Teach <strong>for</strong> India hopes to change India by ending inequitiesMs Shaheen Mistry, the founderCEO <strong>of</strong> the Teach <strong>for</strong> Indiaorganisation, made an interesting presentationat the last meeting whenshe briefly explained the concept behindher “movement” and dwelt atlength on its aim <strong>of</strong> creating leaderswho would help end social inequitiesand thus change the country.She said that Teach <strong>for</strong> India was anationwide movement <strong>of</strong> outstandinggraduates and young pr<strong>of</strong>essionalswho took up teaching in underresourcedschools <strong>for</strong> two years andwent on to become leaders and lifelongadvocates <strong>for</strong> equity in education.Once chosen, the youth weretrained in innovative teaching methodsand designated “Fellows”. Afterthey were “placed”, their per<strong>for</strong>mancewas monitored and the impactthey were making measured.Ms Mistri started her talk ratherrhetorically, by asking the audiencesome questions which, she said, sheposed at college campuses.“Are you ready <strong>for</strong> a challenge?”“Do you believe that India needs adifferent kind <strong>of</strong> leader and not oneleader or ten, but thousands <strong>of</strong> leaderswho can change every single issuethat the country is grappling with?”“Do you believe that we have theability to create those leaders?” “Doyou believe that the disparity in thiscountry is unsustainable and that itaffects every single one <strong>of</strong> us hereand that we have the capacity tochange that?”The Teach <strong>for</strong> India movementbelieved that the world was the wayit was not because <strong>of</strong> magic or fluke,but because <strong>of</strong> the ef<strong>for</strong>ts <strong>of</strong> severalgenerations <strong>of</strong> people who had madea difference. However, the presentglobal scenario was depressing, withinnumerable problems in every aspect<strong>of</strong> life.At the same time, there was hopein the fact that “if we really are responsible<strong>for</strong> what we are, then wealso have the ability to shape our future;there<strong>for</strong>e, the actions that wetake now and in the future are goingto shape the world”.Ms Mistri said the Teach <strong>for</strong> Indiamovement believed that the future <strong>of</strong>India would be shaped in her classrooms– and that this would be doneby the youth <strong>of</strong> today, by the best,the brightest and the most committedamong them.In a manner <strong>of</strong> speaking, the futurewould be shaped by these youthwho would take the lead and thusgive the lead. Although they had theopportunity to do what they wanted,they were prepared to give up theirjobs and work full-time <strong>for</strong> 16 hoursa day <strong>for</strong> two years, teaching underprivilegedchildren in under-resourcedclassrooms.Ms Mistry, who has been workingactively on Teach <strong>for</strong> India since2007, is also the founder <strong>of</strong> AkanshaFoundation, a non-pr<strong>of</strong>it organisationwhich works in the field <strong>of</strong> education<strong>for</strong> less-privileged children. Akanshahas grown from 15 children in onecentre to 3,500 across <strong>Bombay</strong> andPune in 19 years.She proceeded to recite a poemthat she had composed to describethe Teach <strong>for</strong> India programme. Theverse ended with the line, It startswith me. And this was the messagethat was conveyed to the youth whiledescribing the task they would haveto undertake in order to join the movementand in order to become leaders.One year ago, Teach <strong>for</strong> India approachedthose who had graduatedfrom the IITs and IIMs, and thosewho had found positions in placeslike Citibank, E&Y and J.P. Morgan.Ms Mistri admitted that she wasnervous. But to her shock and surprise,over 2,000 people applied.Some <strong>of</strong> them were willing to relocateback from New York City toIndia and become Third Standardteachers in a little private school in atin shed in Malad. They were readyto teach 50 students who were farbelow the grades they studied in.The applicants were put througha rigorous selection process and finally87 were chosen. These youthwere put though boot-camp training;they worked 18 hours a day <strong>for</strong> fiveweeks, learning what it meant to bean excellent teacher.Once they got down to work, most<strong>of</strong> them gave out their ’phone numbersso that the students could callthem even at 11 o’clock at night asthere was no one else to help themwith their homework.“When they see how they aretrans<strong>for</strong>ming those kids’ lives… sothat one day all those kids will havethe ability to sit where you are sittingtoday… when they see that, theydon’t think <strong>of</strong> giving just a little bit,they want to put those kids on aneven playing field – and that giveshope <strong>for</strong> the country.“It’s not just about wanting to dogood, we told them. It’s about changinglives. It’s about having the responsibilityto turn around the life <strong>of</strong> achild who will never have the opportunitythat you have the power togive them.“We call Teach <strong>for</strong> India a movementbecause we believe that if weare to change the crazy statistics inour country (only 10% graduate fromhigh school, 90% do not get there,and that 40% <strong>of</strong> the time there isn’t ateacher in classrooms), and tomaximise our nation’s potential, weneed the help <strong>of</strong> every one <strong>of</strong> you,”Ms Mistri added.Speaking after her was Mr. RahulGupta, one <strong>of</strong> the “Fellows” <strong>of</strong> theTeach <strong>for</strong> India movement, who hadjust graduated in Economics fromDelhi University.Mr. Gupta said that as a student<strong>of</strong> Kirorimal College he had heardabout the economic growth story, butwhat struck him was the fact that inthe year that GDP grew by 9%, Indiahad slipped three places on theHuman Development Index – fromthe 126th spot to the 129th spot.This showed that there was no positivecorrelation between economicgrowth and development in India. Butrather than turn cynical or critical,many like him had decided to take theplunge and do something to changethe system. His brief experience <strong>of</strong>two and a half months had shown himthat it was possible to improve things.Further, it had also rein<strong>for</strong>ced theidea that education would be the mosteffective tool to end social inequity,especially educational, that was rampantthroughout the country.Not just Govandi, where he wasthe class teacher <strong>for</strong> the Third Standardat the Hashu Advani MemorialSchool, inequity existed even in poshareas like Worli and its slums.Mr. Gupta warned that educationalinequity could pose a grave threat toand jeopardise the basic essence <strong>of</strong> thePreamble (to the Constitution).