Ms. Shruti

"From Students to Teachers: Alumni Series" by Arnav Bansal.

As the spices of winter fill the air, heralding the much-awaited winter break, what better way to end the term than to hear from a student; familiar with the rhythmic cadence of march-past, the dazzling symphony of colour in drill and the infectious enthusiasm of the roaring audience that marks the end of term. I am excited to share with you an exclusive interview with Ms. Shruti Iyer, a delightful page of TISB’s rich history and a personal, intimate journey of both a student and an intern at the Mathematics Department at our school.

As someone who once walked the halls as a student in our school, can you share a bit about your journey from being a student to becoming an intern at the maths department? What aspects of your personal growth stand out the most?

I joined TISB in 2013 - I was in the 8th Grade then - and I had moved schools twice before, in 5th Grade from Baldwin Girls (BGHS) to Greenwood High and then two years later from Greenwood to TISB. So to a certain extent I wasn’t sure whether I’d stay and graduate from TISB. I remember my first year at TISB was filled with a lot of apprehension. I didn’t know if I should get close to my peers and make friends when I might be moving again in two or three years. I was already losing touch with the friends I had made in my previous schools and that scared me. So while I was incredibly social - I would talk to everyone - I didn’t put much effort into building lasting friendships. Still, I noticed how incredibly welcoming everyone was and I never felt alone at any point.

I think my perspective really changed on a school trip I went on to Gujarat. I roomed with another new student who had already made a ‘best friend’ and I was confused, even a bit sceptical. Here’s someone who has probably moved more than I and she’s made a really good friend? How is she confident that it will last? I ended up hanging out with her and her group of friends a lot that trip and I learned that friendships do last if you put in the effort. We made up silly songs in the back of the bus, laughed at random jokes and I enjoyed every last second. I even think I became friends with some of the teachers like Ms. Madonna who was the middle school coordinator at the time. I’m still very much friends with the girl I roomed with - I might even go as far as to call her one of my best friends from highschool!

Ever since then I started looking at things more optimistically. Things only got better once my parents confirmed that we were not moving schools anymore. I started having more fun in class - I mean it was my first time having a drama class! I was actually upset that I had to choose between art and drama. ‘But I want to do both!’ I remember thinking. I was envious that my younger brother did not have to choose since he was in 5th. Meanwhile I had to choose without even experiencing what one class was like versus the other.

My circle of friends solidified in the 9th grade. I became really close with three other students - Priya Sanyal (also a teacher at TISB now), Tanvi Bavishi (The new student I roomed with) and Saahithi Kolli (another student who had just joined in the 9th grade). These three have become my core group and I know they will always have my back to this day.

Academically, I really liked the environment TISB cultivates. While some credit does go to my cohort for being ambitious and collaborative, I think most of the credit goes to my teachers who were very patient in teaching. I remember my teachers being fun to talk to and joke around with in class. They were also serious about their work and commanded a lot of respect from me. Without them I don’t think I would have grown to like my subjects as much as I did, so much so, I hated picking one over the other when it came to choosing subjects for IB or IGCSE. And the teachers respected my choice of subjects as well. When it came time to pick subjects for my IB, I remember picking subjects solely because I liked them the best - not because I had a particular career in mind. I ended up choosing History HL, Physics HL and Chemistry HL, Math SL, Eng Lit and Lang SL and French AB. A weird combination right? Many thought so - because what career would such a combo of subjects lead to? Why didn’t I take Math HL? Many of my teachers did ask but when I said I chose them because I liked them they respected the decision I made.

I think it was through my CAS project that I realized that I like teaching and I liked interacting with kids. I was a part of a group called Reach & Teach where we went to a nearby government school to teach them conversational English as a way to increase the underprivileged students’ employability.

I remember when it came time for college apps, writing essays and figuring out what degree people wanted to pursue, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do. I was encouraged to do some reflecting on why I liked what I liked. Since critical thinking was anyways a part of TOK and IB I tried applying what I had been taught into my personal life goals.

Why did I like History? Because I like the story aspects, I like mythology, I like the art, architecture and culture it exposed me to.Why did I like Physics? Because it taught me about the world and I heard HL offered a special course on Astrophysics!! Who isn’t excited about SPACE?

