A professor’s tribute to her teachers
As Teacher’s Day draws near, the student in us comes alive and thinks about a thousand ways to remember the invaluable contribution made by teachers in our lives. As Samuel Johnson put it, “He who teaches us anything which we knew not before is undoubtedly to be revered as a master.”
I feel blessed to be associated with a select group of people who stay close to youngsters and get an opportunity to groom them into responsible adults. The group is better known as teachers. Parents give us life and teachers inculcate in us the art of living well emotionally, intellectually, socially and psychologically. In my case, I was twice blessed because my mother was a teacher and my father a professor.
I have fond memories of my high school mathematics teacher. She didn’t spare any student when she jotted calculus or trigonometry problems on the blackboard. Every pupil had to remain alert as she could ask anyone the next step in the equation. That was the only class in which we were not afraid of our peers making fun of us. As a result, all girls in the class scored high in the subject. Till today, I endeavour to inculcate in my students, her precision and patience, dedication and discipline.
The curriculum we followed was just raw material of knowledge, but it was our teachers who converted this knowledge into skill, and curiosity into inquisitiveness. Our teachers regarded curiosity as a strength and ladder to succeed in life. “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious,” said scientist Albert Einstein.
We learnt many lessons of life in the classroom. Humane discipline by means of value formation was imbibed in us by our geography professor in college. One day, many students had bunked the class but during the roll call the room echoed with ‘present sir’ every time he called out a roll number. After the attendance, a grave look on his face, he said, “Interesting, I have full attendance in my register even though many people are missing or maybe I never knew about the superhuman presences in my class.” And then he broke into a broad smile. My biggest takeaway from this experience was how he held fast to discipline, authority and dignity, while making us realise that he was aware of the prank we had played on him. How embarrassed we were!
Today as an English professor, if I can teach my students with minimum effort and maximum ease, cultivate in them a love for literature while telling them how art and life converge, crystallise moments into memories, rattle off quotes from Shakespeare, and recite the poetry of Wordsworth, it is all thanks to my gifted teachers. Their teachings were not confined to words, but opened up vistas of learning.
Teacher’s Day is a celebration of education in its truest sense. The student is a bank where a teacher can deposit his precious treasure. Teaching is the most rewarding and rejuvenating profession as it lets you watch innocent and hesitant minds blossom. A teacher’s learning is perennial as his students innovate, analyse, experiment and give birth to new ideas.
For my students, all I can say is, “There’s a zing in their lives, that sets my heart soaring, inquisitive, zealous, ardent, May they remain blessed and buoyant.”
TEACHERS CONVERTED OUR KNOWLEDGE INTO SKILL AND CURIOSITY INTO INQUISITIVENESS. THEY REGARDED CURIOSITY AS A STRENGTH AND LADDER TO SUCCEED IN LIFE