Introduction to Teaching

         The golden moments of the first seven years of my life still live in the album “Aamaar Shoishob” (My Childhood). Thanks to my mom’s meticulous work, I have the privilege to open the album and look back on my childhood whenever I wish. On one of its pages there is a question: “What did my elders say I would be when I grow up?” Mom left it blank. Perhaps it bothered me as a kid. One day in her absence I wrote an answer myself. The answer was ‘master’. I guess that I was about five years old at that time. ‘Master’ was the best word I could come up with to describe a teacher. I did not ask anyone. No one suggested either. Anyway, the answer got written, and it never changed. To become a teacher has always been my dream.

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          It was around the time I got introduced to the compound letters of the Bengali script when my dad brought home a blackboard. I saw my primary teachers writing on blackboards; I tried to do it myself. I quickly realized that the good old slate-pencils do not work on a blackboard. Dad got me a box of chalks. I started writing letters and words, and reading them aloud to the empty room – just the way my teacher would do to a full class. It was a unique experience. I felt energized, delighted and a lot lighter inside. What surprised me was that I was able to comprehend and retain a lot more than how much I usually could without having anyone by my side.

This was the very first time I acted as a teacher. It was great fun. I wanted the fun to continue. I had no clue back then that two decades later the fun would turn into something very special. This Spring I got an offer to teach an undergrad Flight Mechanics class. My section would be a small one with nine students, which is a good size to begin with. As a Graduate Teaching Fellow, I would be the instructor of record and responsible for all the lectures, homework assignments, quizzes, final exam and the letter grades. This would be completely real. I could feel my heart beating faster and faster as the first day of class got closer. As I met my advisor the day before, he said, “Dipanjan, tomorrow’s your Big Day!”

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During school days, one of my favorite topics to write an essay on was ‘Your Aim in Life’. I used to write that a life without a goal is like a boat without a sailor, and that my goal is to become a great teacher. As I grew older, acting as a teacher in front of an imaginary class became one of my favorite hobbies. When we stumbled to recall our Biology lessons, our favorite Biology teacher used to say, “Simply reading isn’t good enough; you need to ponder over what you’ve read.” I figured out that switching to the teacher mode automatically gave me the scope to ponder. The mock-teaching greatly boosted clarity and confidence. The excitement was overwhelming till I realized one day that I needed to control my voice. One day our ex-neighbor said to my mom, “I heard him. I thought he must be tutoring someone. Then I saw through the window. There was no one else. He just kept talking with animated gestures!” I understood that they were concerned, but I was too crazy to stop.

My life at IIT brought me one step closer towards my dream. My friends recognized my aptitude and asked me to tutor them on many occasions. I could not help feeling enormous joy and satisfaction at every such opportunity. It was through these sessions I began to experience what it takes to teach well. In addition, I taught high school students as a National Service Scheme volunteer for a year. Towards the end I got the chance to work as a teaching assistant. By the time I came to grad school I became confident in my potential to teach well. Grad school gave me the platform to learn the essentials of effective college teaching and practice the same. According to my advisor’s plan, I took the Flight Mechanics class from him last Spring and worked as the teaching assistant last Fall, and thus had a full year to master the subject material. All these prepared me for the Big Day.

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The night before the Big Day I sent out my very first email to the class. I introduced myself and told my students to relax and sleep well before they would show up at 8 o’clock the next morning. In hindsight it was in fact what I needed for myself to calm down. I scheduled the activities in the first class in my head, but it turned out that I had underestimated the time. It took me a week to realize that 50 minutes, which at times seemed never-ending as a student, fly at the speed of light when I am the teacher. I learnt that there is only so much material I can go over in one class. I also learnt how to assess students while helping them develop a better understanding of the material. I cherished the freedom of teaching in my very own style. I tried to encourage my students to think critically and ask questions. I enjoyed keeping the class as interactive and conceptually rich as possible.

I could never imagine how long and intense the behind-the-scenes work could be for a teacher. It required me to focus on the course, think through and research all the topics I felt difficult as a student, and stay away gracefully from all possible distractions. It was hard. However, when the early student evaluations came in March, I knew that I was doing a good job, and that students were enjoying my class. I raised the bar quite high. The rest of the semester was all about doing what it takes to live up to the expectations of my own, my advisor and my students. The semester ended on a high note. The class size will increase from nine this Spring to about seventy the coming Fall. Let us see how it goes. I am all set for the challenge.

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        One of the major takeaways I had from the training on teaching is to never leave students without telling them three major takeaways from the day’s class. Readers, before I let you go today, I want to share with you three very important things I have learnt during my journey – a tiny glimpse of which you just saw.

One. Follow your passion. Nurture it. Let it grow big. It is a process full of bliss that someday will serve the world. It is the direction in which you take constant baby steps no matter how hard life gets. It is your own story to inspire millions of people. Circumstances that overwhelm you appear just to add colors to your story. What if you do not know your passion yet? Keep exploring. It will just occur to you.

Two. Never stop learning. Muster the courage to step up and start doing the hard job that you once thought you could never do. Do not worry about making mistakes. Your mistakes are your biggest teachers. I had a Math teacher who during our first meeting said, “Look, I don’t teach Math. Students can learn Math just by studying the examples in the book. All I do is to open their eyes.” For the next year and a half I saw him constantly pushing us to work out problems that we thought were beyond our reach. He showed us how they could be within our reach should we be willing to go the extra mile. This is how we become wiser in every sphere of life.

Three. Everyone is a teacher. To become a good teacher you do not need a degree. All you need is a strong desire and determination to make a difference in the lives of your fellow humans. You teach by the way you carry yourself, the way you nurture relationships, the way you set and respect healthy boundaries, the way you share and execute ideas. You teach all the time through your actions. "Actions speak louder than words".

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The success of a teacher lies in the success of their students. I hope that listening to my story has enriched your reservoir of positive energy to keep going. That's all I had for today. Thank you, love and good luck! :)