Time we reposed trust in our teachers

The teacher-student relation has taken a turn for the worse of late. Newspaper headlines of students attacking their teachers are an indicator of the sad state of affairs. Healthy relations between students and teachers build trust and improve performance. It’s a lifelong relation but nowadays a trust deficit has crept in. Being a teacher, I often ponder on where we have failed our students.

Walking down memory lane, I recall how my teachers loved and reprimanded us at the same time. Hardly a day would pass when we were not caned and then encouraged on one or the other account. Sometimes, we were sent to fetch the stick with which we were to be caned but we never objected and obeyed the orders silently. There was no concession for this servile service.

The teacher was respected by both pupils and their parents. It was their concern for their protégés that made the pedagogues unrelenting and unforgiving.

I can never forget my teacher of Class 8. I was his favourite and would go to fetch his tiffin for him daily. One day, I bunked his class thinking that I would be let off lightly. But the next day, to my shock, I was caned as severely as the others who skipped the class. I was sore and decided not to bring his lunch in future. But when recess approached, I could not help it and went to fetch his tiffin as usual.

The teacher was touched. He blessed me, “Son, you will do well in life.” He said since he didn’t want me to repeat the mistake, he did not let me go unpunished.

In those days, teachers were committed. The things they taught are imprinted in our hearts and minds. I have not forgotten the spellings of the words learnt in Class 8. The teacher used to write the words on the blackboard and would ask us to turn our back and spell the word randomly asked by him. Every day, he would devise a new way to give us a test in grammar or translation or composition. He instilled in me an interest in English that has earned me my bread and butter till date.

But if old is gold, the new is platinum. Today’s teachers are more talented, qualified and research-oriented. They are far better equipped with training, techniques and technology. They are no less diligent and devoted to the art of teaching than their predecessors.

Teaching, as French-American historian Jacques Barzun put it, is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition. The real tribute to our teachers and the teaching profession would be in strengthening and streamlining this age-old tradition. It’s high time parents and pupils in particular, the public in general and the nation as a whole reposed and reaffirmed their trust in the intelligence, integrity and intentions of educators.

TEACHING, AS FRENCHAMERICAN HISTORIAN JACQUES BARZUN PUT IT, IS NOT A LOST ART, BUT THE REGARD FOR IT IS A LOST TRADITION