“When you are there, at the spot,you feel ashamed and disappointed,but more than anything else, you feelthe pain. You feel that it is your responsibilityand you just cannot shyaway from it.(Continued on Page 5)The ‘Teach <strong>for</strong> India’ movement believes that the future <strong>of</strong> India will beshaped in her classrooms – and that this would be done by the youth <strong>of</strong>today, by the best, the brightest and the most committed among them, saysMs Shaheen Mistri at the last meetingPage 4, THE GATEWAY, 8th September, 2009And this is one <strong>of</strong> the leaders that Ms Mistri talked about. The youngMr. Rahul Gupta, who has just graduated in economics from DelhiUniversity, is now a Third Standard teacher at a little school in Govandiand is extremely happy with what he is doing
‘Teach <strong>for</strong> India’is creating a newbreed <strong>of</strong> leadersto help end allsocial inequities(Continued from Page 4)“One step outside Govandi stationis all that it takes <strong>for</strong> you torealise what kind <strong>of</strong> disparity existsin this economically developedcountry and in <strong>Bombay</strong>, which isthe financial capital <strong>of</strong> India. Yourealise how different life is <strong>for</strong> themasses.“There are about 60 lakh peopleliving in slums in <strong>Bombay</strong> butthis (statistic) does not show theactual pain, the pain lies there”(one step outside Govandi station).Mr. Gupta said he did not believein the state policy <strong>of</strong> learningby rote which was followed evenin the best <strong>of</strong> schools. He felt thateducation had to be aimed at theempowerment <strong>of</strong> young minds.Shouting at a child, <strong>for</strong>cing himto do a thing in a particular waywould not produce results. Thesolution lay in winning the love andaffection <strong>of</strong> a child so that he or shehappily carried out the tasks assignedby a teacher (affectionatelycalled bhaiyya or didi).He used different methods,whether song, dance, art, craft,drawing, writing or conversations,to arouse interest in the students.He also had a class chant, a classsong and a poem; and every time achild did well his name was writtenon the chart.“I call my class the star class,they are all called stars. When I tellthem to shine like stars, they starttwinkling. This is how I get themquiet instead <strong>of</strong> shouting at them. Ibelieve that a shouting teacher canbe the worst thing that can happento a child. It can be catastrophic. Ihave seen that in my school, whichis supposed to be a good school.“We are trying to change thatand make the school a better,safer and happier place <strong>for</strong> thechild. It is the responsibility notjust <strong>of</strong> the young generation orthe middle-aged or others, it isthe responsibility <strong>of</strong> every Indiancitizen to make things better.“We talk about rules, rights, dutiesand so on… But if we want toavail <strong>of</strong> our rights, then we have tobe responsible towards our dutiesand our duty is to ensure that everychild’s right to education isrealised,” Mr. Gupta added.Akbar Padamsee helped designthe <strong>Club</strong>’s ‘Art & CreativeThinking’ workshopPriya and the children. Priyasri Patodia snapped with some <strong>of</strong> thechildren whose work was on display at the preview and in<strong>for</strong>mal auctionarranged on August 27With the children once again. But this time Priyasri is joined by the guest<strong>of</strong> honour, the popular author Ms Shobha De (second from right), atOlives (Mahalaxmi)Lovers <strong>of</strong> art and potential buyers. Nanik Rupani and his daughter (atleft) photographed with Dolly Thakore at the same preview and in<strong>for</strong>malauctionA preview and in<strong>for</strong>mal auction<strong>of</strong> works <strong>of</strong> art, createdby children <strong>of</strong> the Dr.Ambedkar MunicipalSchool at Worli in thecourse <strong>of</strong> an art workshop,was held at Olives,Mahalaxmi, on August 27.The month-long workshop,called “Art and CreativeThinking”, was organised inassociation with theBhavishya-Yaan project <strong>of</strong>the Education <strong>for</strong> All Committee.Priyasri Patodia, Chairperson<strong>for</strong> the Promotion <strong>of</strong> Arts,Music and Dance, was privilegedto receive the guidance<strong>of</strong> Mr. Akbar Padamsee,the doyen <strong>of</strong> the art world, indesigning the workshop. Itsfocus was creative thinking,along with an introductionto various pr<strong>of</strong>essions in thecreative field.Ms Shobha De, the popularauthor, was the guest <strong>of</strong>honour.Others who attended the displayand auction were Mr.Padamsee himself, Mr.Prabhakar Kolte, Mr.Vikram Bawa and Mr.Dinesh Vazirali (owner <strong>of</strong>Saffronart, the biggest auctionhouse in India).Also present were Ms ShainaN.C., Mr. Anil Dharker, Mr.Bharat Bala, Ms RaelPadamsee, Ms BeejalMeswani, Ms KalpanaGandhi, Ms Nisha Jamwal,Sabira Merchant and DollyThakore.Several artists, bankers, keyfigures from the corporateworld and some <strong>of</strong> the studentswhose works were ondisplay were also present atthe sold-out event.8th September, 2009, THE GATEWAY, Page 5
Change language