The year is coming to an end, and changes are taking place.
Everyone looks at how much work has been done and what has been achieved; but deciding what exactly parents should expect their children to learn and what they should not is truly difficult. I have conducted many parents’ meetings so far, but this one felt different and meaningful to me.
In this meeting, I asked the parents what positive changes they had noticed in their children over the past two months. Even though the responses were somewhat broken and hesitant, they were very insightful. The changes in young children were clearly visible. Children have started writing and reading. Most importantly, even children as young as one and a half years old are coming to school, sitting properly, playing, and adjusting to the environment.
I have been doing this work for years. This journey, which began in July, now feels like it is coming to a pause somewhere. For the past few days, this realization has been settling in. Everything that I have learned here is coming back to me. Every moment feels more and more unforgettable.
The parents’ meeting lasted for nearly one and a half hours. At one point, a didi immediately said,
“Bhaiya, don’t you trust us?”
I replied, “No, didi, it’s not like that. But it is important that everyone knows about the work we are doing. And you must ask me questions. When questions are asked, the work gains momentum and becomes more effective.”
But the parents did not stop there. They said, “Bhaiya, our children should be able to read everything and write properly. The children should not fight.” I explained to them, “Didi, we provide an environment where children begin to understand their own needs. If they want something or need an object, they ask for it, and sometimes they even fight. This is all part of their physical, mental, and intellectual development.”
To this, they replied, “Yes bhaiya, but they should understand what we say.” Parents’ expectations do not end here; they gradually continue to grow.
The parents checked their children’s notebooks. Janvi, who earlier used to avoid writing, has now started writing. Children like Dhuli and Vishal, who earlier could only read letters, have now begun reading matras as well.
There was also a complaint about one incident. But Janvi had already told me earlier, “Bhaiya, today I watched mobile and didn’t study.” After the meeting ended, Janvi’s mother said to me, “Bhaiya, my daughter doesn’t do anything, please explain to her a little.”
I told her, “Didi, Janvi has already told me about this.”
This journey is unfolding through such amusing and memorable moments. It was clearly felt that parents have now become more aware. This meeting reflected warmth, affection, and care. As the year moves ahead, a feeling arose that this journey is about to take a pause somewhere. My bond with the children is growing stronger, and I, too, am gradually becoming more connected to them. Understanding all of this might take more than a year that is the learning I am gaining here.
Without realizing it, we have become a part of their lives. We have done a lot of work, and faced just as much embarrassment too. But this journey is not yet complete. Many more moments of fun and learning are still waiting.