World Teacher's Day-Pakistan

I'm sharing with you the wonders of teaching through music .Music is an integral part of our lives ,apart from its entertaining value it is also an effective medium of instruction and can bring desired changes in the students gradually . In this poem "Haan Tum Kar Saktee Ho " which means Yes you can do it ,I have tried to capture one incident that I have always cherished as a music teacher and it simply strengthens my belief that teaching and learning is not only through books ,paper and pencils ..rather it happens through numerous channels ,different directions and is an ongoing process. Research has proved the fact that students who learn music are better in studies and are intelligent than those who have not experienced music . For a music competition in 2003 ,I auditioned the students from all four sections of Grade 1 and noticed " Zara" who had a beautiful voice but needed improvement in concentration span as she could not remember the lyrics of the poems and songs that we sang in the class .She was also quite shy to sing alone in front of others . Recognizing her talent and the quality of her voice I wanted her to represent our school in the upcoming competition and believing in her talent started my training sessions . Along with music training ...I used to discuss many other things with her ... feelings ...life ...views about small issues .Gradually I could feel the desired change evolving in her ,her enthusiasm and interest in details about posture required for singing ,breathing and other technical aspects for singing were improving .She started asking questions in the class and was no more a shy student . We spent about a month in training ,I used to call her for practice during break and after school and when ever some free time was available . Many times when Zara could not concentrate on lyrics or tune ,she got upset and looked puzzled .. she would often say that it is not possible for her to win the competition and its difficult to face so many people . To encourage and develop confidence in her I first made her sing in front of few class fellows, then infront of the whole class and finally in front of the whole school during the morning assembly . After many such presentations in the school ,she was finally ready to take part in the competition .It was an interschool competition and Zara rendered her song confidently in a melodious voice .She was delighted to hear the result as she stood first and the whole school congratulated her on her success. This achievement had a remarkable effect on her and she improved a lot in her studies as well .Concentrating on the given tasks and practicing for perfection helped her in reading and writing .After the final term examination and report day ,her parents specially came to me to share their gratitude and believing in their daughter. Zara is a bright student now and its a pleasure listening to her and looking at her gleaming and confident eyes