blooming

On Friday as part of the 75th Independence Day Celebrations the College Union held a film screening. The movie was "Newton", Amit Masurkar's critically acclaimed work starring Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Thripati and Anjali Patil in lead roles. The film delivers an apt message as India celebrates it's 75 years of freedom. The premise revolves around Newton, an upright and young UD clerk on election duty at a remote tribal village, deemed unsafe due to Maoist attacks and under the constant vigilance of the army.                   It raises some stinging questions about our democracy, government machinery and ultimately the powerlessness of the people. Newton, an idealist, faces the realization that he is working within an inherently flawed system, and that being dutiful is not enough to save it. In Aatma Singh we see another victim of the system who chooses to be indifferent to theses flaws and work along with it. It's not easy to pick a villai...

 Everyone had on some shade of red as MTTC celebrated Christmas. An eventful day as we engaged in various Christmas competitions organized by Associations and enjoyed the colourful programmes. There were two sets of carol singers who sang their hearts out to spread the Christmas cheer.  We also organized a small celebration in our class, as seniors exchanged their secret Santa gifts and we were on the hunt for the perfect cake. We finally made Meekha ma'am cut the Christmas cake concluding the celebrations with tinge of sweetness. We parted ways with smiles in our faces anticipating the holidays and with a promise to enjoy every moment together starting with the new year in 2022.

 Another day at MTTC was a mix of insightful classes and creative activities. The day started with a group discussion on the Misuse of Information Technology where the group brainstorming brought out an exhaustive set of points and left us all more informed. After that fruitful session, Maya ma'am engaged us with a class on some basic qualities necessary for teachers. After lunch, we were huddled together to create a Christmas card as the Association had started Christmas competitions leading up to Christmas. The day ended with Joju sir briefing us about the basics of videography and editing.

 It was a slow day at MTTC as everyone slowly slipped back into the rhythm of usual classes. The optional class where we were continuing the exercise of discussing our experiences with teachers went beyond being just a discussion, as sharing of honest experiences left us both smiling and teary-eyed. Following that rather emotional hour, we took some time to reflect on how our experiences have shaped us and how some of us have successfully grown up with much strength despite the bitterness of some of those experiences.  Joju sir continued with technology in education, mixing up academics with more relatable life experiences centred around technology. We also divided into groups to assign assignments for the module.

English Association's Talent Hunt, initially scheduled for 26/11/21, finally happened today. We named our programme "Operation B.Ed." creating a variety of performances around the one thing that has now occupied the centre stage in our lives - B.Ed. The idea was to recreate a B.Ed. classroom on stage, a "meta B.Ed classroom" if you will. We did not have to search far to find inspiration for our characters or dialogues, it was ourselves, our professors and MTTC itself. We were not really acting the apprehension and uncertainty that echoed in our dialogues, they were very real and present in our initial thoughts and conversations in class.  I remember how all of us were nervous before getting on stage. Not all of us were singers, or dancers or actors, but we were willing to try. The people who were good at their own interests were kind and supportive as we practiced hard. And to be honest, it never felt like a chore, we were very clear as a class as to what we wan...

Another interesting session, this time headed by Dr Asha A.K titled "A Bridge Course for Professionals in English as a Foreign Language". We were all engrossed by  Asha ma'am's talk and everyone actively participated in the activities. And personally, as someone who struggles with stage fright, ma'am's words eased a lot of my worries. Speaking out is absolutely necessary at times, as opposed to writing or other forms of expression. Sometimes a lot of opportunities also revolve around good communication skills. Besides for a teacher communication skill is a very important asset. Considering all these this session was much needed and relevant.

Today we witnessed the assembly at MTTC. It took me back to my school days as the programmes rolled in, from prayer to pledge to thought for the day. As we stood in line following the attention and stand-at-ease commands I couldn't help but smile thinking about all 12 years spend doing the same early morning and half asleep back in school. The first assembly was headed by M.Ed. students, they set a good precedent for us to follow. The campus news especially was funny and had us gigggling. Being Wednesday also meant the girls had to wear sarees. Personally, I am a bit wary of wearing a saree, because while it may look pretty, not being used to it makes being comfortable in it a bit difficult. Surprisingly, it seems like our collective apprehension somehow did the opposite for our moods today. We actually quite enjoyed ourselves and had fun, playing everything from badminton to cricket in our sarees. While it seems my love-hate relationship with sarees may continue, at MT...

As part of their M.Ed. internship M.Ed. Students from the Government College of Teacher Education, Thyacud spend three days MTTC taking classes and creating projects on six important issues which included value education, life skills, women empowerment, gender equality, disaster management and human rights.  In the  value education  class, we were divided into groups and asked to create posters related to the importance of value education. Taking ideas from the insightful presentation, we created a poster that depicted values as a "tree", the branches of which held up the world at one end and the roots of which transformed into the hands of a teacher reaching out to a child. Thus cementing the idea that teachers play an important role in imparting values to generations of children who will ultimately become responsible for utilizing them for the betterment of the world. In addition to being an informative and enlightening session, the poster makin...

An enriching session headed by Dr. G. V. Hari with lots of food for thought. It was fascinating to see how his class had all of us paying close attention for an entire two hours without ever feeling a drop in energy. In addition to introducing us to certain key concepts in teaching without ever making it seem like we were being taught, he also seamlessly wove in books, experiences, philosophy, humour and music. Some of it hit closer home than others, but all of it was enlightening. I can certainly say that I walked out of the class feeling closer to some answers while also being faced with many new questions. And that for me is the mark of a good class.

Another interesting day ended with a string of creative performances by the first year M.Ed. students for their Talent Hunt. Seeing the much talked about MTTC Talent Hunt tradition for the first time filled with both excitement and apprehensions. The M.Ed. Students delivered a wonderful performance that included powerful dance numbers, catchy songs and a concluding skit with an important message. We were at times tempted to dance along with them and even though nervous about being on stage couldn't wait to come up with ideas for our own Talent Hunt!  

A tiny green life planted with much love and care, and hope for a better tomorrow. An eventful day was concluded with planting saplings in the college ground. Such green campaigns are perhaps our biggest hope for a future that now seems uncertain. Apart from its more serious implications planting a sapling and feeling the earth on your hands of those small but pleasing joys in life.

The orientation classes at MTTC started today. The sessions pacified the nervous excitement and apprehensions. An energetic and optimistic start to this journey from a student to a teacher. The professors kept the energy on at all times. Certain curious discoveries and opportunities for self-reflection on the very first day. Eagerly looking forward to this eventful journey!