Why did I like Chemistry? I like balancing equations and imagining orbitals. Plus testing for chemicals makes me feel like I’m a forensic scientist.

I finally narrowed down my potential list of majors to Astrophysics, Archeology and Forensic Science. This is where being practical started narrowing it down further. What would be a sustainable career? I soon realized that I had to balance it out - passion and stability. I ended up going to UCLA for a B.S. in Astrophysics.

College definitely changed me as a person and while I grew the most in college, I think TISB set a very good basis for that. I walked into UCLA a well-rounded and open minded person. College was a time of uncertainty for me. I knew I wanted a career in Astrophysics but I didn’t know what niche of science I wanted to specialize in. I joined The Daily Bruin (UCLA’s Student Newspaper) as a Science and Health reporter for that reason. It gave me the opportunity to talk to various professors like Katie Bowman, Terrence Tao, Neil deGrasse Tyson and others on the field and write about what research they were conducting. I enjoyed my work so much that I became the editor for Science and Health and was seriously considering a career as a science journalist. But all that TOK and critical thinking from TISB made me question everything. Up until this point I never really got the ‘Aha!’ moment when it came to discussing my career path. My thoughts usually were of the kind, ‘I kind of like this work, so should I consider it?’ I knew I wanted to do research and I knew I wanted to write. ‘About what?’ was always the nagging question. There was a lack of clarity that really made me feel uncertain.

One of my idols, Professor Andrea Ghez, won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2020 for her contributions to the discovery of the Black Hole in the center of the Milky Way. I had taken a class with her and I remember asking to interview her for the newspaper. She told me that she wanted to become a role model for every young scientist and to let them know that anyone can do science. Her motto, ‘Every challenge is an opportunity.’ really inspired me. I wanted to have an impact on future generations as she did on me. So I took up teaching first through tutoring in my college and now as an intern here. Eventually I found that I enjoyed instrumentation work (building instruments for research like telescopes, spectrographs, etc.) and started applying to PhD programs with clarity and confidence. I will continue teaching as a TA when I go for my PhD in Physics at UHawaii this January.

How has your perspective on education and the school environment changed since your days as a student? What challenges or surprises did you encounter in transitioning from the student role to that of a teacher?

To be honest, as a student I didn’t think a lot about the system. For me as long as learning was interesting I didn’t mind doing the work. That also meant that I sympathised when some of my peers said, ‘I don’t even like this subject, why do I have to do the work.’ But in hindsight, I think a holistic curriculum - like at TISB - that covers many aspects of life was very beneficial. For example, I have my freelancing side jobs in writing and illustrating while pursuing a career in Astrophysics. I am able to multitask and am now able to recognize the transferable skills that each subject helped prepare. Skills like problem solving, creative thinking, leadership, management, oration, researching, team work, recognising bias, organizing, multitasking and structuring an argument have all helped me in life and I can see these skills continuing to be valuable throughout my life.

I think the most jarring thing when I joined was that my teachers were now my colleagues, and the ease at which the change in dynamic occurred was also quite surprising. It was also a surprise to see some of my young friends, who were around 10/11 when I last saw them five years ago, and now are sporting beards and growing into adults. It was a bizarre feeling to teach some of them as their teacher while on the other hand, I had this other dynamic of that of a friend. I also experienced what it was like on the teaching side of things, because I still understand what it feels like to be a student (It has only been a year since I graduated from UCLA, and I am going to become a student again when I join UHawaii for my PhD). So it has been quite interesting balancing demands of free lessons and extra marks while ensuring that learning is taking place and that everyone is prepared for their upcoming exams. I have learnt that this means a lot of compromise on the students' leisure because I have a responsibility towards their futures and I must help them prepare to their best. I am sorry students, I understand all this work must feel overwhelming, but trust me, it will only help you out in your life.

Looking back, what significant changes do you observe in the school environment compared to when you were a student? Are there any specific changes that you believe have had a profound impact on the teaching and learning experience?

