Teaching was a not a chosen path by me or a conscious choice, it just happened. Brought up in a conservative family, where no girl in my family went beyond Matriculation, I did my graduation with my father’s & grandmother’s support. As every middle-class family , back in 90s did, got their daughter married. After marriage, it was my in-laws who encouraged me to work & in this way, I chose teaching field to build my career.
25 years ago, in 2001 I stepped in ALL INDIA SHRI SHIVAJI MEMORIAL SOCIETY as a teacher with a heart full of dreams & a passion to make my career in teaching. Every child who stepped in brought something new. Their curiosity, their innocence, their taught questions, their effort to make things interesting, became my greatest lesson.
In 2012 I was entrusted with the new responsibility of leading the Primary section as the Head. This really meant a lot – a reward, an appreciation for me, which was a confidence booster. It was a new role which expanded my scope from teaching the students to guiding the teachers and make meaningful changes in nurturing the students.
In 2026 I was honored with an additional responsibility of heading the Nursery section too. This responsibility affirmed that the work that I’d have been doing since past 25 years to ALL INDIA SHRI SHIVAJI MEMORIAL SOCIETY means something. I was privileged to work with the children in school from their very first day to their Primary education.
Looking back on these 25 years there have been a lot of changes in the educational field, where the major turnaround came in the Covid 2020 pandemic where we teachers had to change everything overnight. The technology has played a huge role in this process thereafter. Time moves on , but one thing remains unchanged – the life skills , values and resilience – grades can earn living but education will make us live.
If I were asked the most important qualities every child should possess, I would put it in 4 basic pillars:
Looking Ahead
Twenty-five years have passed. Every morning when I enter the school, I feel the same enthusiasm which I felt on the first day of my classroom: *”What new can I do today to make a difference or add a new learning experience to the students and my own?”*
Even today, their smile when they do something confidently brings a new set of life in me, keeping me alive.
I am deeply grateful to the Honorary Secretary , the Management and office of ALL INDIA SHRI SHIVAJI MEMORIAL SOCIETY who have entrusted me with the responsibility of shaping the young minds at this tender age. As a team, we are not just teaching textbooks to these young ones, but we are preparing them for Life.
Mrs S.P. Chareja
In service of ALL INDIA SHRI SHIVAJI MEMORIAL SOCIETY