Teachers New Years Resolution, Joy!

by Shamik Ghosh
(Kolkata, West Bengal, INDIA)

Three years ago I made a New Years resolution to bring joy into the lives of my school children. I am Shamik Ghosh, teacher in a secondary school in India. My students accepted me readily when I began teaching here, perhaps because I was just 23 years old.

Some days passed and I noticed that most of the students come from extremely poor families. Some could not buy a pair of shoes for school. In some, you could notice signs of malnourishment. As their teacher, I felt like crying to see this. How could I ask them to do homework if they did not have a healthy environment in their homes?

So, from the very first day of the New Year I began to do things which could bring small joys to the children. I knew I could not change everything in their lives. I could not make their families rich. What I could do is make their school a place to smile.

I had learnt that their parents are so poor that buying a badminton racquet would be a luxury. So I collected small donations from colleagues to buy games equipment. With their help, we now have badminton racquets, footballs, cricket gear, and a carrom-board. I could not but be pleased to see the children playing in the schoolyard because everyone seems so happy!

Then, I thought to make a garden of our own. It would add color and fragrance to our lives. Together we and the students dug the soil, planted the saplings, built the fencing, and watered the plants. I was amazed that my students knew so much about gardening. I realized this is because they are from peasant families.

It was a good experience for everyone, and the students were enthusiastic that the teachers worked along with them. We were all overjoyed when the flowers bloomed!

This year I am going to make another New Years resolution. We would like to incorporate more games, and a small gymnasium is essential for that. We still do not have one. New school uniforms also ... we'll see what we can accomplish!

Everyone is cordially invited to our school to see the garden we have made and to share a few moments of joy with our children. Our school address is:

Durganagar Bipin Behari School (H.S)
Post Office- Chakdaha,
District- Nadia
PIN- 741222
West Bengal, INDIA
Phone No. (91)-03473-242477 / (91)-0-9333135513

Shamik Ghosh

p.s. We welcome comments on our garden (above) which we made last year.