Learnings in Teaching

Piyali Kanabar is into several fields related to education. She is a teacher straight from the heart, having served Bhavan's Bhagwandas Purohit Vidya Mandir as a teacher for over two decades. She’s also a corporate trainer and presently runs an institute in Nagpur catering to soft skills training and personality grooming called 'So What? A Center For Counseling and Professional Perfection'.

Piyali serves as a Cambridge Council examiner of BEC and trains students, professionals and housewives in spoken English. She also trains students for examinations like the IELTS, GRE, GMAT, PTE, SAT, TOEFL and CAT.

Piyali undertakes behavioural counseling and guidance. She is a member of the Nagpur Toastmasters Club at the Gold level and a member of India Peace Centre. She is involved with Seva kitchen, serving free homemade food to caretakers of patients.

A life is strewn with several shades of threads, each contributing its hue to your life but you have one special colour. Yes, for me it had always had been my family, my husband, my kids. As I moved on in life, I happened to get another love of my life in the profession of teaching which I always coveted. I generally would wear the sarees of my mom and enact as a teacher, later I designed my study habits in a way that I would become my own teacher and teach myself. I loved the whole teacher game a lot.

Once I initiated my professional life as a teacher it took me No time to settle and feel comfortable. It was perfect fit to my sensibilities.

Actually at times I saw no difference between my profession and family, probably because three fourth of the family that is my son and my daughter was part of my profession as they were my students in school and the remaining one fourth that is my husband acted as a great source of encouragement throughout.

As my kids were also in the same school. I had a great challenge to meet, how to be a teacher to my kids, I found an easy way out, I became the mother of all the students.

Began the journey of my teacher hood. Oh! It was a challenge. To be student's choice, I had to struggle learning new techniques to impart knowledge as well as transform them into worthy beings. To my surprise the process actually helped me to improve in life and in turn my students were also benefited. What I learnt most wasn't how to teach but how to be patient when kids were difficult. I learnt nothing was impossible though they could be difficult. My patience stretched more than a loose elastic. Empathy became more important than sympathy, not very late did I realise sympathy made my students weak and escapist while empathy helped us to fight the obstacles.

I was falling more and more in love with my profession. I could understand people better, nothing caused hurt, I gained the ability to gauge situational hazards. Learning to stand for my ideas infused immense strength into me. I failed not to stand for what was correct. I understood the value and dignity of honesty. My honesty gifted me fearlessness. Many a times I found things could be accomplished in much better way than I could do and this helped me to appreciate and acknowledge people's efforts.

Gradually kids began to get close to me and I began to become fond of them. The discrimination between my kids and students blurred.

While in class I equipped myself to keep everyone engaged and also made each feel important.

I began to discover newer ways to introduce every topic. Giving a few more marks to some helped them to feel encouraged. I accrued plethora of engaging activities. If one didn't work, I took resort in another method and it became my habit to apply the same in all walks of life. Life became easier.

At a later stage I began my own academy and there I had completely different category of students but trust me though they belonged to entirely different age-group, students were students.

Piyali Kanabar in a formal training session with her students.

Piyali Kanabar and her students having fun in an outdoor setting.

Students on a road show with teacher Piyali Kanabar.

The profession required a lot of energy - I realised this because I had to undertake a lot more physical effort now. I have aged after all. Though I needed extra bit but my enthusiasm was dauntless.

While I lived a great family life, I had the privilege of having a bigger family on my professional front. My peers were great support, fun and friends. I realised family doesn't always meant blood, it goes beyond that, roots go deep and life becomes a party.

To cut it short let me tell you the teacher in me added a great chunk to my identity and it gave me loads to become a happy human being.

Teaching is not only giving it helps to receive much more than what we give. The road is too long, the horizon is the end of the road.

The benefit of being a teacher has a great advantage, people get used to your habits typical to a teacher. Most importantly even if you sermonize your husband he doesn't mind as he also understands "once a teacher, always a teacher."