When I was in school, all of us looked forward to this exciting day. To us, the teacher was the world. We waited for this day eagerly, making little cards with mushy messages expressing our undying gratitude and small handmade gifts and flowers. Our school gave the teachers a holiday from teaching. We became teachers for a day, taking our roles most seriously! We wore saris which we could barely manage and addressed the class with the class teacher becoming a student for the day. We enjoyed it to the hilt and the juniors whom we taught, tried their best to hassle us while we took class. The teachers too enjoyed the swapping of roles and played along. Later we would put up a small entertainment programme for which we had rehearsed in our spare time, far from their watchful eyes. With that the momentous day would come to an end and we would bask in the glory of compliments we got for organizing it.
Our teachers loved to teach. They did not look at the job as a meal ticket with vacations thrown in. They prepared well for each lesson, sharing their knowledge with a passion that fired our imagination and they patiently answered all our questions. We were very fond of all the subjects taught so thoroughly. Nobody hated maths or thought history was a bore. The credit goes to out teachers for making even the most mundane chapters exciting and interesting. They were our confidantes, our counselors and psychologists all rolled in one! We could take our troubles to them, assured of an amicable solution. We hated missing a single day of school. Only the very weak students needed to take tuition. The scene now, however, is just the reverse, unfortunately. Most children love holidays more. The teacher is a harassed soul who has to manage a boisterous crowd of sixty or more children after a lot of work at home. Is it any wonder that she is short of patience, criticizing everything a student does and running through the lessons with no enthusiasm whatsoever? How then, can one expect the student to evince interest in the subjects? The subject matter is put across tediously and the student, for fear of a sarcastic rebuke, does not voice her doubts. The subject matter seems difficult to comprehend and the student begins to dislike the subject itself. Low grades in the same prompt the ever-anxious parents to put the child for special tuition under the same teacher, most times! The student feels further oppressed as instead of playing after school, she has to suffer some more hours of the same drudgery. Learning things by rote without understanding the concept, makes for a very average student. The student continues with the same lack of enthusiasm through life. The parents are busy earning a living, teachers are not interested enough. With no personal guidance and nobody to confide in, children fall into bad company easily and become delinquents who are a menace to society. Thus, outside the home, it is the teacher who moulds the character and guides the young impressionable minds.
As students, we were afraid of disappointing our teachers and therefore tried to do nothing that would lower us in their eyes. When I look at the newspapers each day, reading about delinquents raping, murdering, looting with impunity, I am shocked. A stitch in time saves nine, it is said. If these young men had been counselled at the beginning, showered with love and taught to respect other members of society, things would not have reached such a sorry state. A good school, good teachers and a friendly shoulder during troubled times, can make for a better and safe nation. It is time that teachers realized the crucial role they play in shaping the young minds that are entrusted to them. The government should pay them well so that they can give of their best without worrying about how to augment their salaries. Happy teachers make for happy students which in turn makes a happy nation. On this momentous day, let us strengthen the hands of the teacher who will shape the character of the nation.
