A Letter to My Students

Dear students,

I am writing this letter to make an announcement. I could have very well done that over an Insta Story or a WhatsApp status update, but I would like to take this opportunity to pass on some important... my hands are shivering and my throat is dry as I write this note. Let me first make the announcement.

On September 13th I joined a trekking company called IndiaHikes as an Assistant Trek Leader. After an orientation programme that lasted 10 days, I returned to Trivandrum to take my last and final crash batch for CA Final SFM. Yesterday, on 16^th October, I completed the batch and as I write this letter I am on my way to Dehradun where I will commence my on-slope training. If all goes well, I will be leading trek teams in the Himalayas in within three months. Having said that, students will continue to have access to my recorded lectures. In case I am not reachable, you can contact Nithyan sir for the same. And regarding any doubts you would like to discuss, please drop me a message on WhatsApp and I will make a priority to get back to you at the earliest. However, I will no longer be taking live classes for CA Inter or Final.

This has been an absolutely gorgeous journey and I feel blessed for the opportunity to be able to teach students of such a prestigious profession. I was always pumped and excited to be in class and I will dearly miss that feeling. But as a teacher, my biggest objective was to become an enabler in your transformative journey. As a teacher, I knew that my responsibility was not restricted to conveying a few concepts and help students clear an exam (for which a textbook or even Google is more than sufficient). My goal was to help my students grow. I felt that teaching Costing and Financial Management was a great way to do that. In the time that a student attends my class, I want him/her/them to become a better professional. In that time, I want the students to improve their problem solving skills, presentation skills, communication skills and of course, their exam writing skills. I realised that the ONLY way to learn is by liking the subject and have endeavoured to make the subject and also the classroom environment as delightful as possible. I wanted the process of learning to be enjoyable, exciting and stress-free... And I feel proud that I have had some success in that front. For me, the measure of success was never the number of students I taught or the amount of money I made; but even if a single student walks out of the classroom with a renewed energy and vigour, with a confidence to not just face an exam, but face the whole world... that’s success!

And these are some the ideas I wanted to pass on to my students. I remember once in school, first or second standard, our teacher was teaching different professions. “Who works in a Hospital?” she asked, “Doctor”, everyone shouted. “Who works in a Police Station?” she asked, “Police”, everyone shouted. “Who works in a School?” she asked, “Students”, I shouted! The teacher corrected me with a smile saying, “Students learn at school. The teachers are working at school.” I wasn’t thoroughly convinced.

ClassWORK, HomeWORK... The truth is that the entire education system has been designed as WORK! Students are taught to WORK hard for their exams. Education has somehow turned into legal child labour! And I observe students coming to my class with that very same attitude; they write down the concepts and solve the problems the same way a chaiwala makes tea. Students are relieved when a chapter is over, stressed when a new concept is being discussed and simply petrified to ask a doubt. I was distraught to see students tackling so much anxiety to open up and tell me, “I did not understand, could you repeat that.” Some students would rather cry and walk out of the class than simply raise their hands and ask me to repeat what I just said (true story). I feel that the way education is perceived is absolutely wrong!

The fault isn’t entirely with students either. There are teachers who do not welcome doubts and peers who would bully you for asking doubts. But more importantly, there is this sense that a lesson learnt is a work completed and doubts simply slow down the job (students and teachers often feel that way). And this has to change! Learning is not work, it is an opportunity, a privilege and a blessing... Learning is growth! Students must develop this attitude towards learning and use their classroom, and even the workspace as an opportunity to learn as much as they can, as deeply as they can and as clearly as they can. It doesn’t matter where you start from... it is the desire and the vigour to go forward that matters.

Very often, one of the biggest obstacles to developing this positive learning attitude is confidence. It is shocking that almost every student who calls to enquire about my class opens with the sentence, “Sir, I am a very average student, I don’t know if I will be able to manage it.” WHO IS THAT MONSTER WHO TOLD YOU THAT YOU ARE AVERAGE!? YOU ARE NOT! You are BRILLIANT! You may not be able to solve equations as fast as somebody else, or memories definitions and essays like somebody else, but that’s not what learning is about, and that doesn’t make you average! YOU ARE AWESOME!

And sometimes these issues, coupled with other issues that we face in life result in difficulties. And because of the vast knowledge that our society has about mental health (Sarcasm Level – Over 9000), these difficulties are not corrected. Students do not deserve stress, but sadly it is thrust upon them. We glorify hard work so much, that it is no considered normal to work 7 days a week 12 hours a day. Students often as me, “Is that enough!?” Please understand that you brain, like any other part of the body needs care and rest. And if you intend to abuse your brain without mercy, it will shut down eventually. Have you ever had those days when you wake up and your mind absolutely refuses to touch the books? That’s your brain trying to tell you that Enough is Enough! Please respect it. When your brain cries for rest, please give it the rest it deserves. As you read this paragraph, if your thinking, “But my problem is that my brain is taking too much rest. I am not able to study”, that is because, as I said earlier, you think of learning as a job you are forced to do.

Also understand being a student is not your only identity. There are other facets in our life and we face difficulties in all of them. It could be a toxic boyfriend/girlfriend, financial difficulties, parental pressure or what not. I have 3 pieces of advice to give.

1.    1. If you have problems, no matter how small or how big, please share it with someone.

2.    2. If someone ever comes to you with their problems, please do not dismiss it as insignificant or irrelevant or attention seeking. The least you can do is to listen.

3.    3. If you feel you are not able to control the situation, please seek medical help.

A lot of people were shocked at my decision to switch career. “How are you going into a completely unrelated field?” is what a lot of people asked. It is not an unrelated field. As a matter of fact, there is no switch in career at all. Trekking transforms lives! Spending a week in the outdoors, cherishing the bounty of nature, soaking in the marvellous mountains, disconnected from the buzz of city life – it gives you perspective and clarity. Trekking teaches you about life, gives you the strength and courage to face challenges and overcome difficulties. As a Trek Leader, my job would be to facilitate that transformation. And as a teacher too, that is what I have strived to do. I wanted to make sure that after 2 weeks of SFM class, the student is able to face a new problem without fear. My students shouldn’t hesitate to speak up in a crowd or ask a question. My students should have a thirst for knowledge and zest for their career.

I was blessed with an amazing career! Every time I took a vacation, my heart was still in the classroom. That’s how much I loved this job. And now I am moving on to a career I love even more! As a closing note, this is what I wish for my students – I wish that all of you find a life and a career where you don’t have Monday blues, but rather have Sunday blues. I wish you land a career where you wake up in the morning filled with excitement for the work you are about to do. And I hope that you find meaning and purpose in the work you do. Until you find that, don’t settle, don’t compromise.

Love