Working with children gives you a kind of fulfilment that no other job can,” Sruthi Kumar says as she explains how she switched jobs — from a marine biologist studying turtles in the Lakshadweep to a Montessori teacher.
Sruthi is one of the many people in the city who are switching jobs to become teachers.
For her, the draw is the excitement of the job.
“Most people do not see teaching as an exciting career, but I can honestly say that no two days are the same. I give a variety of lessons to a variety of children and each group responds differently,” she says.
Two years ago, S. Vishnupriya was a technical team leader at Infosys. Now, she is a teacher at Mahindra World School, teaching Class I children. “In my previous job, I would always want to go back to my school days. Last June, I made a decision to go ahead and teach,” she says. “People are always complaining about the quality of education. With my skill set, I can make a difference for the children I teach,” she added. The only issue she has is that it is difficult to get a B.Ed. degree after a B.Tech. So, she one will have to study another undergraduate course before getting the teacher’s degree, she says. “At present, I am happy teaching younger classes, and I will take a decision a little later on my course of action,” she says.
Teachers who come in from other professions bring in a different perspective, says Nirmala Krishnan, sometime pharmacologist and head, Mahindra World School.
“People who switch jobs come in with new ideas for the school, and they have different solutions to problems,” she says.
Mallika Mani, founder-director of Srikriti Teacher Education Centre, says there are a number of professionals, especially women, who are looking at teaching as an option when they contemplate a career switch.
“Engineers, MBAs, and even doctors are coming in for training to become teachers,” she says. Ms. Mani runs a course for such professionals, training them to teach the international curriculum.
At a time when people choose careers based on their salary and growth, there are others who choose to follow their dreams and mould the lives of the future generations.
Kavita Kishore
The lure of the classroom is drawing professionals of all hues to teaching.
