Last Monday schools across the country opened their doors and welcomed back students from their summer holidays. Over at Royal City School, it
was no different.
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| students paying revent attention to writing names on the front of their text books |
With four new teachers joining the staff (more on them later), there was a wonderful sense of expectation and excitement in the air at the school. We were struck by the (what must be universal) nostalgia about the promise of a new, unblemished textbook, a brand new pencil case filled with brand new stationary, and a rucksack bigger than the child wearing it. A great reminder of the common humanity we all share.
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| A small child. A huge rucksack. A universal symbol of childhood nostalgia. |
Sitting down with the new Standard I students, we asked them
how they felt about coming back to school. “GOOD!” a chorus of tiny voices
replied. “There is lots of fun in learning and writing and being with my
friends” 6 year old Sujana confidently
announced (who then could not stop laughing, giggling and wiggling in her seat
as she posed for a photo).
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| Happy to be back! |
The smiles, laughing, giggling and wiggling didn’t stop
there. Kemal, Ayesha, Sana and Damodar our new teachers share this sense of excitement and positivity surrounding the new
school year. Damodar (our first male teacher) told us, “the quality is so high
and the experience being here is exciting. The other teachers are very
supporting and I am excited to share and learn with the children. We can learn
together”.
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| Parents eagerly waiting for their children at the school gates |
Similarly to our other teachers, Kemal, Ayesha, Sana and
Damodar grew up dreaming of being a teacher. “I remember my first teacher, Ms.
Bharti”, Kemal tells us “she had such beautiful writing. From that moment I
knew I wanted to be a teacher”.
With this great influx of enthusiasm, the school’s head,
Lakshmi said “I feel very positive about the coming year. In the previous
academic year we learnt a lot. We have implemented lots of new things and we
really can’t wait to see the fruits of our labour and ultimately, benefits the
students”.
