“Econnect – Zainab”

The academic year, 2022-23, was a turning point in Zainab’s career as a teacher. She usually taught in schools, in the Middle East and India, as an English and Humanities teacher. But that particular year she was offered the position of an ESL teacher in Pune. It was the same school that she’d taught at for the past 3 years, only the role had changed.

Little did she know that this role would alter the course of her career as a teacher and that it would change her perspective toward teaching. It would bring a certain awareness in her that teaching and learning are just not about going to class and delivering interesting, engaging, and fun lessons. It’s about E-connect with the little minds and hearts that look up to you for motivation, love, understanding, and role modeling.

So, as an ESL facilitator, she was to teach English to students from Grade 2 to Grade 8. These students faced difficulties in learning the language and Zainab was to facilitate and support them to improve their English skills. During COVID, classes were virtual and a lot of these children missed honing their English language skills. It was either because they couldn’t afford the technology, didn’t have a device, or were just not interested and motivated enough to sit through online classes.

Zainab was most certainly very skeptical and had her own doubts as to whether she’d be able to do justice to this new task assigned to her. Nevertheless, with her skills and years of experience, she was all geared up to start the teaching-learning process.

But, she was in for a big surprise!

 In the first week of her teaching, she was overwhelmed. She realized that most of these children lacked basic English competency and she would need more than skills and experience to tackle this challenge. She pondered and wondered about what she was going to do. The task given to her was monumental. It seemed impossible for her to manage some 87 children.

 What was she to do?

She sought help from her allies. Allies! Yes! Every woman needs allies! Family, friends, and mentors who are ready to share, sacrifice, and support your cause. Ms. Batul, Ms. Savita, Ms. Ira, Apoorva, and Kasturi were some of her allies who besides giving her valuable advice and support, inspired her to tread her way through this task.

 She, eventually, kept her doubts aside and planned the entire syllabus for these children. She made Individualised Lesson Plans (ILPs) and discovered new methods of making learning fun for her students. She was able to make it through her first month as an ESL teacher. She was satisfied with what she was doing, and could slowly but steadily see improvements in her children. But somewhere, she knew that something was missing. She sought clarifications outside her classroom, but got none.

What was she failing to notice?

It was a connection. She’d failed to feel the pulse of her class, the energy of her students. The method she used to connect with them was simple. She actively listened to them. As she lent her ears to them, she realized that it was not only skills that they needed to develop. It was also their confidence and self-esteem that needed a boost. She was now more involved than ever before. She knew that she was gradually winning their hearts and in turn, they were winning hers.

Unlike other vocations or professions, teaching is not a highly-paying job in most countries of the world. But what sets a teacher apart is the emotional connect or the E-connect (as she calls it) she has with her students. This emotional connect is unheard of in the corporate world. This is what sets us teachers apart!