Addition of patience

My younger one is in the virtual school this year. For his classes he sits in the living room where my wife can keep an eye and help him if he needs something. We time our lunch during his afternoon school break so that the family can have lunch together. Today however I was occupied at work and by the time I went to eat, the break was over, and my son’s school had already started. I could hear my son’s teacher as they went on with their regular school schedule.

Having seen my elder one through those years and now seeing my younger one every day, I know teaching small kids is not easy. If you are lucky, they will sit and listen to everything you say. If you are not, they can ask complicated questions or relate something you are saying to something unrelated and take the conversation in a tangential direction. A classroom full of kids can be a different story altogether.

This is how some parts of the class conversation went –

(The teacher was teaching math addition and was explaining how numbers can be added to each other to get a bigger number)

Student 1: Teacher, I want to tell you something.

Teacher: Yes, sweetie; what is it?

Student 1: The grass in our lawn has been growing taller and taller. They are adding up like these numbers.

Teacher: Yes, that happens sweetie. Did you have any question on what we discussed?

 

Another kid raised his hand to catch the attention of the teacher.

Teacher: Yes Student 2. Do you need something honey?

Student 2: Teacher, I want to use the rest room.

Teacher: Sure honey, but please be quick. I don’t want you to miss the lesson

Student 2: But I am not going to pee. I am going for something else.

Teacher: ok, but please try to be quick.

Student 2: I cannot be quick. I will need some time.

Teacher: Sure honey…

 

Every now and then one of the kids would say something unrelated to the math class and the teacher had to sweet talk the kids focus back to the class. I wondered what I would have done if I was a kindergarten/elementary school teacher. Would I have run away the first day?

As I thought, I felt, maybe most of us are like that schoolteacher in some way. We too face incomprehensible questions and ridiculous requirements from our team members, managers and customers at work. Yet we always answer with courtesy and treat work situations with upmost dignity. 

As my thoughts flowed, it suddenly struck me; I realized there was a problem. We treat random people at work, on streets, in restaurants, in movie halls; whom we may never even see in our life again, with courtesy and patience; but forget to apply that same courtesy and patience to our own family members without whom there is little meaning to our lives. We often seem to take our family for granted. We patiently spend hours repeating the same answer to our customers and office colleagues but snap the minute a family member repeats the question.

It took a while for me to finish the last few spoons. I was shaken, but I knew it was time for me to learn from this addition lesson and add a few things to my life. I have to put an effort to bring all that courtesy and patience I use in my work life, to home. The methodology is all there, and time tested. If my kids ask the same question repeatedly, I need to answer them as how I would answer an office colleague or a customer who is asking the same question repeatedly. Such an easy thing; yet it needed me to listen through an elementary math class to put it together.

~Narendra V Joshi