtrust@hotmail.com