A teacher speaks her mind
I was born in a family of three daughters to parents who were not
conversant in English. I was admitted to an Anglo-Indian School in Chennai in
the middle level. The school had a lovely campus with a beautiful church
inside. I did feel lost for some time, but I quickly fell into the groove
mainly because of my classteacher who was so supportive and encouraging. School
taught me to not only admire the beautiful creations of God but also honour the
values and sentiments of our family members, peers and our TEACHERS.
As I grew stronger and proved my
academic excellence, days became more memorable in school. The right mélange of
play and work, the true blend of the teachers’ love and severity, the
Principal’s integrity together with the passion for imparting true education —
everything paved the path for us to realise the worth of good education. Today,
I can proudly say that I am a teacher of English and French and curriculum
coordinator of a reputed school in Chennai.
My ardent love for my teachers made me
give up my government posting and, after serving as a teacher for nearly 25
years, I look back. Have I, as a teacher, created another Mahatma Gandhi, a
Mother Teresa or an Abdul Kalam? Why is it not possible for me to mould my
students — nay children — into better human beings of greater values? I then
realised that my children are never my own — I do not really possess him or
her; in other words, I feel that children today cannot surrender themselves to
their teachers as I had submitted myself at the feet of my educators.
I am unable to frame rules for my
children who are with me for the prime part of the day. Teachers are always
expected to be kind. They are questioned by authorities and parents for calling
a student an idiot or lazy goose — words that used to belong to the teaching
faculty. Teachers and school authorities are unable to curtail children from
bringing cellphones or iPods to school.
When I call the father of a child who was
found playing with a pack of cards, he says: “Is it necessary for me to come
here for such a silly issue? You can just throw away those cards and forget
about it. If you talk about my son, I can also tell you so much about your
school.”
I called the young father into my office
and said: “I called you because I do not have the right to use any strict
measures to forbid him from playing with cards in the classroom.” I need to
collaborate with you to educate your child and tell him that you are with me in
bringing in discipline on the school premises.” I also asked him, “If you think
that there is so much to talk about the school, do you think and believe that
this school will do anything good for your child?”
We still believe that teachers are
influential. I still go to school in a starched cotton sari with my hair folded
the way my favourite chemistry teacher came to my class. She was my role model.
We agree that some teachers have made the whole world follow in their footsteps
— I quote Mother Teresa, the teacher-turned mother who made the entire world
work along with her to support the fragile and the poor.
School life teaches a child the happiness
of being together, the worth of friendship, the classroom culture and, above
all, to respect and love human race beyond caste, creed or religion. School is
the only community that can form the basis of secularism and patriotism. School
is the child’s window to this wondrous world. Are we going to guard this
ambience of harmony and protect the bonding of the teacher and her child? Or,
are we going to interfere in her everyday work and allow her to get disgusted
and shun her responsibility. Is it possible for a mother to teach or discipline
a child without scolding or raising her hand? How is it possible for a teacher
to discipline a child even without scolding? Words like lazy, noisy creature —
are also construed as an offence. Is the purpose of a teacher’s time in school
really going to be served or defeated? In recent past, teachers have been
enquired into, suspended, arrested and even killed. With fear enveloping every
act of hers, should a teacher perform her tasks or wait for a set of rules to
be framed by every parent for every individual child?
The whole world has the right to interfere
with children except their teachers. The law overlooks a child who uses the
cane on another child impairing his vision, but penalises the teacher and the
school for leaving the cane on the desk. Can’t we tell the child that he is
forbidden from using or misusing the teacher’s wand? Laws are framed for school
buses for the safety of the children but truck drivers who knock down
schoolchildren are not penalised by any special norms that govern the road
safety of the kids. The law does not worry about educating the parents that it
is their responsibility as well to teach the child right from wrong.
Are we as teachers running into the risk of
being blamed, penalised and humiliated in public for the service we render to
the cause of children? Is there not a single student who can harass a teacher,
cause trauma in the teacher? And when they do so, the teacher should silently
bear all the pain and yet render the best to every child.
Teachers today go
through a lot of trauma with the responsibilities of completing the curricula,
designing lessons, competing with technology and facing the new generation of
poor values and attitudes.
I am amazed that children justify the
damage done by them to school property. They say that they do pay school fees
and hence have the right to damage it.
My appeal is not to
protect teachers who indulge in excesses and wrongdoing. My appeal is for the
cause of children and for the betterment of the next generation. As a teacher,
if children are not made to realise that a set of rules is needed to run their
daily routine, scientists need to design vehicles that could automatically stop
when the vehicle encounters the red signal. We will see more scandals, more
violence and more pain within the family and all around — as we do not catch
them young to own responsibility for their actions.
Courtesy (visited 28.10.12) http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/a-teacher-speaks-her-mind/article4017272.ece
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