Context : I taught 3rd graders as a fellow with Teach for India, in a government school in Dharavi. Nearly all kids came from economically poor backgrounds and with little parental support in education.
First month of teaching
Me : Naveen why don’t you fold your collar?(enacting it).
He did not understand English, and I was trying to immerse him in English for some reason.
Naveen : Teacher nahi karega, apun ‘bhai’ hai.( Teacher, I won't do it. I am a 'Bhai' or a Mafia Don)
Me : Naveen. Please? He did not relent.
Repeat for a month. No effect.
In the mean time I tell them stories about people I appreciate and why. People in different professions that I had read about and sometimes I made up stories.
After a few weeks, we are finally ready to our own ‘What do I want to be?’ session.
While a lot of kids want to be doctors and engineers, and many girls want to be teachers just like me and Adarsh wants to be a ‘jhadoo-man’ much before AAP and ‘Swachh Bharat’ came into existence, Naveen raises his hand and says he wants to be a police officer like Julio Ribeiro.
Now was my moment. I know he has opened himself. I smile.
Me: Great! Why do you want to be a policeman Naveen?
Naveen :Teacher I like fight, I safe (I like to fight and I can fight to save people )
Me : That is such a good idea Naveen. And what about being a Bhai, can you be a Bhai and a policeman? I look at his collar with a smile.
Naveen smiles, you should see him smile. He just lights up everything around him.
After the recess, Naveen’s collar is down.
I look at him and raise my hand for a high five, and oh boy!
His collar never came up again. Infact, he convinced some others to put their collars down.
**
Cut to six months later.
Naveen hit another kid in class during a fist fight. I take Naveen outside the class and
Me : Why did you hit him?
Naveen : He first ( .. hit me)
Me : Naveen, let me ask you a question. When you become a police officer and in Dharavi when one person hits another person, what should he do? Come to you, so that you can help him or start fighting and the fight becomes big. ( all the while thinking this is such a long shot)
Naveen : Sorry teacher, I angry. Not again. ( I did not have to explain to him, that he should come to me, he is such a smart kid.)
Me : Then you promise me that you will not hit someone again?
Naveen : No promise teacher. Mujhe gussa aayega toh promise toot jaayega. ( I cannot promise because if I get angry, he did have anger issues, and hit someone, our promise will break)
I am in tears and hug him real tight. That remains one of the most emotional moments of my life.
I love him so much.
First month of teaching
Me : Naveen why don’t you fold your collar?(enacting it).
He did not understand English, and I was trying to immerse him in English for some reason.
Naveen : Teacher nahi karega, apun ‘bhai’ hai.( Teacher, I won't do it. I am a 'Bhai' or a Mafia Don)
Me : Naveen. Please? He did not relent.
Repeat for a month. No effect.
In the mean time I tell them stories about people I appreciate and why. People in different professions that I had read about and sometimes I made up stories.
After a few weeks, we are finally ready to our own ‘What do I want to be?’ session.
While a lot of kids want to be doctors and engineers, and many girls want to be teachers just like me and Adarsh wants to be a ‘jhadoo-man’ much before AAP and ‘Swachh Bharat’ came into existence, Naveen raises his hand and says he wants to be a police officer like Julio Ribeiro.
Now was my moment. I know he has opened himself. I smile.
Me: Great! Why do you want to be a policeman Naveen?
Naveen :Teacher I like fight, I safe (I like to fight and I can fight to save people )
Me : That is such a good idea Naveen. And what about being a Bhai, can you be a Bhai and a policeman? I look at his collar with a smile.
Naveen smiles, you should see him smile. He just lights up everything around him.
After the recess, Naveen’s collar is down.
I look at him and raise my hand for a high five, and oh boy!
His collar never came up again. Infact, he convinced some others to put their collars down.
**
Cut to six months later.
Naveen hit another kid in class during a fist fight. I take Naveen outside the class and
Me : Why did you hit him?
Naveen : He first ( .. hit me)
Me : Naveen, let me ask you a question. When you become a police officer and in Dharavi when one person hits another person, what should he do? Come to you, so that you can help him or start fighting and the fight becomes big. ( all the while thinking this is such a long shot)
Naveen : Sorry teacher, I angry. Not again. ( I did not have to explain to him, that he should come to me, he is such a smart kid.)
Me : Then you promise me that you will not hit someone again?
Naveen : No promise teacher. Mujhe gussa aayega toh promise toot jaayega. ( I cannot promise because if I get angry, he did have anger issues, and hit someone, our promise will break)
I am in tears and hug him real tight. That remains one of the most emotional moments of my life.
I love him so much.
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