Phir ek Baar.......

Back to school. I've joined Abi's school as a teacher. But I'm not teaching his class. We both go to school together at 8:00 am and come back together 12:30 pm. I don't meet him in between. He wonders where I vanish after dropping him in his class.

My joining school  has definitely helped all of us.The morning scene  has changed for good. First and foremost Abi does not feel bad to get up early in the morning now. He knows naani is accompanying him in going  through the same pain/agony! So he does not say that he doesn't want to go to school anymore. What a relief! (keeping my fingers crossed that things stay this way!). Initially he used to drag me to his classroom and insist I too sit with him. But once I made him understand that he will sit in his class and I'll sit in my class,  he is fine with we sitting in our respective classes. This makes me happy on the one hand that he is so understanding and on the other hand it makes me feel sad that he is quickly growing out of his childhood.Time just flies...

As for my part, I have mixed feelings. Firstly, I'm happy to be back in school doing what I love doing after a 3 long years' hiatus. However, here things are slightly different from what one experiences in city schools. The background of the children is rural and most of them are first generation learners. It is a challenge for any teacher. Before joining the school I thought I'll get to meet and talk to people and have some friends. But it is not so, for whatever reasons. I find the teachers are also different here compared to city teachers. When I'm free I do not see any other teacher sitting in the staff room. Lunch is in the classroom with children. I'm yet to see teachers sitting and talking about the latest fashion or anything for that matter as I've seen in Delhi (mind you, I'm in a private school)! Everyone seems to be ever busy with their work here. I wonder how is it  even possible? So I hardly get to meet and talk to any of them except Abi's teachers. And my time table is also such that I get free by the time Abi gets free.

But all in all, it is a great new feeling to be packing off to school hand in hand with my little grandson :)