I still remember vividly, during my childhood - I just had two simple endeavors. Either to be what my parents wanted me to be – a doctor. Or to be what thought I will be in love with - a teacher. Today I am neither of these.
The reason for not going on the path to medicine had its own reason. And the aim to be a teacher was done away, I don’t know why. A derelict plan it remains.
During my years as a sprat, I loved the idea of reading out aloud in a class full of dolls, writing on the chalkboard, signing the li’l notes, caning for fighting…and what not! I sorely miss those days, when I dreamt of moving ahead and taking classes for children, and not elfin dolls and teddies.
As I came to pass high school, I remember one of my friends telling me, “I am never ever even going to think about being a teacher.” Upon being asked why, came the rapid reply “Bohot gaalian khane ko milti hai!!” (You get to face a lot of abuse from the children, maybe not face to face, but yes definitely behind your back).
If it could be true six years back, the conditions have only become worse now. The appalling act by a 9th grade student in Chennai stabbing his teacher to death comes as shock to the entire nation.
We look forward to someone to put the blame on – the student, the rich parents of his, the school or the teacher who did nothing but performed her duty.
And true to the fact, now the takers for such a lowly paid and impudent (Yes, very much) job will definitely abate.
The perks associated with this job aren’t vey great, neither is the pay! But most of the people who opt for it do it because of their proclivity towards children. It isn’t a small task to do such a job, and especially if the teacher is dedicated in his/her efforts, their efforts go unacknowledged. It isn’t no sweat to look after 25-30 students in a class, teach them, make sure they have understood, to be strict when needed, correct their mistakes, and in the end to bear the brunt of the children as well as the parents.
Unlike other professions, teaching invariably requires oodles of patience, and there is no selfishness attached. Or at least there is some selflessness attached. Like parenting, teachers also play a major role in moulding a child’s future.
There are plenty of things my teachers have taught in life. Not all the teachers have had the same impact, but all have had some and some have had verily a much bigger impact.
Where I stand today, it is just not because of the school I went to, or the way my parents have brought me up, but also because of what I have learnt from my teachers back at school. I’m not talking about Math equations, or chemical equations or Physics laws. Even the university professors fail to gain a footing over what school teachers teach you. Every teacher is human, and does instill values in a child.
The ghastly murder of a teacher who took her job as her passion, has taken away all faith in people who think about opting for teaching as a profession. It has become a job which barely has any respect attached with it these days, and PTMs being the days when the teacher has to face the ire of parents for “not explaining notes clearly, or being fast, or being strict…”
I just have one question. Where is gratitude in this era??
Long gone are the days when a Guru was hallowed. Gone are the days when a teacher or a Guru was considered on an equal footing as parents. No matter how strict a teacher used to be, there was no rancor in the student’s heart. On being scolded in front of a class, feeling bad was normal, nowadays it has been adumbrated by the feeling of humiliation. How many students to be specific – middle school students have committed suicide in the past one year itself?
What is to be ashamed of if your teacher scolds you? Childhood blossoms with innocence, ego breeds only with age. But the scene today is dismal. They grow up as brats pampered by their parents and with their whims and fancies catered to. How can brats who hail from families who have only pampered them, grow up to be individuals in such a world? They need sagacity to live life up and it is a requisite to use their gumption to survive. Affluent grooming and an ostentatious lifestyle may just make you comfortable in your tiny little gory hole. But life doesn’t pass that way; it has always been and will always be a rat race. And only the fittest survive.
Fitness comes not only from physical strength. Mental strength is equally important to garner verve to live life. And proper grooming of one as a child gives that! Parents are the ideal choices for their children; they have to prove to be the best role models ever. Proper upbringing of children plays a vital role of how a child behaves when (s)he is not under her/his parents’ nose.
Parentship is no cakewalk either, but a balance between love and pampering had to be maintained. Loving a child, and never saying a NO to his/ her fancies does not really do much good to his/her growth. It only hampers it in a way and is perilous for the society too. History stands proof
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