Product Enthusiast
Future Impact Learning
Chennai Area, India
Working full-time for a life skills training company gave me the opportunity to facilitate communication and value based public speaking for children, while also dabbling in operations, business development and marketing.This is where I taught a classroom for the first time. Something I had looked forward to since the day I realized teaching was a profession. I created the class content, brainstormed with my team on effective teaching methods and travelled to small towns creating awareness about holistic education. Then there was the actual process of engaging a class, of realizing that the most well laid plans could fail to impress the precocious kids and above all, that it was a hard job that could often leave you exhausted and close to tears. And just when you want to give up, a child who habitually refuses to speak, surprises you with an articulate thought or question; they begin to express themselves and the day becomes positively memorable, for them and for me.I’ve taught in schools with different cultural and structural norms. In some schools, there is a rigid emphasis of gender constructs and in some others, scores are more important than learning. Thanks to the business development and marketing, I understood that schools aren't readily accepting of new or non-traditional ideas. If it’s not the mindset, it’s the budget or time that constrains a school’s ability to experiment. I observed the pros and cons of the different approaches.
