This video struck a cord. The role of a teacher….so important and so powerful. Knowingly or unknowingly they impact the psyche and morale of scores of students that come their way.
Like most others, I too had my share of teachers who helped me thrive and those who caused more harm than good. In school across two countries, in college and even on the job. There have been teachers who have encouraged me to be the best version of myself and those for whom I was just another roll number to be silenced and cooped up on a hard classroom bench all day long.
As a child I went from loving school to hating it. From being a student of the GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) program to someone who made up excuses so I wouldn’t have to go to school and had psychosomatic disorders because my experience in school.
I was 10 when I joined school in Bombay. The early 90s – there were problems at home and I was trying to adapt to a new country, a new culture and new languages. I thought I was doing good at learning Hindi and Marathi till our Hindi sir flung my Hindi grammar notebook because I mixed up genders (stree-ling and pu-ling) for some words. It went sailing across the 4th grade classroom and with it my confidence too.
There was the 5th grade Marathi grade teacher who slapped me across the face for talking in class. A rare moment where I had the courage to do so. Otherwise, I mostly became someone who chose to blend in and go unnoticed. It wasn’t hard in a class of a hundred students where teachers found it tough to even remember all the names.
Honestly I don’t really blame them. That was their own conditioning and they did what they had to in order to survive. The sheer numbers, the lack of facilities and the pressure must have been daunting for them too.
That’s why it is so crucial that things change for our children. I know corporal punishment is not considered acceptable nowadays (thank goodness for that), but there are also many other ways teachers can lift up or weigh down a child. A kind word, a brief smile and recognising a spark can go a long, long way.
Isn’t it is our duty then, to appreciate good teachers. To pay them handsomely so that teaching is not a burden but a passion they choose to follow.
When picking a school for Adhyant and Nirbhay, I chose to visit many. We ended up opting for a school that gave us good vibes, where we felt that they would be cared for and where everyone would know their names.
Academics, curriculum, assessments, placements – too many schools and too many teachers are judged by these standards. What really matters is how secure they make our children feel, how their attitudes towards our children can boost their blossoming personalities.
In the midst of a pandemic, many are cribbing about paying teachers full salaries while we parents have had to take on parts of their workloads at home. But how are the teachers or schools to blame for this?
Let me ask you all something -would you or I encourage our children to become teachers with the kind of pay scales that exist for them?
We expect so much from our teachers (and rightly so) but we need to be prepared to give back equally. Let that thought rest with you and till then do share with me – the good and bad experiences you’ve had with your teachers and the impact they’ve had on your life.
Let that thought rest with you and till then do share with me – the good and bad experiences you’ve had with your teachers and the impact they’ve had on your life.