Student Stories
Presenting to you this month Mr. Shah Jahan!
As an 11 year old, he stays in Makhdoompur slum, and his favourite hobby is dancing. Like the Mughal Emperor, King Shah Jahan, this boy also represents the same character - filled with a confident, fearless heart and full of authority! When I first met him on the 8th of January, 2021 he was looking very shabby and dirty. I thought it may have been a month since he last took a bath and he was VERY naughty...
As a teacher with 15 other students, I was not having energy to spend much time with him. Yet he was just sitting there in class, doing nothing. Days passed and his behaviour in class was getting bad. He started disturbing and causing trouble and the class environment was not looking good. I worried for the rest of the students.
I tried to be strict with him but he was in his authority mood with me also. He was the King and would listen to no one. I used to come home and think about him all day... “How to handle this naughty kid?” It would bug me so much, sometimes I felt like crying. So one day he was again disturbing class so much that I asked him to stay back afterwards so that we could talk about his behaviour.
After class we talked and I asked him what he likes and what he doesn't like.
“Do you like studying?” He replied with a yes, but I could see he was struggling with his answer. I agreed with him and said, “Yes sometimes studying is hard and boring but it's ok. If you want to do good things in life, studying will be a big part of that! But before that can happen, we should have the will to study. If you really want to achieve something, studying is helpful and we teachers can help you! But for that we need your permission to let us help you. We should build trust with each other, then it will be fruitful. So can we have your permission to teach you?”
After that day he promised me that he will study and behave in class. And true to his word, from that day on I could see a change in his behaviour. He is still bossy and in his own comfort zone, but he is learning to study. He never misses his class. It's hard for him but I see that he is trying! He will wait for me until the end of my teaching so that he could get time with me to study and finish his work. Even if he is the last student, he will finish his work! He is very smart, very emotional, and his heart is very pure. He is like a bodyguard for me and likes to stand for people. He is a special child, growing to be a leader, our very own King Shah Jahan.
Written by Teacher Shristi with JP since 2013
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