As the Goa University could not offer six papers inEconomics, Lara Velho had no option but to seek transfer to Mumbai to completeher graduation. Little did she know what this city had intended for her.
After graduating from Sophia College, Lara joined Teach forIndia “ a two year teaching fellowship to bridge the gaps students face and putsome of our country’s poorest children on a fundamentally different life-path.“I am currently in the second year of my fellowship. Towards the end of myfirst year, I was incredibly lucky to get an opportunity to join a group ofTeach for India alumni to find a school in Crawford Market, Mumbai,” says Larawho completed her Bachelor of Arts in Economics and further underwent a fiveweek intense training for Teach for India.
As a child, Lara’s parents made a conscious effort tosensitise their children to those less fortunate than her and her brother. “Iam blessed with parents who have supported my choice to be a part of somethinggreater than my own existence,” she says.
As an Economics graduate, Lara’s favourite paper was ondevelopment. “Teach for India appealed to me as the perfect leadershipopportunity where I could hone my own skills, be an active part of thedevelopment sector but most importantly, serve children towards whom, we as asociety are doing a massive disservice by imparting a sub-standard education,”says the 22-year-old who is also a founding teacher at the 3.2.1 Education Foundation.
Lara currently teaches Mathematics and English toKindergarten students. But to reach this stage, she had to submit a writtenapplication, go through a telephone interview, a group discussion at theassessment centre, a logic test, put forth a five-minute sample lesson andfinally, a personal interview.
This young teacher could have taken up a corporate jobinstead of teaching at Teach for India, but she based her future on DanielPink’s work around the science of human motivation in the current knowledgeeconomy. “In his work he explains that once basic needs are taken care of,human beings work for three things “ Purpose, Autonomy and Mastery. I waslooking for these things when I was evaluating my next steps after college andI realised I would struggle to find them in a corporate job,” she says, adding,“Through Teach for India and then 3.2.1, I have been fortunate enough to findthem. I have autonomy in the form of creating experiences for children andsystems, and resources for the organisation. I am gaining mastery through myjourney of learning how to be a great teacher. Most importantly, I have apurpose; to give my life to redefine what excellent education looks like forour nation’s poorest kids.”
Five years down the line, as a part of Teach for India’salumni movement, through 3.2.1, Lara would like to be a part of a veryimportant conversation. “In the future, I see myself building the 3.2.1Education Foundation and its schools into a model of excellence, playing themany roles of teacher, trainer and a founding staff member,” she concludes.
