Inspiration
Meet The Model-Turned-Auto Rickshaw Teacher From Bengaluru
Dheekshitha is called the ‘Auto Rickshaw teacher’ as she takes online classes while sitting in her father’s auto-rickshaw
Here is one unusual but inspiring story of Dheekshitha, a model-turned-teacher, who took to teaching online inside an auto-rickshaw when the lockdown began.
Dheekshitha is a primary teacher at Orchids International School, Bengaluru. Soon after the lockdown in March started and the teachers were asked to take classes online, Dheekshitha realised the biggest challenge for her was going to be the internet connectivity at her home. To improve it, she tried changing the network provider but in vain.
She eventually attempted going out of the house to catch the network, which, surprisingly, worked! The internet connectivity outside proved to be better, thereby leading her to take classes standing on the road.
Dheekshitha's father is an auto-rickshaw driver and parks his auto-rickshaw in the lane outside their house. Teaching while standing outside was becoming tedious for the passionate teacher, so she decided to sit in the rickshaw instead and conduct the classes efficiently.
Her efforts soon went viral when her neighbours gathered around her rickshaw to see what she was doing inside the vehicle for hours. Some of them even invited Dheekshitha to take classes in their homes. They later gave her the tag of “Auto Teacher.”
To modify her new classroom, she has installed a curtain as the background against which she sits and takes classes every day.
“Teaching, as a profession, is a lot more than how people see it from the outside. It is not as simple as coming in front of a bunch of students and reading anything to them. If you teach something wrong, the students will point it out. It takes a lot of effort and preparation to teach. We faced the stroke of Coronavirus and all our teaching patterns changed overnight. It was very tough, but yes, we did it,” Dheekshitha tells ScooNews.
It is truly said that everything seems simpler from a distance. This Auto Teacher also had her share of challenges. For example, the nearby tobacco shop that produced so much smoke in the air, it became suffocating for her to breathe. The situation grew so bad that Dheekshitha even considered quitting the job, however, her passion to teach kept her going. Amidst this, her parents could not resist showering their love on her by bringing juice and snacks to the auto-rickshaw while she taught.
Dheekshitha describes her relationship with her family to be very supportive of each other, especially her brother, who has always encouraged her decisions, advocating on her behalf to their parents.
Interestingly, Dheekshitha has received formal training in acting but could not continue in the field as it was difficult for the family to afford the course. It was then she decided to switch professions and start teaching instead. Fortunately, she got an opportunity to practice at the Orchids International School, a turning point in her life, according to her.
Her only heartfelt request to the guardians and parents of her students is, “Please don’t burden your kids with the weight of books. Help them learn different co-curricular activities as well. Support kids in exactly what they are interested in.”
Educators like Dheekshitha are the unsung heroes who are making extraordinary efforts for the sake of the future of this country during the pandemic. Yes, they were nervous and their hands were shaking while turning the cameras on for the first time, but once they switched their screen on, there was no looking back!
You can also watch her story here.