When I was growing up, I remember watching my mom drape a saree, tie her hair in a bun, put her kajal and bindi, pick up her purse and register, and go to the school to teach. I remember she always used the same kajal, bindiIt looked so inspiring because I knew that she not only enjoyed her job, but took immense pride in it. Watching my mother do that for 25 years, I decided to follow her footsteps. The only difference being: her teaching skills mattered, but for me it is apparently my fair skin and dark red lipstick.
Welcome to the kalyug, I guess?
The first question I was asked by the panel was: 'why do you keep your hair tied up?'
I am a Geography teacher who has been doing this job for the past five years, and what I am about to narrate is sadly going to resonate with many others who started teaching with the hope of helping future leaders of the country. I teach in a private school in a metro city, and believe it or not, my interview was more about if I know how to dance, sing, decorate notice boards and most importantly, being labelled as 'pretty'.
When I appeared for this interview, I was dressed in a saree and a light coat. Just like my mother, I had my long hair tied in a bun and only donned a bindi, kajal and a light lipstick. I was carrying what I was most proud about: my portfolio and my ideas on how to make Geography lessons more creative and fun for students. But the first question I was asked by the panel was: 'why do you keep your hair tied up?'. It was followed by comments on how nice my skin is and why I should apply blush and a brighter lipstick to highlight my features better. Flattered, but shocked, I tried pitching my ideas about taking kids out of the classroom to teach them about the kinds of sand. That pitch ended in five minutes and I was asked to leave.
'That interview taught me to never back down'
Well, I got the job, but I was told to stick to the conventional teaching methods.
Cut to six months of me being a teacher in the same school, I was once called in to the Principal's Office, and like ever millennial, I also had that phobia of being called to the Principal's Office. Turns out, I was called in that day specifically because I had shown up to the school with oily braided hair (I had forgotten to wash my hair the night before and was running late to wash it in the morning). My Principal explained how appearance plays an important part and while I did think that she was slightly hinting on how it can help gain attention of students, I chose to ignore it as a miscommunication.
Your lipstick should be bright enough to attract the student's attention on you, but not sl***y enough for them to develop a crush on you
However, my doubts soon became clear when a few days later in a teachers' meeting our Principal told all of us that we all need to ensure we start wearing red lipsticks to school. Her exact words were: 'Your lipstick should be bright enough to attract the student's attention on you, but not sl***y enough for them to develop a crush on you'. A lot of us were shocked, others felt it was justified. I ended up quitting that school after a month.
Now I teach at a school where I am allowed to take students out to the sports field to explain them the different kinds of soils, explain to them how ponds and rivers are made by making small ponds in our school's small park.
'Taking classrooms out of four walls has been a dream'
Nobody has told me how to dress here, although we have been told to ensure that we look 'neat and tidy', which is surely how a professional should behave and not invasive at all. Of all the rules and regulations we have to follow in this day and age, I am happy that I don't have to worry about being 'sl***y' or not.
My fellow teachers have been told to ensure that students are not beaten and parents are responded to on time, which does get intrusive at times, but sadly that comes with changing times.
(Times Now Digital has started a limited series on teachers' experiences in the recent times. In this series, teachers share their first-hand experiences on how the profession has changed from being treated as Gurus to mere service providers. More teachers can share their good or bad experiences with us at [email protected])