Bilal Arafaat

“A child without education is like a bird without wings.” —Tibetan Proverb Not too long ago, when I was still an undergraduate, I met a young boy. The boy who lived in a nearby village took care of my mother’s garden to support his family financially. That morning we were conversing about plants and education. I learned from him that he and his siblings (Years 1-8) needed support for their studies. I decided to help them with their studies every evening on the weekdays, and of course without any fee. From the first day, we felt a sense of belonging to a small community gathered to learn, laugh, and know each other’s stories. Education is an active community in life that extends from schools to households and villages. Recently, I was a volunteer teacher in a remote village nestled in the upper Himalayas. This experience has given me the challenges that present themselves at the time of uplifting the remotest places, especially with education. Facilitating children’s education reasons in understanding the subject matter, and managing a classroom while acknowledging the neuro-diversity present between children. Working with children (Years 1-8) brings realisation to the phrase “a fulfilling experience”. Moreover, each lesson reminds me that students have different learning experiences. Being aware of individual differences results in adopting an inclusive teaching approach along with creativity in creating lesson plans for a diverse audience. Teaching children, especially the younger ones (6 – 11 years old) taught me that patience is a virtuous skill. During my lessons, I use the Socratic Seminar method. We have punctuated the discussions using fresh perspectives on various topics to our delight. I completed my bachelor’s degree in the field of commerce from India. After working for three years, I pursued my Master’s in Psychology (University of Stirling) and Cognitive Neuroscience (Durham University) in the United Kingdom. Until the Spring of 2023, I was working on my PhD (Cognitive Neuroscience) which investigated the brain-body dynamics underlying embodied cognition at Technische Universitat Berlin, Germany. Due to the lack of academic funding, I could not complete this project. As a first step I have undergone and complete CELTA one-month intensive program for teaching English as a second language.