A Teacher Is

September 4, 2013 by Usha Pisharody 16 Comments

… what her students make of her

… what she inspires, more than what she does

… just another obstacle on the way to growing up 😀 (more so for the teacher herself 😛 )

 

… unforgettable; errrm… eminently forgettable?

… someone who hounds you, but can never get at you the way your parents can!

… a person you can hound, relentlessly too, provided they’re not of species that porcupines are part of, and have blunt quills to let fly 😛

… awe-inspiring on a day she is inspired too; or sometimes on a day she completely loses it, and lets loose a barrage of words you can only admire open-mouthed because you simply cannot comprehend anything other than the fact that she is MAD. 😆

… surprisingly nice, when you’d always thought otherwise; when she drops that mask, and smiles at you 🙂

… is an all-knowing deity, sometimes, especially when you’re in Class 1 🙂 ; or just another dumb blonde who did not ‘get’ that question you asked, about Stephen Hawking and his query on ….? 😀 

… someone you don’t want your parents to know, too well, anyway 😀 ; the further they keep from each other, the better all around 😀

… a budding-romance-killer 😀

… heck! a terrorist, a kind you simply cannot arrest or even complain about, to the ATS. Sigh.

… criminally more language proficient, or criminally less. Either way, it’s a no-win situation for the recipient of the language skills session 😛

… a lot, a little, more than what is, and sometimes way lesser than what one thought…

But, a teacher is …

… nothing much finally, unless she thinks so 🙂

*****

These are probably some thoughts that periodically go through the minds of the learner group, and sometimes teachers themselves. It’s funny, but rather real too, some of them; and having been part of the teaching – learning activities from both sides of the proverbial teachers’ table, I can well attest to the sentiment, or lack thereof expressed 😀 A slice of life in school, if you wish 🙂

But, on a serious note, back to that first line. This is something I have always deeply believed in. Many a time (ahem! indeed, it has been so 😀 ), when we’ve had interactions with parents, they speak of how highly the kids speak of us at home; it’s one thing to take it at face value, but another to believe fully. Each time I have been told this, I always say, and mean it too, that if there is something to be appreciated, it has to be because of the kind of learner group, or the learner himself/herself, that made it so. Appreciation is a two-way street; it has to be, for it to work it’s magic! And I can personally testify to that. I’ve learnt, and still am learning each day. Sometimes, it’s the only way to ‘teach’.

Interestingly a quote that I made a cover picture on FB went like this:

“Any teacher that can be replaced by a machine, should be.”

Arthur C. Clark

And so it is. In this day and age of information explosion, the only reason why teachers are needed, is to help the learner group wade through life; and that can come only from a dedicated and committed group. Much is being touted about ‘value-education’, and HOTS (HIgher Order Thinking Skills); why only teachers? Anyone and everyone that the learner group interacts with, at home, in the community, each person is just as responsible for the development of these, don’t you think? Of course, the argument being that the majority of the child’s waking hours being spent in ‘school’, it is then quite unequivocally on the teacher to ensure it, is, I find, a poor excuse to avoid accountability. This argument, I know, will, like that Ravalgon advertisement, of yore, continue … 🙂 And then again, the same ‘teachers’ ‘ value system, is it infallible? Or are they equipped with the skill set to infuse the HOTS, in their learner group?

Just a couple of days ago, a former student, Srikanth, who has just finished his Engineering had come to school, and he expressed a great desire to be part of the teaching process; interestingly he mentioned that it would not be immediately, but only after he had some experience in the field, for only then could he be able to relate the content of what he would teach, to the  environment to which his learner group would exit to, Now that is one teacher whose class I would like to be part of, absolutely 🙂 🙂

There are teachers who give of themselves generously, and those who demand. The Mahabharata exemplifies one such teacher – Dronacharya, who demanded of Ekalavya his thumb. A more un-guru like action could not ever be there, even now. Such teachers still abound, and where the proverbial thumb is not demanded, sheer bias and partiality work their poison. Sad, but true. And fewer still are the Ekalavyas of today – who would rather shrivel up and cease to exist, or maybe take the deviant path of letting all hell break loose. The devotion of the Ekalavya of yore is debatable, in its result; a teacher has no business being partial, even though it is purely human that some form of it does influence her. However, there is still to be maintained a stern and unwavering faith in one’s own ability to do the right, by each and every person who passes through one’s time, whether in the Classroom or out of it.

Finally, this here is a  tribute to all the wonderful teachers I have had, and have had the good fortune to know, and work alongside 🙂 🙂 To some of the most awesome parents too, mine, to start with: Here’s to you all!

Google Image search threw up some wonderful quotes and pictures for ‘teacher’; and I’ve used some of them on this blog, for they say so much better than me, what I want to 🙂 All the pictures here belong to the owners of those creations; I’ve merely aired them here too 🙂

Today, I remember, with poignancy, and with a hint of mischief as well, 5 September, last year, when we had a meeting with some members of the Management, and our interaction with the legendary Dr. T. I. Radhakrishnan (link), who is no more with us. Yet another Dr. Radhakrishnan Sivan (fellow teacher at a sister school) and I were the recipients (lol, no award this! 😛 ) of questions, put by Dr. T. I. (I’ve recounted that incident on the blog dedicated to him); and how I googled the answer on my mobile 😀

Happy Birthday Dr. S. Radhakrishnan!

Happy Teachers’ Day, to the fraternity, the sorority, and to mentors, everywhere 🙂

May more such teachers continue to be sources of inspiration for us!

 

 

4 September, 2013, for 5 September, 2013

Related posts 🙂

Teachers’ Day 2012

Teachers’ Day 2011 

Teachers’ Day 2010