Acquiring it is tougher than it sounds, says Shakira S Islam
THE WORD ‘education’ sounds very simple but to acquire it is a difficult task for many. For this particular article, I would like to recount some of my interesting experiences while studying in different parts of Assam and in Germany. I also recount my more than 25 years of teaching experience in the department of chemistry, Synod College, Shillong.
My father, Late Mohammad Islam was an official in the Assam Forest Service. He was from Titabor, Assam. He served the Indian Army for five years before doing his graduation in forestry from Dehra Dun Forest College. We stayed in different parts of Assam, sometimes in remote places as my father was transferred very often from one place to another.
The first teacher in my life was my mother, Late Meherun Nissa Islam who was from Jorhat, Assam. She was a teacher in the Jorhat Government Girls’ ME School. She was a renowned teacher in mathematics and also a social worker. I started my schooling at Don Bosco School, Golaghat. I still remember, Sister Margaret taught English and Sister Mary taught mathematics. That was the beginning of the path to education in my life. Very soon the year ended and I appeared in the annual examination of Class A.
On the day of announcement of results, I went to the school to bring my report card. Our class teacher, Sister Margaret was announcing the name of the first rank holder of the class. To my astonishment, I heard her announcing my name. I received the report card and with excitement, I started running towards our house with the report card in my hand. After reaching home, I hugged my mother and handed over the report card to her. She was so surprised to see what was written in it that she immediately went to meet Sister Margaret to enquire about me. That was the first achievement of my life. It motivated me to believe in myself and to concentrate in my studies.
My next school was St. Mary’s School, Naharkatia. When I was promoted to class-III, my father (who was then assistant conservator of forest, Assam) was transferred to a small place called Joypur on the bank of Dehing River, which is near Digboi – the place known for the biggest forest reserve of Assam. I took admission in Joypur Primary School. On my first day in school, I was shocked to see that there were no partition walls between the different classes. Each teacher was busy in teaching his or her own group of students belonging to a particular class while students tried hard to concentrate on their own lessons.
Some of my classmates were teenagers and a few of them were from the Mech tribe. It was awkward for me to go to school wearing shoes and socks as most of my classmates came to school bare-footed. My mother solved this problem by providing me with a pair of slippers. The teachers of the school were sincere and good but very strict. I learnt a lot from them and came to know about the tough life led by some of my classmates. My mother spent her free time in teaching illiterate women of the locality. I spent the best period of my childhood in Joypur.
Finally, I appeared for my HSLC examination from Jorhat Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School. When I was promoted to class-X, the Assam agitation started. The leaders of the All Assam Students’ Union led this agitation. We were having irregular classes as we were participating in various programs of the agitation. The agitation continued for seven long years. During my BSc (with chemistry Honours) final year in JB College, Jorhat, throughout the year we hardly had any classes. Thinking that this is the end of my studies, I took admission in Jorhat Usha Tailoring School. During those days, my aim in life was to become a good tailor. I completed the tailoring course successfully and enjoy practising this skill even today in my free time.
Painting was my childhood hobby and I, enthusiastically, participated in many All-Assam Painting Competitions. I went on to win prizes in most competitions but my greatest achievement was the second prize in the All-Assam on-the-spot painting competition held in Guwahati, organized by the Government of Assam. I was awarded a scholarship for pursuing degree course in Fine Arts in any recognized institution of India. I was about to take admission in the Department of Fine Arts, MS University, Baroda, but at the last moment I changed my mind since the routine for the BSc final examination was declared by the government. I took a firm decision to appear in the examination and started preparing for the examination through self-studies. Many of my classmates who were good in studies did not appear in the examination that year and became college dropouts forever since for the next two consecutive years examination was not held and hence they lost interest in studies. When the results were declared, I was surprised to see my name in the list of successful candidates with chemistry Honours.
I did a course in German Language from 1984-1985 in Lessing Kolleg, the Institut fur Deutche Sprachen und Kultur, Murburg, Germany which is a residential institution. Alexander von Humboldt (AvH) Foundation of Germany awarded me with a fellowship for doing this course. The other participants in our batch were from Switzerland, Poland, Russia, China, South Africa, Panama, USA, New Zealand, Japan and Afghanistan. Initially, I found the course very tough since the medium of teaching was German. Our class teacher was S Schafer. He used facial expressions and hand gestures to make us understand what he was teaching. I was impressed by the teaching methods used by Herr Schafer. I worked hard and was successful in achieving a very good (sehr gut) grade both in written and spoken German.
From my experiences and the hardships I faced to understand the subjects during my BSc days, it made me to realize the importance of good teaching. After becoming a teacher myself, I not only make it a point to finish the course in time every year but I also try to provide quality teaching to the students. I try to counsel the weak students so that they can overcome their lack of confidence. Teaching has become an inseparable part of my life and I enjoy practising it. It gives me immense pleasure that due to the sincere efforts of the students and the department of chemistry, Synod College, many alumni of the department secured university ranks in BSc (chemistry Honours) examinations conducted by the North Eastern Hill University, Shillong. Many of them are successful in life.
Struggle in life makes a person strong to face the obstacles coming on the way. Opportunities come only once in a lifetime, so one should grab it and make the most out of it. The little achievement that I have made in my life I owe it to my determination, hard work and tremendous moral support from my beloved parents who always had very high expectations from me. Unfortunately, due to their early demise, they could not see the little achievement made by their daughter.