Living with million dreams

In becoming and living a life of a teacher, I felt, “I just don’t have dreams, I live with them too”

Students of my previous school in Yangtse Posing for a snap with me
after wining the Inter-House volleyball competition 

This feeling deep inside me has been the most inspiring and provoking piece of self-awareness since the day I gave my first lesson in a mud plastered classroom in a remote school in Trashiyangtse almost three years ago. This year, I have been teaching in Druk School and the feeling has only become stronger and the dreams I live with are more fascinating.

In my previous School, Lichen Community Primary School in Trashiyangtse, Alma Mater of my teaching career, though the children didn’t have new clothes and nice shoes to wear they did have dreams which made their eyes look up at the sky. But their dreams were as simple as their lives, as innocent as their character and as honest as their reality.

When they grow big, all of them wanted to look after and take care of their parents. Almost more than half of my class wanted to become teacher, followed by driver and ‘I want to become a productive government officer’ use to be the pinning statement when I asked them about their dreams.

My Principal’s daughter was the only one who wanted to be doctor and Pema Dorji who walks the longest distant from his house to school wanted to be a Pilot. Sadly, Pema Dorji was often mocked at by his friends because they regarded Pilot as an alien dream not for them to actualize.

Druk School Children with me at the Coronation Park in Thimphu

Now read these following paragraphs and read between the lines too. These dreams are cherished in those little brains of my class II children of Druk School. Mind you, those little brains think only big thoughts. I call them ‘My fantastic twenty two’. Their English language competency is very strong. They will budge you with detail on anything and mend your grammar skills.  

In a class of Fantastic twenty two, I have a fashion designer who will design clothes for us some day. I live with two engineers who would lay out the design of your dream house, five doctors to choice among whenever I need some treatment and four movie actors, a super model and a singer to entertain the nation. ‘Sir, I want to be a Ninja’, said the shortest boy in my class standing on his chair.

Tshoki  Penjor Toffy, a brilliant girl in my class wants to be a housewife. Don’t get disappointed to hear it. She does have reasons for it. Actually she wanted to be a shopkeeper but the numbers of shops we have in the Capital made her drop that idea. And secondly, she loves to collect entices like her mom does.

Sayuj Chettri, the master questioner of my class wants to be a discoverer- the archeologist of sort who would reveal many secret truths of human evolution. He is often found placing his index finger on his temple and wonders in his own world. Tampering his temple area of his little brain with his short index finger, he once asked me, ‘sir, where…..did….you…..come……from?

Pema Tenzin is the mathematics topper of my class. He loves to make word problems and does subtractions and additions very quickly.

Pema Tenzin told me once that his dream is to become a ‘trio’. I asked what are they and he said he wants to be an Astronaut and also wants to pilot both airplane and a bullet train which in totality makes up his ‘trio’ dreams.  But his prime focus is in becoming an astronaut. He wants to land on the moon and see the stars. He also wants to witness how sun moves from one place to another. He says that he would take plenty of water to drink because there is no water there and it’s dusty too. He seriously wishes to also dig deep into the reasons why India is so hot and why moon is white.

Another smart boy has his own fascinating dream to dream about. He says, ’I want to be a Paleontologist’. He adds, ‘fossil scientist sir’ to make sure that i (his class teacher) understood his dream. He wants to study fossils and gather more information on how life started in our planet. He wish to bring the mighty mammoth back in live.

My class topper, the girl who loves reading a lot, wants to be a child dentist so could be treat only small children like her who are often troubled by cavity. She also wants to be a super model and like her successful father.

Tsangma R Dorji, another smart boy proudly announces the class in one of our Friday class meetings that he wants to be a farmer. The whole class stared and laughed at him profusely. Nevertheless, he stood solid like a rock because he had a valid reason to validate his dream. He informed the class that if he can grow for himself he doesn’t have to buy vegetables form the market which is very expensive these days.

My students in Druk School are amazing. I swear you won’t know when a day got over if you happen to sit down and talk with them. You would take home many wonderful thoughts.

I have a dream, like other teachers, that one day the dreams of my students get fulfilled. I have a dream that the children I have taught and will teach in years to come are being motivated enough with my words and my presence in their lives.

English Class in full swing at Lichen Com Pry School, Trashi Yangtse.

Teaching is one amazing profession folks! Being a teacher, your presence has a direct impact on children’s lives and you live with a million dreams at the end of your career. The dreams I live with has just began its count.