Life as a student teacher

Student-teacher! An oxymoron, right? Well, my life has been it for over a year now. I’ve been helping teachers conduct some laboratory courses for the third and fourth year B. Tech students. Although at times it feels terrible to slog for more than what you get, it has been rewarding in many ways. Of the few good memories of this place that I would cherish, my life as a student-teacher undoubtedly forms a big part! Of course, I don’t have to explain it when I am actually writing this article at the time that I’m supposed to be writing the thesis.

Although I have been passionate about teaching since my undergraduate days, I had never thought that teaching could be so rewarding. Being a student-teacher was all the more exciting! It was amazing to interact with the juniors whom I taught. Perhaps the rapport between us was strong because they considered me a senior student rather than a conventional teacher. Of course, I felt the same about them. They were my juniors and friends, and then my students.

While I believe that classroom learning in this setting was fun, I think I was also able to extend the friendship beyond the boundaries of the class. Despite having an unbiased perception of each student on academic grounds, I felt a greater connect with some beyond the classroom. I had the opportunity to interact with different people at different levels and these are memories that I will treasure for a very long time! Outside the lab, I had been (and still am) a friend (I suppose) to many of them talking about random stuff, taking part in co-curricular activities, or playing sports with some of them. These were people who were like an oasis in a desert, a source of comfort and an indication that sometimes the best things could happen to you even at the worst times or places!

To put it plainly, I’m going to miss you guys as I graduate from here. I’m going to miss those teaching-learning-cribbing-talking-laughing moments! The drama queens, and my badminton buddies (you know who you all are) – I must say that you are the ones that I will miss the most! Ankit, Ankita, Sakkeeshya, Jeson, Manjusha, Femina, Jismi, Akshay, Kishore, Mithil, Anusha, Manish, Vivek, Sreeja, Upasana, Aishwarya – this goes to you all as well, for you all put a smile on my face knowingly or unknowingly! You all mean much more than just random juniors to me.