Education : A Story of my Childhood
The storyline of the chapter 'Education' included in the language development section revolves around the childhood memory of an Indian aerospace scientist, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam who also served as the 11th president of India.
The unexpected visit of Abdul’s teacher surprised both Abdul and his family. The teacher seemed to be quite excited too. After taking a seat, he called Abdul over and told his family that he had achieved full marks in science and mathematics. Additionally, he said that Abdul had excelled in both Tamil and English as well, and his teachers were quite pleased with him. The news pleased Abdul and his family, but the fact that his instructor came over despite his hectic schedule just to let them know and express his joy and pride made Abdul even happier. That evening his mother made a special poli for the celebration.
His day used to start early in the morning. But before going to school he had to go to his Arabic tuition class and then to his Mathematics teacher’s house for a special class as he loved learning about numbers and their rules and patterns. After that, he used to rush towards his house and have the meal then again head towards school.
His school’s name was the Rameswaram Elementary School which was the only school in the town. He used to sit with his best friend Ramanadha Sastry. They used to do everything together. But after a new teacher joined the school, he made them sit apart as they came from different religious backgrounds. Abdul was a Muslim and Ramanadhan was a Brahmin. That incident made him cry.
Ramanadhan's father spoke with Abdul's father about the occurrence later that evening. They both then spoke with the teacher and advised him not to have promoted the division of religions in the classroom. When the teacher realized this, he allowed them to sit together as before.
Abdul first became interested in aerospace when he was 10 years old and in grade five, when his teacher introduced the idea of bird flight dynamics. With the assistance of his seniors, he later decided to continue his study in aerospace and flying, and he was successful in doing so.
This chapter describes how Abdul's early years influenced his adult life. It also draws attention to the problems with discrimination in contemporary society. It serves as an illustration of how the correct assistance and advice can help someone achieve their goals.