Know Your Teacher: ‘This school has transformed me into a learned & confident professional’

After completing her Bachelor’s and Master’s in Commerce she went on to do a Bachelor’s programme in Education. But this is not where her learning stopped. She has done Central Board of Secondary Education training courses, an understanding of financial markets from Zerodha, and a Capital Markets course from Coursera under her belt. Meet Neha Nayyar, who teaches classes XI and XII Accountancy and Business Studies.

In a candid interview, Nayyar talks about why she chose to be a teacher among other things.

What is the best part of teaching at Apeejay?

I joined Apeejay School Pitampura in July 2016. I got to know about the vacancy through a newspaper advertisement. In the last seven years, Apeejay has transformed me into a learned and confident professional. The leaders here have always given me enough room to grow and explore. The students enrolled here come from distinguished backgrounds which give me ample opportunities to learn and hone my teaching strategies.

How and why did you choose to become a teacher?

I always wanted to learn new things and at the same time wanted to deliver my experiences. This profession provides ample opportunities for the person to learn, unlearn and relearn. Teaching helps me to innovate every day and set new challenges.

What is the most rewarding aspect of a teacher?

For me, it’s continuous learning. The more you teach, the more clear your concepts become. Also, every day there are hundreds of curious young minds whom we deal with which makes us updated in every sphere of our lives.

How has digitalisation changed teaching methodology? Has it impacted the learning of the students?

It has improved teaching methodology for the better. There are ample resources available for teachers to adapt to their daily teaching to make their lessons interesting and fun. For students, for a few subjects, personal attention is still required. For instance, Math and Accountancy. I believe hybrid learning is going to help the generations to come.

How do you encourage parents to support their kids’ education?

Though parents nowadays are very much involved in their kids’ education, at times some parents want their kids to learn all sorts of things within a small time frame to stay ahead of the competition. Such parents are counseled and told about the individual learning pace and guided accordingly.

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“We deal with a different set of individuals every year and we change our teaching strategies to our learners’ requirements. As instructors, we accept the challenges and put our hearts and mind to ensure that the students move in the right direction to yield positive results”

–Neha Nayyar, Accountancy and Business Studies teacher at Apeejay School, Pitampura

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There is a lot of emphasis on interactive teaching methodology. The need for this.

I just mentioned the number of resources available on the Internet to learn. Students have access to all these learning platforms. Therefore, we as teachers need to continuously look for ways to engage those curious minds. One such way is to make the classes interactive and help them to develop the interest of the child in learning through physical mode as well.

The best way to discipline a child.

This varies throughout different age groups. It is always advisable to counsel the child and make him/her aware of the consequences of any wrong act. It is important to engage the children in different activities which teach values and discipline. For example community development activities.

Teaching comes with challenges, how to deal with them?

We deal with a different set of individuals every year and we change our teaching strategies to suit our learners’ requirements. As instructors, we accept the challenges and put our hearts and mind to ensure that the students move in the right direction to yield positive results. The shift to hybrid and blended learning during the pandemic is one such example.

How important is it for teachers to be learners as well?

As they say that a learner continues to grow. Hence, as we deal with young minds daily; we need to keep ourselves open to all the new ideas or opinions showcased by our students. With the changing times, we need to keep our knowledge and awareness at par with our students and only a person open to new ideas can do that.