Shivam Uniyal https://theteenagertoday.com/author/shivamuniyal/ Loved by youth since 1963 Fri, 20 Jan 2023 04:00:20 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 https://theteenagertoday.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/cropped-the-teenager-today-favicon-32x32.png Shivam Uniyal https://theteenagertoday.com/author/shivamuniyal/ 32 32 A Teacher’s Farewell https://theteenagertoday.com/a-teachers-farewell/ Tue, 20 Sep 2022 04:32:17 +0000 https://theteenagertoday.com/?p=23368 No hand rose and there was pin drop silence in the class. Tr Aarti then wrote out a third point, ‘Why don’t you want to become a teacher?’

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]]> Illustration of teacher, student, doctor near blackboard in a classroom

“I should make class fun by having a discussion with students, as they are already tired from their consecutive science classes,” thought Tr Aarti, the English teacher of Class 12.

‘What do you want to become in life?’ was the topic. The students replied enthusiastically that they wanted to become doctors, engineers, IAS officers, businessmen, lawyers, scientists, etc.

Then Tr Aarti wrote on the blackboard, ‘Does anyone want to become a teacher?’

No hand rose and there was pin drop silence in the class. Tr Aarti then wrote out a third point, ‘Why don’t you want to become a teacher?’

The students replied saying that teaching was a low-paying job and the status of a teacher in society had declined as compared to the olden days.

“Who wants to become a teacher for a day on Teachers’ Day?” asked Tr Aarti.

Suddenly, all hands rose high in the air.

Cover of the September 2022 issue of The Teenager Today - Teachers' Day Special

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]]> Mann ki baat of an aspiring sportsman https://theteenagertoday.com/mann-ki-baat-of-an-aspiring-sportsman/ Fri, 10 Sep 2021 06:01:00 +0000 https://theteenagertoday.com/?p=20509 How many parents want children to opt for sports as a career option, and if not, then why not?

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]]> As the Tokyo Olympics 2021 kicked off we felt a sense of immense thrill within ourselves. Crores of Indians tied the threads of hopes to the players who qualified for this biggest arena of sports. Yes! We shared the pictures of the sportsmen who bagged medals for us and at the same time, felt bad for the players who didn’t make it this time. However, the most important question here is: how many parents want children to opt for sports as a career option, and if not, then why not?

How many parents want children to opt for sports as a career option, and if not, then why not?

When I was in school, sports periods were taken away by teachers of other subjects to cover their syllabus. Was that right? Even if schools have sports facilities, there is no channel to take their talents to the right platforms. In other words, there is no proper way to channelize their talent into a career option, especially in small towns and rural India. Besides this, a sportsman or sportswoman needs a proper diet, a coach and infrastructure facilities which are often not available to them.

This gives rise to fear of failure in sports and a sense of financial insecurity in the minds of aspiring sports persons. Parents are afraid to allow their children to see sports as a possible career option except in the case of a few popular sports. Lakhs and crores rupees are given to players after they win a medal in the Olympics but many of them opt out due to lack of facilities. Not that it is wrong to award the sports persons who win laurels for our country and make our nation feel proud, but at the same time, I think our country is failing to utilize the real potential of its young people to its optimum level. The government needs to work hard in this regard, so that one day India becomes one of the top-ranking nations in international sports arena.

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]]> Don’t tell her https://theteenagertoday.com/dont-tell-her/ Mon, 20 Jan 2020 08:46:38 +0000 http://theteenagertoday.com/?p=15174 Don’t tell her,
That I still miss her badly every day,
See her in dreams,
And wake up startled with dismay.

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]]> Don’t tell her,
That I still miss her badly every day,
See her in dreams,
And wake up startled with dismay.
Don’t tell her,
That I sneak into her Facebook profile sometimes,
And scroll her timeline,
To see which new friend she is seeing nowadays.
Don’t tell her
The truth…
That I envy her friends,
Who go for trips with her,
And click selfies with her.
Don’t tell her
That even this year,
I remembered her birthday,
And cried because we were apart.

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]]> A paused heart https://theteenagertoday.com/a-paused-heart/ Mon, 20 Aug 2018 10:13:31 +0000 http://theteenagertoday.com/?p=11152 My heart is paused on the scene
Where I bent my knee to propose to you.
My lips are mute to find myself apart from you,
How does a life become without you?

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]]> My heart is paused on the scene
Where I bent my knee to propose to you.
My lips are mute to find myself apart from you,
How does a life become without you?
An empty lawn with empty benches.
Doesn’t it bother you to leave me like this?
Doesn’t your heart ache at my mention?
How tough, how hard have you turned your heart
That my tears cannot bring life to it?
Won’t you pause when you pass me by?
Won’t you put your hand again on my shoulder?
Won’t you miss me?
My heart is paused…
Having your eyes captured in my eyes,
Having your smile recorded forever.

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