September 5.
It’s that day of the year
again... when I most acutely miss being a teacher, miss spending a largish chunk
of my day surrounded by kids of all shapes, sizes and temperaments.
They can be absobloominlutely maddening
at times. You enter the class, with 95% of your mind on how to teach them that
tough Algebra concept, and 5% still worrying
about that clogged drain you left back at home - to a welcome of 40 kids going chikipikichikipikichikipikichikipikichikipiki..MA’AMLOOKWHATHEISDOING..chikipikichikipiki...ma’ampranavisbeatingme...MA’AAAAAaaaam... kaboooom...THUDDDDDD!!!
And a great source of inadvertent
humour at other times. How can I forget that notebook from one of my students,
with a cancelled out problem, and a note written alongside in a neat little
hand - “Q5 done on backside.” Well, for a moment, just for a moment, I did contemplate retorting with, “Err.. whose? And how the hell
do you expect me to check it?” on his notebook... but then, better sense
prevailed.
But on the whole, life is SO much
more fun with them than without... One gets really attached to them, too. I
think I howled more than the kids did when I left my first school, The Naval
Public School at Chanakyapuri, New Delhi. And among all the touching, adoring
messages of, “We love you ma’am”, “Please come back soon” and “We’ll miss you
tons” - there was this strange epistle from a sixth grader - “Ek glass mein
whisky, ek glass mein beer, oh my dear, happy new year!” :D
It’s no point trying to figure that
one out – because there is nothing to be figured out. A child says whatever she
or he is impressed with, to impress the teacher. And that honesty, that
naivety, that unquestioning belief and affection, is what is so
endearing about them.
It’s nearly 12 years since I
stopped teaching. And now, when I don’t have my students around, I realise what
I am missing. Being with them, around them, made me feel alive, young, fresh...
their vivacity is contagious. I miss so much from my teaching days – the animated
discussions in class, the adulation, the hand drawn cards on Diwali, New Year
and Teacher’s Day... yes, I even miss the constant chikipikichikipikichikipiki
chatter!
So this Teacher’s Day, I am going
to turn things on their head, and make it a thanksgiving for all those I have
taught over the years. Toh hey, all you kids (now grown up dudes and gals) out
there - you really mean a lot to me and have given me trainloads of happiness.
Thank you, and bless you all...
