W.A.T.C.H. -- Watch What?

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W.A.T.C.H. -- Watch What?

The greatest lessons of life often come from small bundles called "children"Neil Sharma,

Seattle, Washington

I took a deep breath as I walked through the door.

 

It was the very first class that I had ever officially been assigned to teach,

and not even my own classroom -I was just fulfilling duties as a substitute

teacher for the day.

 

Fresh from graduating with a Bachelor's in Education, I was ready to conquer the

world with my passion for "teaching".

 

Reality had not dawned on me as to how different teaching an actual group of

students would be.until I strode into the fragile old classroom.The setting was

a forty-year old inner-city school tucked away near government run housing. Drug

dealers, high school dropouts, single-family homes, and gangs were the norm in

this neighborhood. It was a third grade class comprised mainly of Iranian,

Polish, First Nation and English students.

 

As I soon found out, they were a tough and aggressive bunch, eachmarking out

their territory as soon as they set foot on school premisesevery morning. I

also realized that most of the students were more underdressed and

undernourished than in an average educational institution.The day began

disastrously at the sound of the early bell. My book taughtmethods of class

lessons and discipline fell on deaf ears and blank stares -there was no effect

in teaching lessons or keeping peace.

 

The techniques were not captivating and after two tense moments of an all out

class mutiny my attempts to gain respect and teach the class were useless.

 

Since I was only supposed to substitute for one day, I tried to focus on

classroommanagement, especially not disturbing the surrounding classes in my

attemptsto maintain order.

 

At the end of the day, I was mentally drained, in dire need of throat lozenges,

and relieved to be safe at home.Then, the phone call came. The substitute

school district dispatch serviceinformed me that I would be working in the same

class for the entire week!

As my hands began to sweat with anxiety, I inquired if all was well. Thedispatch

informed me that the teacher had an emergency in the family andwould miss the

last week of school before Christmas.

 

I was then told that the other teacher who shared my class (teaching her own

class on the otherside of the curtained wall) had appreciated my control of the

class and had asked for me again.Bizarre - while I thought all was lost with

this group of kids, someone elsewith more experience thought differently. It is

all a matter of perspective,as Sai Baba often says:

"There is who you think you are; who others think you are; who you

reallyare."That evening, I sat down on my bed and sifted through the happenings

of theday in my mind. I attempted to recall images of my own childhood. What did

Iexperience as a child? What affected and impressed me at that tender age?

The answers soon flooded my thoughts. Though my childhood was balanced andfondly

memorable, I vividly recalled attending two inner-city schools,similar to this

school, and I remembered what made me happy during those cold school days.The

next morning, the streets were blanketed with snow and the temperaturehad

chilled further. I arrived at school twenty minutes early, turned on the class

lights, and opened the outside door. I let the light embrace the lifeless dark

stairway and waited to see what would happen. As it was in my childhood, the

response was no different with these children.

 

Soon, they began multiplying outside the door, peering into the warmth. They

were cold, curious and wanted shelter from the winds. "Hey -can we come in?!!!"

onechild called out. I joyfully looked up, gave a few instructions and soon

theroom was filled with tiny little bodies from my class and other classes.

They were playing checkers, blocks, and busying themselves on the blackboardas I

prepared for class. This was a good start but I needed to ensure this positive

atmosphere during class as well.I sat contemplating at my desk and asking for

Divine inspiration. How can Iset a precedent of discipline in my class?

 

I knew I was asking for a lotespecially since all the techniques I had learnt in

my Methods courses inUniversity had failed the day before. But I was confident

that somethingwould unfold.

 

At 8:45am, the school bell rang and everyone rushed to their home rooms. I asked

the students if they wanted to stay in at recess and lunch also. Everyone

shouted "yes" with excitement. They happily cleaned and tidied up and soon

settled down in their desks.And then it happened. As I walked up to the front

of the class, the following dialogue ensued that has since become my classroom

motto for my entire teaching career.Teacher : How many of you know what this is

(holding up my wrist watch)

Student : That's a clock

Teacher : You mean I can place that big clock on my wrist? (pointing to thebig

classroom clock on the wall)

Student : No man.that's a watch

Teacher : Watch what?

