0:00:06.797,0:00:10.852 When I was 9 years old, I thought that [br]a teacher is a titleholder. 0:00:10.852,0:00:13.316 A person who stands in front of the class 0:00:13.316,0:00:16.276 and teaches while the students [br]are listening. 0:00:16.276,0:00:19.661 I studied in a low income private [br]school for 5 years 0:00:19.661,0:00:23.376 there I saw many of my friends are[br]disinterested in their studies. 0:00:23.376,0:00:25.826 Some of them would not pay [br]attention in the class 0:00:25.826,0:00:28.509 while some of them would [br]be absent for days. 0:00:28.509,0:00:33.038 I observed that this used to create a lot [br]of pressure and stress on the teachers. 0:00:33.038,0:00:34.734 And it made me question: 0:00:34.734,0:00:37.683 How challenging is it to be the [br]only person responsible 0:00:37.683,0:00:40.789 in the room for the learning [br]of 40 students? 0:00:40.789,0:00:44.379 It made me question: Why do students need [br]to rely on that one teacher? 0:00:44.379,0:00:48.373 When will the students realize that [br]there's a teacher in them? 0:00:48.373,0:00:50.784 I wanted to do something about this. 0:00:50.784,0:00:56.374 So, I decided that whenever and however [br]possible, I would try to help my teacher. 0:00:56.374,0:00:59.741 So everyday, I would help her with [br]taking the class attendance, 0:00:59.741,0:01:02.197 writing the daily agenda on the board. 0:01:02.197,0:01:03.591 And during practice time, 0:01:03.591,0:01:07.854 I would try and help a group of students [br]who were struggling with their worksheets. 0:01:07.854,0:01:10.045 And when my teacher would be absent, 0:01:10.045,0:01:15.428 I would get on a call, and ask her things [br]that I can help her with. 0:01:15.428,0:01:20.826 Then, as discussed, I'd monitor the class,[br]give them vocabulary words to learn, 0:01:20.826,0:01:25.106 some math problems to solve, [br]and sometimes even homework. 0:01:25.106,0:01:28.090 Over time, more classmates [br]helped me with this. 0:01:28.090,0:01:33.070 Slowly, we started taking ownership of [br]our own learning in the classroom. 0:01:33.070,0:01:37.710 This continued for some time. [br]But I wanted to do something more! 0:01:37.710,0:01:41.562 Many of my friends needed help with [br]reading and comprehension. 0:01:41.562,0:01:45.286 Me and my friend Pinky were really [br]passionate about reading, 0:01:45.286,0:01:47.649 so we started a reading club. 0:01:47.649,0:01:50.928 In our club, we had students from [br]4th, 5th and 6th grade 0:01:50.928,0:01:53.781 and many of them had a low reading level.[br] 0:01:53.781,0:01:57.755 We slowly started giving them books with [br]more pictures and less words. 0:01:57.755,0:02:00.038 And once they were able [br]to read those books, 0:02:00.038,0:02:05.348 we tried to increase the difficulty level [br]by giving them books with more words. 0:02:05.348,0:02:08.486 We also discussed things like [br]character, their traits, 0:02:08.486,0:02:11.942 the main events and the [br]central idea of the story. 0:02:11.942,0:02:16.902 After some sessions our class teacher [br]tested them and they showed an improvement! 0:02:16.902,0:02:22.637 We even saw one of our friends grow [br]by 1.5 reading levels in just one month! 0:02:22.637,0:02:23.533 Eventually, 0:02:23.533,0:02:28.393 we also got some opportunities to [br]conduct reading circles with elder people. 0:02:28.393,0:02:30.111 After these experiences, 0:02:30.111,0:02:34.831 I felt really proud of the fact that for [br]that brief moment, I was the teacher, 0:02:34.831,0:02:38.203 irrespective of my age and [br]which class I was in. 0:02:38.203,0:02:40.184 I have a question for all of you: 0:02:40.184,0:02:43.803 Are there things that you [br]are passionate about? 0:02:43.803,0:02:47.281 I am sure that it’s a yes, [br]because I have many passions. 0:02:47.281,0:02:51.719 Some of my passions include cooking, [br]knitting, gardening and sketching. 0:02:51.719,0:02:55.970 I owe all these passions to different [br]teachers that I have had in my life. 0:02:55.970,0:02:59.445 Teachers like Mr. Farhan, he is one of the[br]gardeners in our school 0:02:59.445,0:03:02.315 and he helps me learn cool things [br]about permaculture. 0:03:02.315,0:03:07.125 These days I am learning a new form [br]of gardening known as "aquaponics." 0:03:07.125,0:03:09.806 Or my Mother, who taught me how to cook 0:03:09.806,0:03:13.312 and be independent in the times [br]when she is not around. 0:03:13.312,0:03:15.475 You may have noticed that [br]neither of them 0:03:15.475,0:03:17.541 were the titleholders of a teacher. 0:03:17.541,0:03:19.998 But in their own ways, [br]they were teachers. 0:03:19.998,0:03:24.237 Think about it. Do you have such [br]teachers in your life? 0:03:24.237,0:03:26.558 I'm sure that you do! 0:03:26.558,0:03:27.519 In my community, 0:03:27.519,0:03:31.604 people do different types of things and [br]I can learn so many things from them. 0:03:31.604,0:03:36.186 Such as organization from the garbage [br]collector, cleanliness from the sweepers, 0:03:36.186,0:03:39.945 mathematics from the carpenters, [br]cooking from the housewives 0:03:39.945,0:03:43.317 and how to run a business [br]from shopkeepers. 0:03:43.317,0:03:47.897 But do we ever try and think of [br]the things that we can learn from them? 0:03:47.897,0:03:51.703 No, we think because of their age, [br]gender, and the kind of work they do, 0:03:51.703,0:03:53.295 they can't teach us anything. 0:03:53.295,0:03:56.684 But in fact, they can teach us a lot [br]of different things. 0:03:56.684,0:03:59.054 I believe that everyone is a teacher. 0:03:59.054,0:04:01.075 You are a teacher, I am a teacher. 0:04:01.075,0:04:05.033 It don't matter what age we are, what [br]gender we are, or what work we do. 0:04:05.033,0:04:08.707 I believe that if we start seeing [br]everyone around us as teachers, 0:04:08.707,0:04:12.339 one day we will achieve that [br]perfect ratio 1 is to 1. 0:04:12.339,0:04:13.749 Thank you.