Speak Up for a Clean Mumbai!

My friends say that I am a very calm and patient person and I agree with them! But whenever I see someone littering the roads by spitting or throwing empty bottles, wrappers etc, I feel outraged. .In spite of a strong desire to do something about this, nine out of ten times I let it go without a reaction because we have been brought up to believe that in Mumbai people are supposed to mind their own business.

I was traveling in an auto rickshaw from Bandra Hill Road to Bandra Station. Although it is a short stretch , it is generally jam packed and the vehicles move at a slow speed waiting for the signal to turn green. While I was also waiting thus, I noticed a car just in front of me (I don’t remember the make but it was a big car) full of a bunch of young college boys talking in loud voices and generally having fun, Suddenly one of them lowered the glass of the window and threw three empty Pepsi bottles and wrappers of lays, biscuits etc out of the window. The meek or the complacent part of me asked me to ignore what I had seen but the other side of me coaxed me to act…..and act I did before the signal could turn green.
I asked the auto rickshaw driver to go ahead so that we were besides the car. The poor fellow managed to skillfully dodge through the vehicles. I knocked at the window of the car. The boy who had thrown the stuff ignored me. I don’t know if I am right but I thought that he looked guilty and probably did not like the expression on my face and guessed the reason for my knocking the window. However, his friends coaxed him to open the window after I tapped the second time. I tried to remain as calm as I could and simply asked ‘Is this the place to throw this garbage?’ The boy hurriedly apologized and pulled up his window after which I noticed that there was pin drop silence in the car. The boys who were enjoying themselves just a few moments ago were absolutely quiet. Just then the signal turned green and we were off on our respective routes.
That was all that I could do. But when I sit back to think of the repercussions that this incident would have had, I can say that all boys in the car will definitely think twice before littering in a public place the next time . Then the people who witnessed the incident (especially the auto rickshaw driver, the driver of the car, few people walking on the road etc) also learnt a lesson incidentally.
I appeal to all those who read my blog “Please speak up!!!Let’s have a clean Mumbai”

In the shoes of a Learning Disabled Child!!!

I have nurtured this desire to learn some form of music someday. But in the rat race of the daily routine never really got even near to do anything with music except maybe listen to FM Radio. A friend started learning the key board and that kindled a desire in me to follow suit. Peer pressure u see!!!

I have no clue about the language of music. I was introduced to the Notes. Chords, Major and Minor notes etc. I was very enthusiastic in the first few sessions but as the difficulty level increased all seemed like Latin and Greek . I was thoroughly confused and in one session I could not understand the new concept that was being introduced but was hesitant to ask for clarification. Although the teacher was very kind and encouraging, I started feeling a kind of failure. I felt everyone around me was much better than me. My classmate, a six year old boy could play the notes so effortlessly and here was I putting in so much efforts without getting the desired results. Friends, the negative tape in my mind started sending the messages “I can NEVER learn this” “Music is not my cup of tea” “I am no good” etc etc. My keyboard was not the right model since it did not have the chords. Hence I had to just sit and do nothing in one session. The teacher asked me to practice what was taught earlier and wanted me to buy a specific key board to be with the class. On that day I really felt like a child who has forgotten to get his text book or his craft material to class! I actually started having thoughts of giving up.

A truth that I already knew dawned more clearly on me .I could visualize a child with learning difficulties experiencing exactly the same feelings that I was going through…I had nothing at stake…no tests, no exams, nobody shouting or reprimanding me for my failures and still….I was feeling so low about myself.
Imagine what the child who has so much at stake….so many people to please…parents, grandparents, teachers, tuition teachers etc, etc must be going through when he is unable to do things the way his peers are able to do. He has never tasted success in his academics. He is confused as to why he is not able to do things that his friends can do so effortlessly. His little head is always worried about how he could score better in his tests so that he could make the significant people in his life happy and so many other thoughts!!!

I always felt I could empathize with the child and understand what he is going through…..but this experience has actually put me in the shoes of someone who is overwhelmed with new things to learn….and this has made me realize first hand what a child would actually be going through…

Mentoring at Teach India

I thought it was very important to share my experience as a mentor to a student of std 11.To give you a very brief background, the boy who is my mentee has secured 86% in the SSC exams and has also managed to secure admission in a reasonably good college in the science stream.

He is an intelligent and bright boy and hence does not need to be taught any study skills.In fact he can teach these to us!!!What he requires was self confidence and that could be increased if he could speak fluent English so as to be at par with his peers in college. So together we set our goal

'To speak fluent English' by the end of the academic year.

Armed with this, I asked him to write about his first day in college. He wrote about half a page. Taking this as a base, I drew his attention to the importance of maintaining the same 'tense' throughout the piece of written work. We discussed a few examples and then he started correcting his work. He is a bright child and grasped well. In a few instances he has used wrong words to express e.g has written.The teacher came to 'learn' the poem in the English period instead of 'teach'.So I explained the relationship between 'teacher' and 'teach' and explained the concept of root words.

Then we spoke about adjectives and how use of adjectives enhances the quality of the written work. We discussed a lot of examples of use of appropriate adjectives and also learnt the meaning of a few new words. As he learnt newer things I could see his expression change.....He wanted to continue to learn more but I had to get back to my commitments.I am convinced that I shall be able to make a difference in this child's life!!!!

General Gyan Startup!

Hi Friends!

My daughter has conned me into starting a blog...It is her latest obsession!!!!! She has dragged me into it. She insists that I advertise her blogs here..... Friends her blogs may be more interesting than mine at this point of time but be sure I shall conquer one day............

After all I am a teacher.....will have some intersteing tips on teaching and stories to post on the blog!

More later!

In the meanwhile dont forget to view her blogs!

http://shilpasehgal.blogspot.com/
http://kef-teach-india.blogspot.com/