Student : Huh? What do you mean?

Teacher : You said "watch" so what should I watch?

Navreen : This teacher is trippin' (is crazy)

Teacher : Well, let's think about it. The word "watch" has two meanings.

Cananyone tell me one meaning?

Student : One is what you're wearing. It tells you the time.

Teacher : And the other meaning?

Navreen : Well, it's "looking" at something.

Teacher : ExcellentI wrote down the word on the chalkboard similar to how Sai

Baba writes theword.WATCHTeacher : You know, this word is actually telling you

what to "watch". Doesanyone know what the "W" stands for?Students respond with

silence.Teacher : Well, "W" stands for WORDS (and I wrote out the word beside

theW). How can you watch your words? You can't see anything coming out of

yourmouth. It is air. How can you "watch" your words?

Student : You hear it.

Teacher : You mean others hear it. Do you actually hear your own words?Students

respond with confused stares.Teacher : Let's take an example. Erik over here

decides he doesn't likeKatie and he walks up to her and tells her. She hears

the roughness of hiswords. What will she do?

Student : Probably punch him (the class laughed and clapped)

Teacher : So punching is the next word. Erik does not hear his own words

butwaits for Katie's response. "A" stands for ACTIONS. Katie is driven by

thewords to act out.

 

So, words have power, don't they?

 

What if I told you all early this morning that I wasn't going to let you inside

and that I was going to watch you standing there shivering in the cold. What

would you have done?Student : Man, I would've either thrown a snowball at you

or broken a windowor somethin'!

Teacher : Exactly. You would have been upset by my uncaring words and wouldhave

acted out of emotion.

 

Most of the time, we don't hear our own words. We only see the reaction of the

words from others around us. Our tongue has great power.

 

Once the words leave it, they can never be retrieved. So,WATCHing our WORDS and

ACTIONS is very important. What is it that makes us say certain WORDS or do

certain ACTIONS? It's the next letter and here's a hint (tapping the side of my

head)

Student : THOUGHTS!!!

Teacher : That's right! THOUGHTS dictate how we will speak and act. For

example, imagine for a moment that Brandi was walking back from the teacher's

desk and tripped on Imran's foot. Tell me what you would do Brandi.

Brandi: (extremely silent)

Navreen : She'd probably get up and hit him!

Teacher : What if Imran was getting up to sharpen his pencil and the wholeincident was an accident?

Navreen : Then it would be different

Teacher: Okay. Let's think about this for a moment. If Brandi immediately

thought negatively, then she would act in a negative manner. If Brandi

immediately thought positively, she would ask Imran what happened and be

forgiving, right?

Student : right!They were getting it now and all 31 pairs of eyes were on me as

we ploddedfurther.Teacher : So, who knows what "C" stands for?Students respond

with some guesses.Teacher : How many of you enjoy reading books or hearing

stories? (Lots ofhands in the air).

 

All right. Then tell me, how do you know which of the people or animals in the

story you begin to like or dislike as you read the story?

Student : By how they behave

Teacher : Yes! Their behavior makes them a good or bad "CHARACTER"!Everyone was

now engrossed with this lesson.Teacher : So, what kind of character are you?

Are you a helpful person, akind person, a thoughtful person, a forgiving person

: what CHARACTER areyou so that if one day someone wrote a book about you, they

could accuratelydescribe you? I have only been in this class for one day and if

I had to write about you based on what I saw yesterday, could I write that you

are an appreciative, rude, silent, conscientious, lazy or kind person?The

students were silent and actually thinking.Navreen : then what's "H" about?I

took a deep breath because I wasn't sure how to appropriately describe anyof

this until now - what was I supposed to say about "H" to these children?

