Know Your Teacher: ‘Those who try never fail’

Her mother was a teacher at the high school where she was a student. The way her mother was respected — not just by her students but by other people who highly valued her opinions and advice — was very inspiring for this young girl. And that is how her नींव to become a teacher took root and did her BEd. Meet Rekha Pant, a Hindi teacher at Apeejay School, Saket, who teaches classes VIII to X.

“I have done my MA (Hindi) BEd, PhD (Hindi), and diploma in Rajbhasha. I have been teaching for almost 27 years now and feel that for children to improve their Hindi, they must be familiar with the words daily. I always speak to my students in Hindi and encourage them to do the same,” Pant said.

Excerpts from the interview.

How and why did you choose Apeejay?

After marriage, I shifted to South Delhi. So I decided to search for a job in the vicinity. I saw a vacancy in the newspaper and applied at Apeejay. Even my husband encouraged me since the school has a brand value and is a prestigious school in Delhi.

How do you keep your students motivated to perform well?

The literary works of Hindi (or any language) are themselves full of inspiration. I try to inspire or motivate them by the message of each chapter. I tell my students: परिश्रम हर समस्या का हल होता है। अभ्यास करने से मूर्ख भी विद्वान बन जाता है। करत करत अभ्यास के जड़मति होत सुजान। Since कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती। I ask my students to give their 100 per cent. I always try to propagate good moral values; I tell them to focus on सुलेख, वर्तनी, अभिव्यक्ति (expression). For this they have to read and write a lot.

How has your journey been so far?

It is beautiful, full of learning experiences, and satisfactory. There were some challenges to begin with but before I joined Apeejay School, Saket, I taught primary classes in Lucknow for a short period and middle classes at Hamdard School, Delhi.

As a rookie teacher, I had a very rudimentary understanding of pedagogy. I thought the only aim of a teacher should be to impart as much knowledge as quickly as possible. Over the last two decades, my perspective on teaching and the very nature of education has changed. And even though each day brings new challenges, I get a chance to learn from my colleagues, our principal, and my students as well.

How do you keep yourself motivated?

A teacher today has to juggle a variety of roles in a student’s life, that of a mentor, of a friend, of a counselor. This can be tough because whenever we enter the classroom we become alert and energised no matter how tired we feel. A good story, positive quotes, or inspiring friends are enough to keep me motivated. I update my knowledge whenever possible and try to do things as perfectly as possible so that I am satisfied with my efforts.

How do you make your lectures interesting?

I try to correlate the content of the chapters taught with our day-to-day examples to make them more relevant and easy to understand.  I have to understand what my students are feeling and explain things to them in a language that they understand. Sometimes, this is in the form of pros and other times in poem or story format. To make the classroom experience interesting, I use role play and allow students to voice their opinions on what they want the home and classwork to be. Here is a link to a class activity where the students designed their summer holiday homework for this session.

Has technology impacted the learning ability of the students?

Definitely. Sometimes, children shun away from hard work and resort to copying answers from other students or online resources. Advancement in AI has presented them with one-click solutions. Their originality and work attitude has suffered. However, those making the correct use of technology are also benefiting immensely.

A message for the students.

अपने सपनों को शुरू से दो उड़ान, ठान लोगे अगर तुम हर मंजिल आसान। रूकना, हटना, थकना तुम्हारी ना पहचान। इंसान बनकर सदा ही पाना तुम सम्मान।बच्चों अपनी भाषा, अपने देश और अच्छे  कार्यों पर हमेशा गर्व करें।