\n<\/p>\n
When Sangeeta Maurya first received her posting in a small village school in UP\u2019s Raebareli district, she broke down in tears. Having cleared the challenging University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC NET), she had imagined herself in a well-equipped classroom, filled with eager students.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Instead, she found herself standing inside a crumbling building with broken benches, absent children, and silence that stretched down the dusty corridors.<\/p>\n
She wondered if this was truly where her teaching journey would begin.<\/p>\n
Today, 12 years later, she smiles when she recalls that moment. \u201cIf I hadn\u2019t stayed,\u201d she says, \u201cI would never have learnt the true meaning of teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sangeeta now teaches Sanskrit, English, and Hindi at an upper primary school in D Block, Raebareli. The school has only three teachers in total, each one covering multiple subjects. Between them, they handle everything from mathematics to science, whether or not it is their area of expertise.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn rural schools, you are not just a subject teacher,\u201d Sangeeta explains. \u201cYou are a counsellor, a friend, sometimes even a nurse or a mother figure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nAdvertisement<\/span>\n<\/p>\n Her efforts resulted in a rise in regular attendance, from fewer than 30 to 100 students within a month of her intensive community engagement.<\/p>\n Her day begins before dawn. By 8 AM, Sangeeta is already at the school gate, greeting children who walk in barefoot, their satchels bouncing against their backs. The sight warms her now, but it wasn\u2019t always so.<\/p>\n \u201cOut of 130 children enrolled, fewer than 30 attended regularly when I first joined,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n She remembers her frustration. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t just sit inside the classroom and wait. So after school hours, I would go door to door in the afternoons. I sat with parents, explained why education mattered, and why it was worth sending their children to school instead of making them work. Many of these children did odd jobs and spent their earnings on tobacco,\u201d she shares. \u201cConvincing parents and children was a battle. I begged at times, I reasoned at others, and I kept asking them to send their children to school at least one more day.\u201d<\/p>\n Slowly, her persistence paid off. Within a month, attendance rose to 100 students. It wasn\u2019t an easy victory; it meant knocking on doors daily, challenging traditions of child labour, and winning the trust of parents who had never experienced the benefits of education themselves.<\/p>\n Once the children began attending regularly, a new challenge emerged: holding their attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sangeeta employs innovative teaching methods, such as incorporating songs and interactive activities to make learning enjoyable.<\/p>\n Conventional lesson plans fell flat. \u201cThe children didn\u2019t want to just sit and listen,\u201d she says. \u201cThey brightened up when I told stories, sang songs, or played games with them.\u201d<\/p>\n \nAdvertisement<\/span>\n<\/p>\n She began using folk tales, riddles, and interactive activities to make learning enjoyable. Over time, the children started participating eagerly. They even role-played as teachers, doctors, and police officers. \u201cThe classroom filled with laughter and energy. When the children laugh and play, they learn without even realising it,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n For Sangeeta, these moments are priceless. \u201cWhen a child tells me, \u2018I want to be a teacher like you,\u2019 my heart swells with pride.\u201d<\/p>\n Outside the school, Sangeeta is a mother and wife. Married in Azamgarh, with her parental home in Raebareli, she balances household responsibilities with teaching. Her son, now seven, once had clashing school timings.<\/p>\n Sangeeta fulfills multiple roles from mentor to friend, crucially adapting her skills to meet the varied needs of her students.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was tough,\u201d she admits. \u201cBut I never let my struggles show in front of my students. They deserve my full attention.\u201d<\/p>\n Sangeeta\u2019s role extends beyond academics. She eats midday meals sitting cross-legged with the children. \u201cWhen they see me eating from the same kind of plate as theirs, they feel I am one of them,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n During seasonal fevers, she keeps basic medicines in the staffroom. \u201cOn days when rice is served in the midday meal, I avoid giving it to sick children, as rice is believed to aggravate colds. Instead, I share my tiffin with them before giving medicine,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n \nAdvertisement<\/span>\n<\/p>\n Her school day officially ends at 2 PM, but the work continues \u2014 preparing lesson plans, completing paperwork, and visiting families whose children miss school.