When I entered TISB this year, I immediately noticed a lot of policy changes that had occurred over the last five years. Of course, I knew about some of them since my younger brother only graduated two years ago. Firstly, the principals changed after I graduated from Mr. Armstrong to Ms. Caroline. And from what I can see, she is a more involved principal and connects with the students well. TISB started having a bigger social media presence with instagram and other platforms. Events are advertised better and now there are individual coordinators per grade whereas I remember there being only a middle school coordinator, an IGCSE coordinator and an IB coordinator. Obviously I think this has helped with the quality of opportunities that are available now as the workload of managing multiple grades has been divided. I would imagine it also provides students with a more focussed point of contact should anything be needed.

Smartboards! We never had them, and I wish we did! It would have saved on so much paper and it would have helped with learning. Although, I do see a flip side to this - all this digitization really doesn’t get students to practice writing continuously for a considerably long time. And fortunately or unfortunately, exams are still given on paper. My batch probably would have been able to write three history papers and an English one and walk away with a mild pain and lots of grumbling and complaining. If the same papers were to happen now, the grumbling and complaining would have been the same, but I’m not sure if everyone would be able to complete all papers.

Uniform policy changed quite a bit, when I was a student you could only wear the PE uniform either when you had PE or during the summer. Now, you only need to wear formals when you are giving your exam, not regularly, and you guys have the tracksuits! We never had long pants; it would have done wonders during the winter months.

Reflecting on your time this past month, could you share one or two moments that truly stand out as your favourite teaching experiences? What made these moments special or memorable for you?

I absolutely loved chatting with my students outside of class. It really helped me bond with them in these few weeks that I was their teacher. I also enjoyed

making worksheets and notes for my students to use as references as I hoped it would at the very least help clear some doubts. I am the oldest amongst all my siblings and cousins so I have always enjoyed spending time with kids - somehow it heals my soul. My cousins range from 23 years to 6 months old and I have tried to put that experience to use here as a teacher.

Preparing for the Children’s Day assembly was so much fun as well! I remember enjoying the skits and performances when I was a student, so I wanted to participate in it this time! However, I had just joined and I wasn’t even sure if I would be able to prepare anything, but I’m glad I was able to prepare a short dance and dress up! I even matched outfits with one of my students coincidentally!

But the best moment for me was anytime a student felt comfortable asking me for help. I know from personal experience that recognising that you need help and asking for it is very difficult to do. So seeing that there were students who in that short time trusted me to help them and asked for my advice really motivated me to do well for my students. I hope that I was able to create an environment in which student’s knew that I had their backs and their best interests.

I do look forward to Sport’s Day, I was always a part of the drill so I am very interested in watching this year’s drills. (Go Disco!)

While you're now shaping the educational experiences of others, what is one of your fondest memories from your own time as a student in our school? How does that memory continue to influence your approach to teaching?

Some of my fondest memories are from the numerous walks my friends and I took around campus. I strongly think the best thing I got out of TISB was my friendships with these amazing people. We used to aimlessly walk around, exploring the grounds and discussing all sorts of topics. I remember sitting near the portico and imagining stories. We unofficially wrote self-insert fanfiction for Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and other fandoms. I remember filming my own short film on campus for a French assignment and laughing at all the weird faces we got because we paused at a particular moment. The blooper reel will always be one of my favorite things captured on video! I remember sitting in History class with Priya, taking Buzzfeed quizzes and making story planners. I remember sitting with Tanvi in English playing “Name, Place, Animal, Thing” or figuring out when we were going to meet at Taco Bell. I remember coming up with nicknames with Saahithi and being the butt of her jokes! It is truly the people who made TISB memorable for me.

Because we were wildly different people with different opinions, I know that people react differently to the

same problem. So in terms of how my friends continue to influence my approach to teaching, it would be through the different perspectives they provided. I am aware that each student learns differently and I try to cater to them and how they approach a question. It is unfortunate that my internship will end on Sport’s Day and I won’t be able to get to know my students more and help them more.

VIVUM ‘17 also comes to mind for most memorable moments! I was part of the Drama Department and Stage Management since I had been going to BSSD (Bangalore School of Speech and Drama) for about 7 years. I loved every moment of putting scripts together and figuring out ways to make costumes...all in the span of days. We worked with a lot of restrictions that year - it needed to be conducted in two days not three and the 11th graders were not allowed to get out of class to help until on the day of. But in the end we had so much fun, so all that skipping on sleep really paid off!

Thank you Ms. Shruti!