I didn't know. So, at that very moment, I closed my eyes and asked forfurther

Divine intervention and this is what came out of my mouth.Teacher : Imagine for

a moment that you are standing on a busy road in themiddle of the city. You are

really happy to be out on this sunny day lookingat things in your neighborhood.

Across the street, you notice some Chinesepeople in front of a restaurant.

 

To your right, you see a grocery store with a few Italians who are busily stacking vegetables.

 

Some Mongolians are coming out of a coffee shop a few feet away from the grocery

store. Some people are feeding the birds by the streetlight. Everyone is doing

their ownbusiness just enjoying themselves.

 

You also notice an African mother holding her daughter's hand : they are just

about to cross the street. Without any indication, a speeding car turns around

the corner and begins racing toward the intersection. It swerves dangerously

and suddenly hits the little girl crossing the street.There is silence in the

class. Not a word is said but the eyes speak volumesas I continue to remain

silent.Student : Mr. S, is the girl all right?Teacher : Before I tell you the

rest of the story, I want you to think aboutwhat you just felt deep inside

right now (touching my heart). Just like you,all those people, the Chinese,

Italians, Mongolians and the rest of thecrowd will immediately stop what they

are doing and their hearts will reachout to the little girl.

 

Their tongues may not speak the same language but it does not matter!"There is

only One Language, the Language of the Heart!"Everyone's heart, just like

yours, races out to the girl because they understand her pain at that instant.

Words cannot express, only the Heart can understand."H" is for Heart. WATCH how

your heart reacts to things happening around you. Be kind and considerate. If

you don't have anything good to say, keep quiet. Think about the other person's

Heart also."W ORDSA CTIONST HOUGHTSC HARACTERH EART"That was it. The students

understood and I learned a valuable life lesson that day. WATCH became the

classroom motto. For Art class, instead of the regular lesson, they asked if

they could do big posters on the word WATCH.

The students started sharing the word with their friends from other classrooms

at recess.During that week, this rambunctious class transformed into an open

class willing to learn. The air in the class changed because everyone was aware

of how powerful the word was.

 

These 9-year old children had internalized the power of the word and respected

its newly found definition in a matter of minutes! In fact, all the designs on

WATCH done in Art class were pinned up on every wall.On that day, I knew that

my prayers had been answered. I had asked for a wayto connect with the students

and Sai Baba graced me with much more - a wayto connect with life. I never saw

those children again after that week and went on to teach in my own classroom

in several schools.

 

However, what I learned in that class was more powerful and profound in the way

it touched the entire group.

 

This was a monumental lesson that became the cornerstone of my discipline

technique in all my classes over the next several years.At the beginning of

every school year with all my classes, regardless of age, WATCH is the very

first lesson presented. Teachers loved and implemented it in their own classes

and my students always remembered.Students adhered to it, personalized it, and

WATCH was referred to during many discussion topics of tough issues like family

problems, conflicts with friends, doing the right action. In fact, at many

retreats, workshops and seminars, this would be the first topic I was asked

about.

 

Today, I have metmany parents who use this technique at home to create a better

balance inhow they interact with their children. Since the word is commonly

used to"see or is the object to tell time from," it becomes a common expression

with a powerful meaning.Years later, I stopped by the same school where my

teaching career began. Itwas after 3pm and the halls were quiet. As I was

walking through the last corridor toward the office, I heard a voice"Hey

mister!! How are you? Remember me?"I was staring into the eyes of a beaming

young lady and she looked to be in grade 7. I jogged my memory but I couldn't

recall who she was. It had been years since I last set foot in that particular

school and I was now older, balder and fatter. May be this girl was thinking of

someone else?"Doesn't matter - I still know you. I forgot your name but I know

you," she said with a smile, walking away with her heavy school texts in her

hand. I watched

her go by the exit doors. I still couldn't recollect who she was.

Then she stopped and said with a grin, "Don't forget, always WATCH!" It was

Navreen. After so many years, she remembered what was important.

 

SYAN 2002

http://www.syan.org/Spring2002/article_watch.html