Letter to Self

# 111 Sunrees Road, Penal.

15th September 2019.

Dear Reshma,

As I reflect on my time on as a teacher, occasions may arise where I will question my decision to

enter this profession. I hope that this letter renews my faith and my focus when this happens. I

have been a teacher for sixteen years and a student all my life. I feel that one cannot exist without

the other. Little did I realize when I finished my formal education, I would be going back to

school. This time as the teacher. Honestly, I did not think that I had what it took to become a

teacher, much less a good one. I did not believe that I had the commitment, dedication and the

patience needed to work with children. It took being pushed into a first-year class with twenty-

three, five-year-old’s to awaken those dormant characteristics.

When teaching first presented itself, I declined forthwith. I was already employed at a job I

loved. It took the intervention of my father, exactly one year later, to convince me to take up the

position. He proposed all the logical arguments to try and persuade me including, the long

holidays, great salary, easy working hours, etc. All good arguments, but it was when he said that

he always wanted one of his children become a teacher, I realized that I could not let the

opportunity pass me again. I made the leap and I have never looked back. Although my father is

no longer with me, I thank him every day for helping me to see that being a teacher is exactly

what I was meant to be.

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Reshma, if you believe being a teacher is a relaxed profession, meaning you are set for life, then

you are sadly mistaken. Teaching is a living, breathing organism which must grow, change and

adapt in order to survive. One part of growing is educating yourself so that you can give your

best to your charges. Yes, you might be qualified to teach, meaning you met the academic

qualifications set out by your employer, but can you truly teach? Is your job merely the

regurgitation of information into young minds or is it helping the students to see the value of the

content that you are delivering? I believe that this Dip Ed Programme will help me to deliver the

syllabus in a way that is not only palatable to the students but help them see the value of what I

am trying to teach. It is my hope that by doing this programme, I will be able to better

understand my students and their needs. I hope to learn how to tailor my lessons to cater to their

differences. I believe that if I can achieve this, then I have truly taught.

A time may come when you are stressed and doubtful of your decisions. Just remember why you

are doing this. It is all for the children. Changing the life of one child is not good enough. You

must aim to change the lives of all the students that pass through your classes.

Stay humble,

Reshma Sookhoo.