It's been a year since the school's been shut and Anjali and her friends have not met at all. It's online classes all along and they have been slogging through screens, homework and preparations and stuff. Sometime after the Annual Day I could sense some unease in her. She told me she was unhappy that they now have Saturday classes which she felt left her with hardly anytime. So she wrote a mail to her Principal, Anita aunty.
She asked me if she should send it. I said, yes, by all means. You have every right to voice your thoughts and Anita aunty would be glad to hear from you. But I said, maybe you could also check how the others feel so you know and if a majority of you feel that way, you can all represent your case collectively. So she spoke to some of her friends and turned out they were also thinking on the same lines.
After some to and fro, she finally sent her mail off yesterday. Anita aunty set a wonderful example by promptly replying to her explaining why they have classes and also assuring her that she would discuss the matter with other teachers.
Whatever the consequence, I loved the process and the thinking behind it. I liked the fact that Anjali felt she could represent the case, by herself if need be. If I were a Daksha teacher I would be proud to have made the students feel such freedom and to give them a voice. That's what it is all about - allowing voices to speak up, addressing their concerns and making everyone feel seen and heard. Good job Anita, Daksha and very well done Anjali. Like I was reading in a book on dramatic writing - a protagonist is someone who takes the lead in any movement or cause. What happens is immaterial - that they could approach their teachers and that the teachers listened to them will do a lot for how they will perceive justice in the world.
PS: A happy outcome - the children got an off the next Saturday!
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