Seema Devi, an edu-leader from Gaya has put in a great deal of hard work in supporting the learning journey of the children of a school in her village in Bihar while learning and re-learning her own notions.Every day she ensures that her duties for the day are completed but she doesn't stop there. She meticulously plans the course for the next day to be on top of the game. Since the initial days at the fellowship, an idea struck her; to journal her time at school.
This gave her the space that she required to think freely and not be bound by the normal conventions of what was expected of her role as edu leader . This provided an avenue to process thoughts as she began bullet journaling by answering her questions such as-
- What is the aim of today's class?
- What does my job as an edu leader entail?
- Did I succeed in delivering the objectives of the lesson for the day?
- Was I able to successfully impart in the minds of the students what I set out to fulfill?
- How are students responding to her ?
While collecting this information was challenging at times due to its qualitative nature, Seema manages with her keen observation skill and feedback from her students.
Upon continuing with the practice, her outlook on the process and her role as an edu leader gains a new dimension as she tries and succeeds in comprehending how any activity performed in the classroom has a deep impact in not just their minds but also their EQ and overall development.
This meant going the extra mile, to keep an eye on the pursuits of the students.
As her Eureka moment was possible only because of her newfound passion for journalling, Seema goes on to pass this knowledge trail to fellow edu leaders who are equally fascinated by their newfound recognition of the infinite details in their students' behavior and psychology.
To ensure the modus operandi was kept alive, regular dialog with other edu leaders was started to keep up the banter. On one such occasion, Seema recollects that she had been in touch with a fellow edu leader for over a week and on engaging in talks about their on-the-job experience it took her and others over a day to understand the experiences of the predecessor that helped them all make useful inferences.
Upon further review of the journal, the personality traits of the students became more and more evident, more so than would have been possible had the edu leaders merely relied on their communication skills and not jotted down their interactions with every student, which further strengthened her belief on penning down one's impressions and purpose after clocking out.
She also throws in caution that while it is important to jot down your activities, it mustn't be done to prove a point to a superior, guilt trapping a fellow educator by projecting superiority, making a pretense by displaying false claims or using it as a means to offhandedly project job not done. Instead, it should be undertaken with due diligence knowing that each student deserves your attention and while it might be difficult for those edu leaders who have a larger class population, one can always learn through experimenting for oneself and adopting best practices.
She concludes by stating that-
When I started working as an Edu-leader I was only aware of myself - what I did in class, what I did outside class, and how I had prepared for the day. But now I am becoming more and more conscious – of the vital role of the child. After all, the learner is the child and his function is the most important.
