Monthly Archives: September 2018


Teacher’s Day Special: “I want to build my own unique pre-school, maybe along a beach!”

On Teacher’s Day, Swati from Pune tells us about her journey as a teacher and recalls how her childhood experience as a student moulded her approach later as a teacher.

Please introduce yourself and briefly tell us about your career

I reside in Pune. I am a Pre-School teacher and have been in this profession for nearly 12 years now. I am currently working at Modern Montessori International School. I joined 2 years back.

What made you choose teaching?

I have loved kids from the start! They are the most innocent human beings on Earth. After my graduation in Psychology I joined a Pre-School and loved being with kids and teaching them. I pursued it further and did an Early Childhood Education diploma from Pune and became a full-fledged teacher.

Do you have a ‘philosophy’ as a teacher? Does it keep evolving?

No, I don’t have a philosophy as a teacher. I am a hands-on teacher. I always see my children’s potential and work around it. I believe learning should be done in a fun way and should spread happiness. A child should look forward to coming to school the next day in anticipation of what he/she will learn that day. My teaching methods evolve every day and I always strive to bring new things in the curriculum every day.

Tell us an anecdote from your own childhood about a teacher, favourite or otherwise!

I really don’t remember any teacher because I was a slow learner and was always a last bencher, and a very shy kid. No teacher during that period recognised my slow learning and always told my parents that I am not intelligent. They never saw what my potential is. This stuck in my mind and I decided that when I become a teacher, I would make learning interesting even for those children who are a little special.

How do you think your own approach to teaching differs from your teachers’ in the past? Are we better or worse off now, and are we heading in the right direction?

Like I said earlier, I don’t believe in sticking to some philosophy in teaching. Our teaching methods should evolve according to the current time. I always try to teach children in a new way every time so that they don’t get bored and really learn the concept. Overall, I just want to see my children happy and for them to feel secure in the school surroundings 🙂

I think that we as teachers are heading in the right direction as earlier, some people used to take up this job as time pass, a means to just get out of the house; and just because they loved kids, they used to pursue this profession. The current teachers are really thinking about new ways of teaching, preparing a curriculum according to the children’s intelligence and and thinking of different ways to execute them. Nowadays, they take courses to upgrade their skills and then take up teaching. So that’s good to see. I think we are heading in the right direction to make a better future for kids.

This Teacher’s Day, make a wish! And tell us about it!

This Teacher’s Day, or rather for every Teacher’s Day, I wish that I go one step closer to building my own unique pre-school, maybe along a beach!