“The Mango Tree That Taught Me Growth” Shared by: Aruna Deshmukh, Village School Teacher (India) Category: #Growth They say every teacher has a story buried deep like an old wound—mine is rooted under a mango tree. Behind our small government school in Satara, there stands a mango tree that looks like it’s been there forever. Twisted trunk, cracked bark, and arms that reach skyward as if still praying for rain. When I joined the school fifteen years ago as an assistant teacher, I used to sit beneath it during my lunch break, hoping the wind would carry away the chaos of classrooms and the weight of unsaid things from home. It was also the place where I first met Sneha. She was just 7. Quiet. Eyes like old tea—dark, still, and deep. She never spoke much, but she always drew. Her notebooks were filled with little sketches—trees, faces, sometimes monsters. Other teachers used to complain about her, saying she was “slow” or “a daydreamer.” I didn’t think much of it until one day, I saw her...