Qn 5a) Write about a time when you taught someone a skill. Describe what you have gained in the exchange, and how that affected your relationship with them.
Memories are truly mysterious; sometimes an event that happened years back could be recalled with total clarity, but the things you did just a moment ago could only be vaguely remembered. I was able to remember one event; the event which could never be forgotten for that individual, no matter the passage of time.
It all began when I was chosen to volunteer at a dyslexic school to teach the dyslexic some simple English writing and Mathematics for a week during our summer holidays. Believing volunteering to be a waste of time and energy which could be better spent; I was immediately against that idea of me volunteering, or as I saw it, wasting my time, but as all of my classmates had volunteered before, I was the only logical choice left.
I was assigned to a boy who was of my age to teach him to write rudimentary poems and do some fundamental mathematics. Sighing and with a casual greeting, we started our first day together in a small room all to ourselves.
Exceeding all my expectations, the boy was very quick of mind, able to grasps concept with much ease. I was bowled over by the fact that though being a dyslexic, he might be more able than many of my classmate, and perhaps even surpassing me. The only difference between him and a gifted student was that he was unable to interpret graphical problems very well and his own limited vocabulary.
Despite all the misgivings and difficulties, I gradually taught him the basics of poetry and read him excerpts from the Iliad. Unknowingly, I became so absorbed in teaching him that the passage of time went unnoticed, and hence a strong mutual understanding between us was forged. Not only that, his willingness to learn allowed me to teach him much more than the curriculum itself. Feeling a sense of achievement was an understatement; it barely scratched the surface of my emotions when I saw his accomplishments in both areas; it was an enjoyable, epic journey for both of us, and we both attained not only achievement in studies, but pride in ourselves and each other among others.
On the last day, we bade farewell with sorrow in our hearts and thus we parted. Thinking back, the lessons I thought I taught him were actually just a pretext for the lessons I learned through teaching him.
Unconsciously, I had overcome my stereotyping of the dyslexic, and changed my whole perception of the disabled. Before I had thought that the disabled were social deadweights, but the volunteering added an entire new dimension to them; that they are not deadweights, but rather healthy persons who could make a difference in our society. In fact, I believe that their disability had made them stronger still, learning to bear with the burden of being disabled. It taught me humility, and gave me a gift I would never forget – understanding. For the rest of my life, I will remember this journey of self-discovery and enlightenment; the one jewel of my early memories.
Word Count: 512
Memories are truly mysterious; sometimes an event that happened years back could be recalled with total clarity, but the things you did just a moment ago could only be vaguely remembered. I was able to remember one event; the event which could never be forgotten for that individual, no matter the passage of time.
It all began when I was chosen to volunteer at a dyslexic school to teach the dyslexic some simple English writing and Mathematics for a week during our summer holidays. Believing volunteering to be a waste of time and energy which could be better spent; I was immediately against that idea of me volunteering, or as I saw it, wasting my time, but as all of my classmates had volunteered before, I was the only logical choice left.
I was assigned to a boy who was of my age to teach him to write rudimentary poems and do some fundamental mathematics. Sighing and with a casual greeting, we started our first day together in a small room all to ourselves.
Exceeding all my expectations, the boy was very quick of mind, able to grasps concept with much ease. I was bowled over by the fact that though being a dyslexic, he might be more able than many of my classmate, and perhaps even surpassing me. The only difference between him and a gifted student was that he was unable to interpret graphical problems very well and his own limited vocabulary.
Despite all the misgivings and difficulties, I gradually taught him the basics of poetry and read him excerpts from the Iliad. Unknowingly, I became so absorbed in teaching him that the passage of time went unnoticed, and hence a strong mutual understanding between us was forged. Not only that, his willingness to learn allowed me to teach him much more than the curriculum itself. Feeling a sense of achievement was an understatement; it barely scratched the surface of my emotions when I saw his accomplishments in both areas; it was an enjoyable, epic journey for both of us, and we both attained not only achievement in studies, but pride in ourselves and each other among others.
On the last day, we bade farewell with sorrow in our hearts and thus we parted. Thinking back, the lessons I thought I taught him were actually just a pretext for the lessons I learned through teaching him.
Unconsciously, I had overcome my stereotyping of the dyslexic, and changed my whole perception of the disabled. Before I had thought that the disabled were social deadweights, but the volunteering added an entire new dimension to them; that they are not deadweights, but rather healthy persons who could make a difference in our society. In fact, I believe that their disability had made them stronger still, learning to bear with the burden of being disabled. It taught me humility, and gave me a gift I would never forget – understanding. For the rest of my life, I will remember this journey of self-discovery and enlightenment; the one jewel of my early memories.
Word Count: 512
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