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| Credit: Careers 360 |
"To give each child the chance to be where you and I are today" This statement by Ms. Shaheen Mistri, CEO Teach for India, resonated with me because it is the main reason why I want to work for social development. I believe that an accident of birth should not be an obstacle to any individual's progress regardless of age, gender, race or religion.
At the guest session at YIFP, Shaheen shared her life story in term of significant numbers. She was 12 when she found her calling by seeing the disparity in children's conditions in Indonesia. Shaheen spent her first 18 years outside India and spent every sumemr after age 12 as a volunteer with children's organisations. She quit college after first year in US and came to India to study at St. Xaviers where Akanksha Foundation was born in 1991. She saw slum kids who needed education and college students who had too much time on their hands and decided to bring the two together. Then arose the need for space. She knocked on the doors of 20 well-to-do, convent schools to hold classes in second shift; all refused except the last where she told Father that "My life is in your hands." She didn't want to give him the chance to change his mind, so she told him that classes would begin the next day. Then came the scrambling. She somehow got the students and pleaded with her friends to volunteer until she could find teachers. You can read more about the founding of Akanksha in this article by Anahita Mukherjee. The beginning of her story is simple and endearing but when you look at her, you see the courage and perseverance that has got her where she is today.
When she moved on from Akanksha Foundation, it was successfully running many centers for education and was involved in municipal schools too. She said that she shifted to Teach For India because her vision became larger. From "To give a little love, have a little hope, make this world a little better", it has enlarged to "One day all children will attain excellent education". But, this was not objective enough for her. So now her revised goal is to ensure excellent education for every child in India in the next 50 years. She knows that TFI fellows alone cannot reach so many students, but she believes that TFI alumni will change the world of education. Her model aims to produce leaders in every walk of life who are passionate about solving the problem of educating the 320 million children in India.
As a country, we are facing a crisis if nothing is done for provision of education for our young demographic. She also said that as priveleged individuals, "there is a moral obligation to give back to society". This is another of her statements which echoes my sentiments. I feel greatly blessed to have a mother who is a professor and who gave me the best educational opportunities possible. But I was lucky, my maid's children are not. How am I not responsible for ensuring that some day they have a chance too? I agree with Shaheen when she says that let us give them those choices, what they do with those choices is upto them. I believe that every individual must have options and the freedom to choose must never be taken away.
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| TFI Fellow Prakhar Bhartiya with students Credit: Careers 360 |
India's formal system of education however, believes in fitting everyone to a mold. Because of this, when a farmer's child goes to school, he is taught mud is dirty. Our pedagogy is such that an average graduate is unemployable and he can't take up his father's trade either because he has a degree. I really appreciated Shaheen's answer when I asked her how does she handle this issue. She said TFI Fellows don't just teach English and science, they develop the children's values and mindsets, nurture their aspirations and show them alternate pathways to success. It is too early to comment whether TFI is meeting its goals, but I think they are doing a great job. Developing children as individuals is essential if India is going to utilise the youth benefit which is touted so much in the media.
Shaheen's story has recieved a lot of attention in media but she has remained down-to-earth. She can inspire a room of cynics and give the idealists another reason to plough on. One of the idealists among Young India Fellows said "Looking at her, you can tell she's gone through the whole shit". The miracle of Shaheen Mistri is that she makes the lofty aim believable.
P.S. Applications for Teach for India Fellowship 2013 are open. Please spread the message. To apply check: http://www.teachforindia.org/
Click here to read about the other guest lectures at YIFP: first woman US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright and the founder of satellite TV as we know it, Kay Koplovitz
I completely agree with the observation that `India's formal system of education however, believes in fitting everyone to a mold. Because of this, when a farmer's child goes to school, he is taught mud is dirty. Our pedagogy is such that an average graduate is unemployable and he can't take up his father's trade either because he has a degree.' It is high time that we do something about it. I salute Shaheen Mistri and the few others like her who have the soul and the courage to make that big leap from knowing and being concerned (like myself), to actually doing.
ReplyDeleteTeach For India fellows are definitely trying to do excellent work by aiming at educating children who deserve the opportunities that might have otherwise reached us so easily. Felt good after reading your blog. It makes people look at the wider picture with 'open eyes' and an open heart :)
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