A Peek into the Life of a Student Teacher

We began the day with the blessings from the Almighty God. We had Maya ma'am's class where we discussed about the different types of students that can be found in a class and how a teacher must cater to the needs of each and every student. But I was fascinated by Giby ma'am's class where ma'am taught how prenatal experieces of an unborn child affects his behaviour. Seventy percent of a person's life script is written by the age of 7 and it is upto the child to rewrite his life script from that point onwards. It is the right teachers, parents and a healthy growing environment that enables him/ her to rewrite his life script without any errors. Ma'am talked about few instances from Hitler's autobiography, 'Mein Kampf' and I am looking forward to reading it. It might help me to see him in a different light. Joju sir did a presentation on 'Role of a Teacher in the Digital Era' and Deepthi introduced us to the Maxims of Learning' during th...

We had our first yoga class today. Sir demonstrated few yoga poses for beginners. It helped to revitalize our minds and body and get over the lethargic feeling. The next class was by Maya ma'am where we discussed the competencies required in a teacher. During the hour we had a surprise song-dance performance by Priyanka (English) and Roshna (social science).This was done to point out the importance of spontaneity in teachers. During our optional hour, the class discussed the qualities a Mathematics teacher must posses. But the highlight of the day was our Republic day cultural program. Each association put up a wonderful show. We, the math association did a short skit depicting the same old topic 'Unity in Diversity' but with a touch of our own. This activity was a great source of bonding, it helped in creating a sense of unity in class. The other associations put up vibrant performances. My favourite was the energetic rendition of folk songs by the social science departmen...

 We are back to our classes after a short period of online classes.The day began with the class elections.We selected Aleena, Sajin and Josena as our class leaders. They proved to be the right choices from day one itself. The next hour Giby ma'am taught about the three mental stages: Id, ego and super ego and I'm working my way into having only ego and super ego. She gave a hilarious anecdote to show the real life applications of these mental stages. After lunch, we were energised by Joju sir's class where we were divided ourselves into eight groups where each group was a mixture of students from each class. We had group discussion on the topics 'Dangers of Technology' and the 'Uses of Technology for a Teacher'. Each group had a leader,reporter and time keeper.The reporter is supposed to present the points discussed by the group in the form of a 3 minute speech.   During our PT hour we had a warm up session followed by few games of Kho- Kho. Tomorrow is our ...

 We were assigned with the task of watching a movie and understand its educational implications. I had  chosen the movie 'Dead Poets Society (1989)' directed by Peter Weir starring the late Robin Williams. I'd seen this movie a while ago but this time, I decided to watch it to understand what makes John Keating different from other teachers. This Academy award winning movie is set in a conservative boy's boarding school named Welton's Academy which is known for churning out disciplined and academically brilliant students. The story focuses on a group of seventeen year old boys and their English teacher John Keating (Robin Williams). John Keating is a nonconformist and lives by the phrase 'Carpe Diem' which means 'seize the day'. He encourages his students to get rid of their fears, find their voices and live their lives to the fullest through poetry. Their newfound interest in poetry led them to create a secret club named Dead Poets Society. One of t...

 Due to some unforeseen reasons, we had online classes during this week.  During the week Ancy ma'am taught the different functionalities of Google Meet and also gave a demonstration on how to create a google form. Then we learnt about Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Joju sir, gave a short presentation on the 'Hero in You' where he introduced us to many personalities who rose from the ashes to greater heights. There was also an interactive session on the advantages and disadvantages of technology.  In our optional hours we discussed about the qualities of a good teacher. Moreover, Deepthi ma'am shared the different roles a teacher plays in a student's life. Out of  all the roles, a teacher's role as a scaffolder drew my attention. Just like a scaffolder provides support to a concrete formwork until the cement is set, a teacher provides the required support to a child until its time for the child to do the task on his own. For me, this is the most i...

  It was a bright and sunny morning. As usual the day began with a prayer. The first class was by Dr Giby. The class focused on the history and different branches of psychology. An activity was done to illustrate the need of psychology in our lives. We were asked to draw according to Giby Ma'am's instructions in an unconventional way, by placing the book over our heads.Obviously none of the drawings turned out the way it should have. But few among us, used their fingers to get a point of reference while drawing.This technique shows the predictability nature of psychology. Those students expected the next instruction and could produce a better drawing. Similarly, psychology gives us means to understand people and helps to predict other people's actions. A good teacher can preduct her student's thoughts and actions. The highlight of the day was the inaugration of our renovated canteen.Hope we'll have a chance to utilise the canteen to the fullest.The day ended with a...

 The rains in the morning made the walk from the hostel to the college refreshing than usual. The classes began with a short prayer. A glimpse of the curriculum was given during the Math hour by Dr. Deepthi, who is also our class teacher. This gave us an overall idea about the practical work to be done in the first semester. We had our orientation class taken by Dr. Joju. He stressed on the importance of taking initiative and letting go of all our inhibitions to become an ideal teacher.  For some reason, the one incident that really stayed with me was when one of my classmates during our lunch asked another about his native place. Instead of naming the place, which is Valakom, he told the entire story of how the place got its name. The story in short is that the sword (Vaal in Malayalam) of Raavana which was used to chop off one of the wings of Jatayu landed here and hence its named Valakom. I don't think anyone who heard the story will ever forget the name of the place he com...

I was irresolute as I took my first step into Mar Theophilus Training College (MTTC) since I had doubts about my next big step into teaching. This was the first time in a while I've been among people since the Corona virus outbreak. I had missed a few of my orientation classes and was a little worried about getting along with others in my class. But all my preconceived notions were shattered once I attended my first orientation class conducted by Dr. Maya. The class collectively sang few songs to release the monotony of a Monday morning. It was the quote," Education is not preparation for life but education is life itself" that stuck with me. We had our self introductions during our Math class and we were also introduced to the library facilities of the college. The day ended with a refreshing round of  Dodgeball during the PT hour.