Pittsburgh_Patrika_October_2016

The Pittsburgh Patrika, Vol, 22, No. 1 , October 2016
Reaching Your Potential Through Teaching
By Archana Janardhanan
e-mail: archana913@gmail.com
Archana grew up in the North Hills. After completing her B.A. in English at the University
of Michigan in 2004, she worked in New York City for several years before pursuing
her master’s degree in Elementary Education at Duquesne University. She now teaches
fifth grade at Bradford Woods Elementary School in the North Allegheny School district.
It is no secret that medicine and engineering are the most popular
career choices for Indian-Americans. It makes sense: our parents
came here with hopes for a better life for their children.
They groomed us to be well-educated to choose
life paths which would ensure financial security.
However, the world has changed in the intervening
years. The goals of second and third generation Indian
Americans are not necessarily the same as those of our
parents. As the new generations of Indian Americans
emerge, I think it may be important for parents to let
their children explore other professions in which we
may thrive. Young people these days have a heightened awareness and
empathy for others that parents need to recognize.
This is why I would like to make the case for teaching. Education is
a field in which you are mentally and emotionally challenged each day.
There is a level of satisfaction in teaching that no paycheck or prestige
could Fbestow. That satisfaction stems from several aspects of the job.
irst, let me start with the students. The students are the heart of
the profession. They will bring out the best and worst parts of you
and thereby allow you to learn some major life lessons.
This year, I had a young student who came to my class at the end of
the school year after attending several other schools in the same year.
My understanding was that he had behavioral issues which caused some
problems with other students.
When he came to my class, he was absolutely wonderful for one week.
After that, there was a steady decline in his behavior. He said and did
inappropriate things on a daily basis and was even suspended after two
weeks. Every time he got in trouble, I spoke to him about his actions and
why they were wrong. It seemed I was getting nowhere and my frustration
with him was only growing. In the last week of school, I approached him
about another transgression.
The night before, I had read an article about how teachers can prevent
suspensions by practicing empathy. I decided to put this into practice.
When I approached him about what he did, I didn’t speak about his
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