Enough has been said about how the teaching profession is one that is best suited for a woman. It may not be the Oldest profession, but certainly ranks high up there; along with housekeeping and nursing. Basically, it’s an extension of what a woman does at home. Nature has so ordained and a patriarchal society has deemed it be written in stone: the primary role of a woman is Mother. And teaching is what mothers do! Along with feeding, caring and nurturing their children. Which makes teaching the logical choice of work for a woman. She goes out and manages a room full of children at work, then comes home to do more of the same, but with her own! She’s underpaid at the former and paid none whatsoever at the latter.
It’s also very respectable- the spouse and elders of a family need have no fear of their ‘khandaan ki izzat’ being led astray when she steps out of the house; after all, she’s knee-deep in children all day and surrounded by co-workers who are also women!
That being said, there are many other, much better reasons for a woman to become a teacher. Let me get the frivolous ones out of the way first!
- Call me regressive, conventional or just plain small-minded, but all women enjoy cooking, shopping and dressing up. There. I said it. Okay, scratch cooking. But definitely eating. And talking about food.
And in the school staff-room, one is in the company of several other ladies with whom one can exchange recipes, information about shops and sales, designs and fabrics, make up and accessories- all topics dear to a woman’s heart. Heck, one can bond just over sharing lunch!
- We women like to be noticed, appreciated and complimented on our appearance. And when our colleagues are other women, we can be sure that every detail of our appearance (from top to toe) will be subjected to scrutiny and commented upon. How gratifying that can be! To quote an example; on a day that I had forgotten to stick a ‘bindi’ on my forehead, this senior teacher told me that I looked like I had been fasting for several days (!!!) Then she fished out a packet of ‘bindis’ from her bag and made me put it on. Where at work can one get that type of pampering?!
All superficialities aside, a school staff-room can be a place where friendships are formed for life. It is a support system, counselling centre and resource pool, all rolled into one.
– Be it family, health or work-related issues, in the staff-room there are always ladies who have ‘been there, done that’. It’s like having instant Agony Aunts on call, all of them ready with advice or just a sympathetic, understanding ear.
– There is no dearth of interesting conversation either, for those disinclined towards domestic trials and tribulations. At any given time, a staff-room will have a minimum of 5-6 subject experts seated there. It may not be a fount of knowledge but it can be very satisfying to share what one knows and also learn from others. We teachers are good learners- inquiring, attentive and absorptive. Wish more of our students were the same!
– Women are multi-faceted, enterprising and great at multi-tasking. Not content with just managing work and home, there are ladies who also dabble in stuff that interests them and helps earn a little money on the side. A staff-room is not just a pool of subject knowledge but also a service provider! Useful contacts, home catering, dress designing, skills development, it’s a handy network to be a part of!
Which other workplace provides such companionship, support and opportunities for personal growth? (Topped with summer, autumn and winter breaks, of course!)
DISCLAIMER!! This write-up is based on real life, personal experiences. It is just the tip of the iceberg, however. Below the surface there lurks an immense amount of mental and physical stress, overwork and burn out. Amidst all this, a staff-room can be a place to laugh and unwind, or it can be a pressure cooker- hissing, whistling shrilly and ready to explode! I have been in both!
DISCLAIMER!! This write-up in no way implies that teaching is the only job suitable for a woman. If it does give the impression, I beg pardon, all the time sticking to my views!
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