Are you an educator? Then I must remind you that you are in a vocation of high responsibility and immense satisfaction. Do not look at this profession as just another way to earn money. Don't make higher positions your sole aim. Instead, enjoy the path of learning and teaching with passion. All else will fall into place in due course. Be a learner, an observer, and a reflector, and enjoy each moment of the journey.
That was how my career unfolded from a primary teacher intern to the principal of an IB - International Baccalaureate school in India. I started with little knowledge but high levels of passion, energy, and creativity. I admire beauty, respect nature, and seek avenues for creative expression as that’s how I find zest and excitement in life. I like reading about philosophy, mythology, world affairs, and creative content. Teaching allowed me to explore myself, society, and the world.
I love my profession for two reasons. Firstly, the candidness of it. Perhaps more than other teaching pedagogies, following the IB pedagogy provides us with the ability to experience transformation in our learners clearly. The difference we make through patience and passion can be palpable. Skills built at school are great milestones for a learner. School experiences remain engraved on their minds throughout their lives. Hence, at the end of the day, our contribution and sense of satisfaction are priceless. Secondly, as a Head of School, I get to influence and imbue passion in educators who are exploring teaching. I love to conduct training and workshops for teachers in a manner similar to how they would conduct sessions in their classes. I still consider myself a facilitator trying to make a difference by coaching, and not administering, teachers and facilitators.
Even during my early years, I was curious about the education sector and felt an earnest calling to it, perhaps emulating my grandparents, who inspired me. Both my grandparents were highly educated in medicine and economics, respectively. They were principals at their respective institutions. Their sense of service and giving back to the community through teaching was inspiring. I also felt it would be a tribute to them if I too attempted to contribute to society as they did. Hence, I kept moving towards a career in the education sector, despite having various other interests.
A few years back, I was doing my B.Ed in English and History. I already had a Bachelor of Arts and a Diploma in Mass Communication. While I was just completing my B.Ed, my first opportunity came up. It was a teaching role in a government school in the same city. I readily grabbed the opportunity and started my journey. Soon, a challenge arose when I realised that the traditional methods using rote learning and teaching methodologies didn't motivate me. In my view, these methodologies were essentially pushing the students to pass exams and acquire certificates. I wanted to do more.
Fortunately, that opportunity came too. It was in an IB school as a primary teaching intern, under the guidance of a highly skilled educator from Europe. A decade ago, IB pedagogy was relatively nascent in India. I, however, felt that it was highly child-centric and skill-oriented in the way I had imagined education to be. I was completely up to it. I dove in to explore it as a way of life, every day, as a learner would. It paved the way forward for me. Not too long after, I became a facilitator.
Afterwards, I moved to a different city and eventually took up the role of a coordinator. There, I became the Head of School and IB Diploma Coordinator. It was at that time that the pandemic hit, and our school system had to undergo massive operational changes. My team and I were able to tackle those challenging times quite well. Subsequently, we tackled the process of transitioning learners back to school after the lengthy lockdowns. I thought deeply about the problem and was fortunate to be able to pen an article for Education World magazine.
I’m a believer in and committed to lifelong learning and skill development. I love to explore, research, and draw my own conclusions on any given challenge. Life's practical experiences combined with solid academic training are a strong combination. These can lead us to meaningful education and an earnest, meaningful contribution to society. Over the last three years, I have completed multiple training sessions from IB, public speaking, trainer training, child psychology, etc. I have spent time learning about topics such as school administration, budgeting, policy formulation, etc., areas in which I had no prior experience or interest.
I believe an educational degree is always helpful, both to develop a reasoned point of view as well as to demonstrate to your audience. Hence, to supplement my experiential knowledge and other formal training programs, I continued to seek formal academic qualifications as well. Frankly, it was a tough choice to study while playing the role of an administrator. As a risk-taker and lifelong learner, I took a leap of faith and enrolled in a Masters Program in Education Management and Leadership. As one would expect, pursuing this required strong support from my family. It is not my endeavour to share the knowledge acquired through this program with other educators, with the hope of kindling higher levels of curiosity, passion, and belief in the complexities of education.
One of my greatest strengths is my ability to build interpersonal relationships. Regardless of function, role, age, or experience, I make connections effortlessly. This has helped me with the parent community, administration, and staff. My leadership style is participative and instructional, which makes it easier for me to connect with and manage teams. I try to lead by demonstrating expertise, skills, and the right treatment of people. I attempt to equip my team with the skills to grow, open them up to possibilities, and encourage them to drive their team toward their goals. This freedom and partnership approach helps instil reassurance and belief in the potential of their own personal styles and vision.
This ability for personal exploration and non-specificity is at the heart of the IB program, and it endears creative-minded free-thinkers to it. This has helped me work with and develop staff not conversant with IB/CAIE pedagogies and yet achieve healthy growth and high satisfaction across all grades and handle unique challenges.
Finally, as I've mentioned, my hobbies helped me glide through the hardships of life and career. I travel, read, and explore a lot. I find the Domino effect of global political upheavals interesting. I spend time on reflection and like to observe keenly. It helps me build multiple perspectives. This was instrumental in my earlier exploration of journalism, and I hope it will assist me in penning a book eventually. Two of my articles have been published in Education World and Curriculum Magazine. Doing things from the heart with passion continues to help me tackle, and learn from, the challenges of imparting meaningful education.