Learning to Listen Before Teaching by Diya

Learning to Listen Before Teaching by Diya - August 2026 Scholarship Essay

In front of a chalkboard in my parent’s hometown in Gujarat, India, I illustrated cellular respiration by drawing diagrams for more than thirty school-going children. I described each process as I understood it from my classes in the United States. I assumed that by simplifying the processes, it would be easier for them to comprehend. But rather than that, I found a classroom of puzzled faces staring back at me. Some looked as though they were daydreaming, while others looked uncertain when I tried asking them questions.
My plan was to teach underprivileged kids near where my grandparents resided because I was eager to give students the chance at education and simultaneously enhance my knowledge about biology. I went there fully sure of myself, of all the methods I had successfully used before: blackboards, illustrations, and lectures. When they did not work for me anymore, my first move was to try to clarify everything I said and repeat it again.
This view was completely shattered after an exchange with my grandfather. On hearing of the problems that I was facing, he said to me, “Vidyaarthio ne mushkeli padi karan ke temna abhyas saamagri alag hati.” The students had found it difficult because the materials they used for learning were different.
The comments were simple, but they made me realize what I had been missing. So engrossed in imparting education the way I was taught had made me forget that there was someone else who was used to a different method of learning. I entered the class with the belief that having knowledge of the subject was sufficient to teach them.
Rather than being disheartened at what had not worked out in my favor, I viewed his remarks as a chance to make a new effort. I began to replace some of my lectures with activities where I used simple things found around us in everyday life. In the lesson where I taught about cellular respiration, for instance, I used differently colored stones to depict electrons and a huge bucket, usually used for carrying water, as the final electron acceptor. All of a sudden, a very complex biological phenomenon was now tangible.
The transformation was immediate. The students who had always appeared distracted now turned out to be engaged. They took part in the activity, asked relevant questions, and got involved with the concepts rather than just listening to my lecture. From their reaction, it dawned on me that my original problem was not their failure to comprehend the lesson content. It was merely the mode of delivery.
However, this lesson did more than just teach me a different way to teach biology. This lesson has influenced my reaction to feedback, and my attitude towards learning in general. I discovered that the feedback is the most beneficial in the situations when I am open to changing my mind based on that feedback instead of merely fixing the errors. Grandfather has not explained how cellular respiration occurs in a better manner; he has suggested me to rethink the point of view from which I approach the problem. From that moment on, I try to be more open to listening, adapting, and trying to find out what I am missing when the first attempt to solve the problem fails.
This lesson has taught me the necessity of humility. There may be situations when the techniques that I use to become successful do not work for other people, and there may be situations when I just happen to be wrong in the first place.
Going to Gujarat, I thought that I would be the teacher. However, I was wrong, because it was my students and my grandfather who taught me a very valuable lesson that I would like to bring into all classrooms and communities where I go: learning starts with listening. And when I go on with my learning journey, I would like to be open-minded enough to change my views, perspectives and be ready to learn from other people.