My biggest lesson

When Educators Follow The Deepest Lessons Taught By Young Learners

Gifted with insight
It was a small gift from a student that taught me the greatest lesson. I was once given a pencil with a message that said, “Every pencil needs to be sharpened so that it can work to its fullest potential.” These words changed my entire
perspective toward the problems we face in life - we can either crib and complain about these problems or think of them as opportunities to improve ourselves. The student who gave me the gift taught me that just like a pencil, we must keep ourselves sharp enough to realise our full potential, and then work hard to become a better person.
Sarita Ramnath, Amitasha Saket

Healing through art
We were preparing for our annual ‘Family Day’ celebrations when I noticed that Riya, a sweet, spirited girl, was unusually quiet. On probing, she revealed, her father had lost his job and won’t be able to attend the event. Determined to uplift her spirit, I suggested we create a card for her dad. With each brushstroke, her worries began to fade - it was as if she was channelling all her emotions to create something beautiful. In that moment, I realised that my role as a teacher wasn’t just to educate but also to be a source of comfort and support to my students.
Priya Jadhav, AIS Navi Mumbai

Celebrating the unsung
I realised, I had been teaching history only as a story of political figures, forgetting to highlight the ordinary people who also played a key role in the building of our nation. One of my students, Ria, asked me a question which taught me that history is not just the story of a few. Her words made me rethink how I approached my lessons. I started incorporating stories of these unsung heroes in my classes - farmers, women, and labourers who worked in the shadows but helped shape our world. Often caught up in presenting facts, teachers end up ensuring students recall all the information. But instruction goes beyond that. It’s about inspiring youngsters to challenge what they discover and to be curious.
Shefali Bansal, AIS Gur 46

Potential meets perseverance
One monumental lesson I learnt in my career is never to underestimate the potential of any child. A student named Vivek demonstrated to me that belief, effort, perseverance, motivation, and sincerity can drive anyone to unexpected heights. After I gave a pep talk in class for everyone to target high in Class XII boards, he came up to me and said he will work towards scoring 100 in maths. He used to get average marks but his dedication led him to nearly achieve his goal. His score of 98 began with a simple encouragement. It reinforced my conviction that every child holds within them a wellspring of untapped potential waiting for the right motivation to surface.
Sushila Panwar, AIS Gur 46

An insight on wisdom
As adults, we often think wisdom comes with age. But one ordinary day, a five-year-old child in kindergarten, named Aayansh taught me a powerful lesson. When his block tower fell, he didn’t get upset - he simply started again, finding joy in the process, not the outcome. His resilience wasn’t learned; it was natural. In that moment, I saw how often we let setbacks burden us, while children embrace the chance to rebuild.
Priyanka Sangar, AIS Vas 1

Topic
The day when a student taught me my biggest lesson of life.