A parent who inspired me in the teaching and learning process

This mom's story will influence you to join hands in your child's learning and teaching journey. She inspired me with her smile, energy, and patience.

How it all started:

The journey began with a message on my mobile. It goes like this: "I am looking for abacus classes for my daughter, who is 3.5 years old." After the demo, the classes started. My early mornings over the weekends were always with her at 4:30 a.m. IST. I was taking sessions for a mom-and-daughter in a combo package. The 30-minute sessions were about learning and sharing laughter, smiles, high-fives, claps, songs, and chit-chat. The joy of learning together was palpable. When I asked about new concepts, the involvement I got from her mom was super energetic, directly proportional to the child.

Meet the little human, Ayuktha, here -

The smile says it all. Every class was welcomed with the same enthusiasm as the mom encouraged learning. She played a vital role in her child's education by allowing her to explore at her own pace.

Here is an anecdote for you:

Me: " We use the thumb finger of our right hand to add one's digits. How about for the tens digits?"

Mom of the child: " Is it the same, ma'am?"

Me: " Sorry, nope. Well, tried".

Mom: "Ahh! I gave the wrong answer" (she acted sad).

Me: "Hmm."

Child: " It is the left hand."

Me: " Wow! That's right!"

The child's smile, filled with pride in answering the question correctly, was a testament to the strong bond between her and her mom. The mom's happiness in seeing her child indulge in learning was palpable. It was a heartwarming moment that made the teacher feel fulfilled as the class objective was achieved, and I'm sure it will resonate with all parents and educators who understand the power of a strong bond in the learning process.

When a parent puts no stress on learning, the learning gets to its best form. Every new learning was welcomed with warmth and love by Ayuktha

The triangular spirit:

The class was not just a place to learn the abacus but a platform for constructive competitiveness. This ingenious mom introduced a new element to the learning process by getting two abacuses—one for her daughter and one for herself. This innovative approach to education was both engaging and effective. When it was time to solve sums, both eagerly participated and gave their answers. Some moments were winning for Mom, and some were for her daughter. The mom's ability to maintain the flow and progressively build a scoreboard was genuinely engaging. It was exciting to see the goal of building speed in solving sums being achieved. Learning an abacus was never meant to be for the child alone, or was introduced in a stressful form, as I generally see in any other general statement from the parent, like listen to the teacher, do as she says, follow the instructions, do it fast, or pay attention.

Her goals and anti-goals:

As mentioned in the book The Five Types of Wealth: A Guide to Understanding and Achieving Holistic Wealth, this mom was clear about her goals and anti-goals.

 As Sahil Bloom explains, 'Goals are the things we want to happen on our journey, and anti-goals are the things we don't want to happen in our journey to achieve our goals.' In the context of this narrative, the mom's anti-goals were likely to avoid stress and pressure in her daughter's learning process.

Ayuktha explains it well because her mom always role-played learning from her. Role-playing helps children learn better. They love to act out every learning by teaching their parent or their peers.

A happy parent makes everything pleasurable for the child:

She never questioned me about assessment, moving to the next level, or takeaways. She casually practiced orals while cooking, traveling, and cleaning. Her daughter willingly progressed forward, looking for challenges and hurdles with a positive spirit. When she started the classes, the child was only 3.5 years old. Her learning days are made happy and easy-going by the parents' positive outlook on learning. Whenever the child makes a mistake, the parent encourages her by saying, "We learn from our mistakes". She also adds a quick note mentioning a life example, like, " You remember I too tried a new cuisine, and it went bad the other day, it happens".

Her love for her daughter teaches us more:

Imitation plays a vital role in this age group. When the daughter noticed her mom's willingness to learn, follow, and explore, she could do it effortlessly.

What is your take on this?

My life lesson is that learning is joyful when the triangle bond between the teacher, student, and parent travels in the right direction, with goals and anti-goals