One of the things I was contemplating doing recently was joining Teach For India. It is a wonderful organization dedicated to improving education in India. They teach children and have a 2 years fellowship where you learn to teach and teach.
https://www.teachforindia.org/
To join one step was to write 3 essays on three different topics. Here is one I wrote:
I have always had a desire to get into educating children. Teaching for me is one noble profession. You are just not educating the children to be better at their studies, you are also giving valuable life lessons for them to grow up to become better human beings. Teachers are role models. I still fondly remember many of my teachers, from whom I have learned so much. They are one big reason why I have been successful in life.
I had an excellent education and I believe every child deserves the same. There is extreme poverty all over India and one big reason is education. When children do not have basic education. It is very difficult for them to improve their lives and those of their family when they grow up. Once you do not have an education you also lack ambition sometimes. The reverse is with good education you know you can achieve so much more. Basic education for me is not just when a child can read, write, do the math, learn about science, history, geography, etc, but also when a child can solve problems logically, use their brain creatively. The child has to be able to think out of the box, their thoughts should not be limited to certain textbooks only.
My background is in software engineering. I think my experience in software and current technology would benefit students greatly. I would be able to not only teach the course but also give a fresh perspective to the students. Just like in the software industry where you have to constantly be updated to the new technologies. I believe that the education industry has to constantly try to improve ( which Teach For India is already doing). One way is to embrace more technologies and have a better understanding of it to prepare the students for the future world.
My goal during the 2-year fellowship is to learn how to teach better and then to implement it and try to improve the education of children. After the 2 years, I intend to keep educating in some form and find other ways to contribute like using my software knowledge.
PS: I did not go through with the application eventually, tabling the idea for now.