<\/p>\n For Sangeeta, teaching has never been just a job. It is a mission. \u201cIn villages, teaching is as much about care as it is about books. You have to build trust, spark curiosity, and show children that education can change their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n She pauses, then adds softly, \u201cWhen I started, the classrooms were empty, and I cried. Today, those rooms echo with chatter, laughter, and learning. That is my biggest reward.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When Sangeeta Maurya first received her posting in a small village school in UP\u2019s Raebareli district, she broke down in tears. Having cleared the challenging University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC NET), she had imagined herself in a well-equipped classroom, filled with eager students.\u00a0 Instead, she found herself standing inside a crumbling building with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/en-media.thebetterindia.com\/uploads\/2025\/09\/teachers-day-3-1757060792.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10662],"tags":[18380,1293,18381,141,18385,18382,15238,18384,237,18383],"class_list":["post-28097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indian-food-news","tag-a-day-in-the-life-of-teacher","tag-brought","tag-fun-learning","tag-kids","tag-maurya","tag-raebareli-uttar-pradesh","tag-rural-education","tag-sangeeta","tag-school","tag-teachers-day"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/en-media.thebetterindia.com\/uploads\/2025\/09\/teachers-day-3-1757060792.jpg",0,0,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/en-media.thebetterindia.com\/uploads\/2025\/09\/teachers-day-3-1757060792.jpg",0,0,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/en-media.thebetterindia.com\/uploads\/2025\/09\/teachers-day-3-1757060792.jpg",0,0,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/en-media.thebetterindia.com\/uploads\/2025\/09\/teachers-day-3-1757060792.jpg",150,150,false],"medium":["https:\/\/en-media.thebetterindia.com\/uploads\/2025\/09\/teachers-day-3-1757060792.jpg",300,300,false],"large":["https:\/\/en-media.thebetterindia.com\/uploads\/2025\/09\/teachers-day-3-1757060792.jpg",1024,1024,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/en-media.thebetterindia.com\/uploads\/2025\/09\/teachers-day-3-1757060792.jpg",1536,1536,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/en-media.thebetterindia.com\/uploads\/2025\/09\/teachers-day-3-1757060792.jpg",2048,2048,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/en-media.thebetterindia.com\/uploads\/2025\/09\/teachers-day-3-1757060792.jpg",370,265,false],"kava-thumb-s":["https:\/\/en-media.thebetterindia.com\/uploads\/2025\/09\/teachers-day-3-1757060792.jpg",150,85,false],"kava-thumb-s-2":["https:\/\/en-media.thebetterindia.com\/uploads\/2025\/09\/teachers-day-3-1757060792.jpg",230,230,false],"kava-thumb-m":["https:\/\/en-media.thebetterindia.com\/uploads\/2025\/09\/teachers-day-3-1757060792.jpg",400,400,false],"kava-thumb-m-vertical":["https:\/\/en-media.thebetterindia.com\/uploads\/2025\/09\/teachers-day-3-1757060792.jpg",370,500,false],"kava-thumb-m-2":["https:\/\/en-media.thebetterindia.com\/uploads\/2025\/09\/teachers-day-3-1757060792.jpg",570,450,false],"kava-thumb-l":["https:\/\/en-media.thebetterindia.com\/uploads\/2025\/09\/teachers-day-3-1757060792.jpg",1170,650,false],"kava-thumb-xl":["https:\/\/en-media.thebetterindia.com\/uploads\/2025\/09\/teachers-day-3-1757060792.jpg",1920,1080,false],"kava-thumb-masonry":["https:\/\/en-media.thebetterindia.com\/uploads\/2025\/09\/teachers-day-3-1757060792.jpg",600,999,false],"kava-thumb-justify":["https:\/\/en-media.thebetterindia.com\/uploads\/2025\/09\/teachers-day-3-1757060792.jpg",640,640,false],"kava-thumb-justify-2":["https:\/\/en-media.thebetterindia.com\/uploads\/2025\/09\/teachers-day-3-1757060792.jpg",1280,640,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"#RiseCelestialStudios","author_link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/author\/ralph-c\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"INDIAN FOOD NEWS<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"When Sangeeta Maurya first received her posting in a small village school in UP\u2019s Raebareli district, she broke down in tears. Having cleared the challenging University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC NET), she had imagined herself in a well-equipped classroom, filled with eager students.\u00a0 Instead, she found herself standing inside a crumbling building with…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28097"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28097\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28099,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28097\/revisions\/28099"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}From empty classrooms to crowded mornings<\/h2>\n
Teaching beyond textbooks<\/h2>\n
Balancing two worlds<\/h2>\n
More than a teacher<\/h2>\n
The true reward of teaching<\/h2>\n