Know Your Teacher: A pre-primary teacher talks about her ‘insightful and rewarding’ 30-year-long career

A pre-primary teacher at Apeejay School, Panchsheel Park, Mini Khurana has been a dedicated educator for over 30 years now. After completing school, she enrolled in International Polytechnic for Women to pursue Nursery Teachers Training (NTTT). She also pursued BCom through correspondence from the University of Delhi. She tells us about her wonderful journey in an interview.

Edited excerpts:

What inspired you to become a pre-primary teacher? How long have you been in the profession?

Being an educationist was my passion. I wanted to lead the life of a child again, grow and learn from them, and listen to them. I think I had the qualities of a good pre-primary teacher as I’m organised, mature, compassionate, and confident. I wanted to nurture young children into confident, capable adults. I always wanted to impart quality education and life skills to enable young minds to lead happy, meaningful, and successful lives.

I have been in this profession for more than three decades.

When did you join Apeejay? What do you have to say about the experience?

My journey at Apeejay School, Panchsheel Park, started on March 30, 1991. It’s been a long journey. I got to teach preschool and a year later, I was given the task of kindergarten. I became a permanent staff member in 1993. It was the first milestone for me. I still remember the words of the then principal who interviewed me and said, “You will be an asset to the school.”

Each day at school has been a new learning experience with different sets of students. Apeejay has become my second home where I enjoy teaching. It has been nothing short of insightful and rewarding. Much of my coursework has challenged me to think more critically as an educator when designing lesson plans and choosing texts and other materials.

Additionally, my mentors have consistently been knowledgeable in course content, purposeful in their lesson deliveries and design, and influential in helping me improve my current teaching style and pedagogy. Most importantly, my mentors have taken an interest in me, my work, and my success as a culturally responsive literacy teacher. These positive experiences have further encouraged my participation in professional learning even beyond my graduate coursework.

This school has given me so much that is an achievement of a lifetime. Teaching as a pre-primary teacher was my passion, and I could make it happen only because of Apeejay. I was always shouldered with more responsibilities because of my hard work and dedication. I could showcase my talent. From being just a teacher, I slowly grew up to a level where I handled nursery admissions. The graph always went up and never came down, which taught me a lot in between.

If I talk about the present situation, I always had this fear of how I will teach virtually as I’m not a tech-savvy person but to be honest, teaching virtually has been altogether a different experience in my life as a teacher. I am one person who did not even touch a laptop ever, and now I am just hands-on. This was another phase of learning for me, and it feels great that I could deliver this to my students very well.

Achievement is not only how many awards you have won but also how you’ve grown over the years as an individual and as an educator.

How do you ensure that children in your class develop a strong foundation in basic skills such as language, numeracy, and social skills?

Students learn in different ways. Some learn by observing, some by listening, some by exploring, and some by experimenting.  Different techniques are used to impart a concept in the class to ensure that each child grasps the same.

The Play Way method is used (floor and card games and different activities of Jolly Phonics). Hands-on experience helps them to learn and retain better. Similarly, we play number games with them. They are given beads and shapes to sort colour, shape, and size wise. They make chain patterns with the shapes and string the beads. Puzzles help students to develop logical and critical thinking.

Learning social skills is a key part of a child’s development. The students are allowed to interact positively with their elders and peers and communicate their needs and feelings effectively. They are given an opportunity to share, care and cooperate and follow directions.

Did the COVID-19 pandemic have a lasting impact on classroom teaching? What are the current trends?

Yes, COVID-19 had a devastating impact on classroom teaching. The students were confined to the four walls of their house. They were under the shadow of their parents. They were totally dependent on them. Many of them were not able to attend playschool due to which they were unable to develop some basic skills.

We switched to online mode. We tried our level best to bring young children out of their comfort zone. We did rhymes and stories as we used to do during offline mode. The teacher’s job became very demanding.

What do you think are the most important qualities for a pre-primary teacher, and how do you work on developing those qualities in yourself?

A pre-primary teacher has to be patient, observant, organised, adaptable, creative and innovative, energetic, emotionally mature, have good communication skills, be empathetic, dedicated critical thinker, and know classroom management.

Everyday interaction with the children helps a teacher work on all these qualities. It helps us to add warmth to the environment, mentor, and nurture a student’s mind while being a role model.