This article has been written by Abhishek Kukreja (Jaagriti Volunteer).....
One morning when I was in college busy in my own world, I got a call from an unknown number. On answering the call I heard a young voice offering me a chance to join an initiative to teach poor & underprivileged kids on weekends; he asked me for my e-mail id so he could send me details of this project –JAAGRITI. While speaking to him, I first thought of refusing as my exams were around the corner but than I realized that it was now or ever. Life would always be busy. So by the end of the call I had made up my mind to go ahead and enlist.
Initially I was excited about the project because I always liked teaching and somehow I believed that I could be a better teacher than any of the people whom I had seen doing this job. So with all this excitement I reached for the first day of action and what I experienced next almost threw me off my feet. Over thirty five kids shouting & grabbing me from all sides and I realized this was not going to be easy & it certainly wasn’t.
In my next couple of meetings with Anchit & Kunal(founders of JAAGRITI) we discussed various plans about what & how to teach these kids. Our idea was simple - to provide them an atmosphere where they learn, create, think, stay healthy & evolve. We were quite cautious as one thing was sure these kids were highly motivated to learn and any mistake could lead to a drop in this motivation. In the midst of all this planning I had a spark of realization which compelled me to respect, rather praise, the education system in India, something that I have been criticizing all my life. I mean it was proving so difficult for us to structure a basic course for these young minds- A,B,C,D;1,2,3 , etc- and somebody has put together the whole education system in India which benefits millions of kids every year- the whole idea seemed mind boggling!!! Learning subjects from all disciplines of life ranging from science to arts, I wondered what could have motivated them to design an education system of this kind. And it was than that I comprehended that all the exams we gave were not important, I mean it was not about getting marks, what was important was what we learnt when we studied for those exams. We were given an opportunity, in our formative years to groom ourselves, so that we become fruitful for others, even as we progressed. Kids are POTENTIAL. They are the seeds we sow today the fruits of which will be reaped by society tomorrow. Human beings are such that if their thinking is nurtured then they can be very constructive, but if ignored, they could walk on the path leading to our destruction. Let us not allow these poor kids to bring such devastation. Let us give them an opportunity to showcase their ability too.
After just a few days since I have become a part of project JAAGRITI I see that it’s not only the kids who have learnt something but it’s also us who have learnt a lot- perhaps more than those kids. Someone has very aptly said “true learning comes only when you teach”. This project will result not only in our student’s awakening but our own JAAGRITI too.
One morning when I was in college busy in my own world, I got a call from an unknown number. On answering the call I heard a young voice offering me a chance to join an initiative to teach poor & underprivileged kids on weekends; he asked me for my e-mail id so he could send me details of this project –JAAGRITI. While speaking to him, I first thought of refusing as my exams were around the corner but than I realized that it was now or ever. Life would always be busy. So by the end of the call I had made up my mind to go ahead and enlist.
Initially I was excited about the project because I always liked teaching and somehow I believed that I could be a better teacher than any of the people whom I had seen doing this job. So with all this excitement I reached for the first day of action and what I experienced next almost threw me off my feet. Over thirty five kids shouting & grabbing me from all sides and I realized this was not going to be easy & it certainly wasn’t.
In my next couple of meetings with Anchit & Kunal(founders of JAAGRITI) we discussed various plans about what & how to teach these kids. Our idea was simple - to provide them an atmosphere where they learn, create, think, stay healthy & evolve. We were quite cautious as one thing was sure these kids were highly motivated to learn and any mistake could lead to a drop in this motivation. In the midst of all this planning I had a spark of realization which compelled me to respect, rather praise, the education system in India, something that I have been criticizing all my life. I mean it was proving so difficult for us to structure a basic course for these young minds- A,B,C,D;1,2,3 , etc- and somebody has put together the whole education system in India which benefits millions of kids every year- the whole idea seemed mind boggling!!! Learning subjects from all disciplines of life ranging from science to arts, I wondered what could have motivated them to design an education system of this kind. And it was than that I comprehended that all the exams we gave were not important, I mean it was not about getting marks, what was important was what we learnt when we studied for those exams. We were given an opportunity, in our formative years to groom ourselves, so that we become fruitful for others, even as we progressed. Kids are POTENTIAL. They are the seeds we sow today the fruits of which will be reaped by society tomorrow. Human beings are such that if their thinking is nurtured then they can be very constructive, but if ignored, they could walk on the path leading to our destruction. Let us not allow these poor kids to bring such devastation. Let us give them an opportunity to showcase their ability too.
After just a few days since I have become a part of project JAAGRITI I see that it’s not only the kids who have learnt something but it’s also us who have learnt a lot- perhaps more than those kids. Someone has very aptly said “true learning comes only when you teach”. This project will result not only in our student’s awakening but our own JAAGRITI too.
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