By Juhi Maheshwari

For the last seven years, I was an elementary school teacher in India. Now, this is the first time in those seven years that I am not really teaching. Instead, the roles are reversed and I’m currently learning in a University classroom. It is a bit weird to no longer teach in front of students or in front of a screen. Until a couple of months ago, I was teaching my students about two digit addition in my country and here I am trying to ensure my bank account balance is never a two digit number in the United States!

Going from teaching in my home country to being a doctoral student in a foreign country has been quite a thrilling experience, especially because over here, my classmates are from all over the world. There are many more international students in my doctoral classes in Chicago in comparison to my classroom in India. In my Curriculum Studies courses, there is so much to learn from every student because they are from all walks of life and career paths. As a teacher, I never imagined I would be learning alongside a police officer, an insurance broker or even a lawyer.

The elementary class size was about twice as large as the classes in my doctoral program. My students and I shared a similar culture, observed the same holidays, ate the same foods, and even spoke the same language. However, after leaving my comfort zone and relocating to the United States, I have become more accepting of the various cultures around me. Whenever an Indian celebration was approaching, I would explain its significance to my students, and now that I am a student here, I frequently find myself learning about the various holidays and festivals that are observed here.

India’s widespread use of surveillance cameras in schools struck me as a significant difference . Teachers and students were under constant surveillance without their knowledge. I felt that it restricted my independence as a teacher since I was constantly watchful of the way I taught. I did not know if my teaching capabilities would be evaluated based on a silent camera. As a student at DePaul, I am relieved that there are no surveillance cameras monitoring any of us. I am confident in my ability to express myself, knowing that no one is observing or evaluating me. I experience a sense of freedom.

As a student, I sometimes feel relieved that I do not have to grade assignments anymore. It used to make me worried that somewhere along the lines, a student’s grade has become synonymous with their intelligence, and I never felt like I was qualified enough to do that. In reality, it has almost nothing to do with their intelligence, and does not serve as a reflection of how well-versed their teacher is with the course content and has more to do with personal interests. I also think as a graduate student I have realized that the meaning of grading changes in higher education.

As an elementary school teacher, I often found myself speaking to the parents of my students about their performance in class; not just academically, but in all aspects. As a graduate student, there are no parent teacher meetings. We ourselves take up charge and ownership of our own learning which I wished happened at an earlier stage during elementary school.

Whether you are an elementary school teacher or a graduate student pursuing a PhD, I believe education has the ability to instill a sense of emancipation and independence in everyone who experiences it. It has the power to impact and influence a person’s life in a variety of positive ways. Pursuing higher education in a foreign country not only improves one’s career path, but also fosters personal development and broadens one’s worldview.