Meet Mrs Ashoo Rajput, Tatachilla's Middle / Senior School Teacher.
 

What sparked your interest in a career in education?

My father, Mr. R. C. Sharma, is the one who inspired me to choose education as a career. He got his National Teaching Award from the Government of India and he got V.I.P. status in India for his contributions to the community. He is not only a great man, a very successful sports man (who earned many national awards), but is a very committed educator as well. Teaching is not only a profession for my father, but it is a service and that’s what I believe.

Pastor Joseph, who made a huge impact on my life and changed my entire thought process, also inspired me.

As a teacher, I feel I am in a role that allows daily problem solving, exploration, research and development. God has given me this opportunity to do a job that is influential to young people, who are the future changemakers in our society. I believe that I have the opportunity to be memorable in the lives of young people, to have them look back in years to come and remember me as a mentor. We all have those teachers that we remember fondly as being life changing.
 

Why do you enjoy teaching Maths and Science in the Middle and Senior years?

I'm not happy just accepting things, I want to know why! Science gives me the why!  It’s not a subject that stops. I love teaching Science because I don't believe it is enough to accept everyday phenomena at face value and I take great satisfaction from developing a deeper understanding of things we take for granted, whether they be on the scale of the stars and the universe, or as small as the inner workings of the atom.

The cognitive skills that students develop early on (in Middle School) will serve them for the rest of their lives, in all their personal and professional endeavours. The curiosity and excitement of the students is contagious. They often have a fresh perspective on problems and can ask questions I might never have thought to ask. I enjoy scientific experiments as much as the students and like seeing their excitement when they do something well. The fascinating part of teaching Science is sharing knowledge and ideas with the students. “Using science to solve global problems is the way forward” - and I am strongly passionate about this.

My passion for mathematics is transmitted through my teaching, where I help each student obtain the necessary skills and confidence to reach their full potential. My approach has always been to encourage each student to engage their curiosity when learning, as the conceptual understanding and application of what is being learnt is paramount when viewing the world through the eyes of a Mathematician.
 

Who, or what, inspires you?

I have many people and things which inspire me, including my parents, my husband, my kids and my friends, my colleagues and students, smiles from strangers (as they give me hope that this is indeed a world of love and respect), nature, waves from the ocean, light blue skies, science and new discoveries, and experiences / reflections.
 

What do you enjoy doing beyond work?

Spending time with my family. My family balances my life. I really like cooking for them. I enjoy reading books with my kids. We spend an hour every day talking about random things.

My husband and I really like travelling and now the kids are in our team as well. They love travelling and visiting different places. We have a long list of destinations in our bucket list. We have travelled so far to Singapore, Thailand (Phuket), California, British Columbia and New Zealand (North Island).  I like buying books so that I can use these resources in my Science class.

Dancing gives me my time to relax. Every week for at least an hour I dance. I feel that I have detoxified my body and it gives me peace.

I enjoy cooking and doing experiments with recipes. Sometimes I feel good about the outcomes and there are times when it is a complete disaster, but this provides me with an opportunity to start everything all over again and learn from my mistakes.