I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to type this out.
When I was in the nursery (that would be over two decades ago), as I was learning to write the 26 alphabets of English, my teachers at school found it extremely difficult to make write the letter "B" correctly. For reasons unknown till now, I preferred to "draw" the letter "B" in an inverted manner.
It took an enormous amount of effort from one person to get me to write it in the conventional way. And that person is, for me, my first teacher. She is my mother.
Now, you would ask me why the people who taught me at the nursery weren't teachers to me. Anyone in this world can teach. All you have to do is know something, and then repeat the same to another person who does/doesn't know it.
But, in my personal view, a teacher should be more than what an hour of classroom teaching does. He/she should be able to contribute more than what the syllabus requires you to learn. He/she should have a genuine interest in developing the person they are teaching, they should be dedicated and they should inspire the student through their qualities.
Today, I'm going to look at five people, who I consider to be my teachers. What I learned from them shall be the "5 things" for this week.
Did you know...
1. ...that a teacher would lent you a rupee to express your glee?
Let me just make something clear here. I've never been exceptional at anything. And until a fateful day when I was in tenth, I wasn't told I was exceptional in anything. And the person who said that was my Mathematics teacher back then, Mrs.Mary Alexander.
Even though I had a knack for doing calculation and solving problems, I was never quite capable of omitting out mistakes from it. This led me to never having a perfect score in it, and by the time I reached tenth I was quite sure I would never be able to do that.
Then, in some inconsequential monthly test we had, I scored it. And as if to multiply the jubilant emotions in me, Mary ma'am said this before giving out the marks that day.
"Today, one person has scored full marks. I always believed he could do it, but he had to learn to cut out his mistakes. For this exam he had done that, and if he does the same from now, I'm pretty sure he'll always score like this."
I wrote that here knowing all too well that I might come across as a pompous snob, but my point is something else. Those words of her gave me the strength to believe in myself and my abilities. And needless to say, I was more attentive from there on, both in class as well as exam.
I would also like to mention another teacher here - Remadevi ma'am, who taught me Mathematics from 1st to 5th at KV Palakkad. She was the reason why I never thought of Mathematics as a tiresome subject.
Oh!! And about that one rupee. The one person who wanted me to cut my mistakes in Mathematics more than anyone else was my father. And Mary ma'am was kind enough to lend me a rupee to use the pay phone at school to call my father right then. and tell him of my proud achievement. Yes, I am that naive. :)
Thank you ma'am for doing that.
P.S. In spite of all this, I did make a mistake in my tenth finals. :D
2. ...that a single phrase from a knowledgeable teacher can leave you in awe over his/her prowess?
"Please allow me to introduce my digitorial extremities into your pulverised atom of tobacco box and therefrom extract a pinch of snuff to my nasal concavity."
I confess that this was said by Samuel Johnson, rather than the sir I am going to talk about. But when I went into his class to improve my English, I never expected to be welcomed by such a situation.
The topic of the day was the English Dictionary, and this Mr.Johnson is called the "Father of Dictionary". To give us an example of Mr.Johnson's ken on the English language, Sukumaran Sir used this sentence.
When you think about it, it means nothing more than "Can I have some of that tobacco?"
But the epic-ness of the sentence, coupled with the way he explained to me the various terms, made me fall in love with the language of English. If I am any good at this art of writing, it is because of him, and his library. If not, then it is only because I am a student not worthy of his master. Thank you sir for everything you've taught me.
3. ...that a teacher has the power to inspire you?
You must have seen a lot of the typical underdog Hollywood movies. There's a hero, he's good at something, he gets better at it, then his ego grows, there's a slight downfall, some drama, some "why can't he see what he is doing wrong?" moments. Then someone comes along, kicks him out of his slack, and makes him achieve his potential.
Well, if my life was such a movie, then I would be the hero (obviously), my skill set would be Mathematics, and my coach would be Jayadevan Sir. At a time, when I was soaring high with excellent marks in tenth, I had neglected Mathematics, as I thought I would ace it, no matter what. I found it to be the opposite case by the time I finished eleventh class. And for the first time in my life, I was not comfortable with the subject.
It was at this juncture that I got into Jayadevan Sir's class. He was the one who bought back the knack in me. He was the one to whom I owe the marks I got in Mathematics thereafter - in the twelfth, for the engineering entrance and then in the five semesters for engineering. He was the one who inspired me. He was the one who made me believe in my capabilities again. Thank you sir for that.
4. ...that a teacher can be both intimidating and invigorating at once?
If you have had the opportunity to be in a Physics class taken by Unnikurup Sir, then you would know what I mean. I was confused as to why my father made me join his class in spite of the fact people only had tales of arrogance and meanness to tell about him. But in retrospect, I'm glad that he did put me in the lion's den.
Sir had a distinctive style of teaching, a focused mindset on how things should be done, and a unique way of teaching. The last part means that he just scares you into learning Physics. He guarantees, and I can vouch for the fact, that if you finish the entire course, you'll learn the subject. Thank you sir for that.
5. ...that a teacher can be found anywhere?
This is fact that I stress, both to my friends and myself.
I learnt to control my anger from a close friend, who himself has short temper.
I learnt to walk with my head held high, after an old man on the street advised me to do so.
I learnt to be more selfless, after watching another friend of mine.
In this manner and more, you can learn a lot from those around you. Open your eyes and let in the knowledge flood your senses.
***
Before I end my tributes, I would to make some honorable mentions to a few more I hold close to my heart.
Sreejith sir, who taught me Science in tenth. Simply put, he was someone who knew how to teach, and I'm proud to say I was his student.
Kochrani ma'am, who taught me Sanskrit in tenth. Again, she taught in such a way so as to inspire us to be better at the subject.
Chandrasekhar sir, who taught me Chemistry in twelfth. He had pronunciation issues and some personal trauma at that time. But he showed perseverance in teaching us.
Reeba ma'am, who was my project guide in college. She made us realize that not all strict teachers are indeed strict.
Mini ma'am, who was my staff adviser in college. She kept on supporting us in spite of our internal bickering, and kept believing in us for those four years.
And to my father and my mother, who were heavily instrumental in any trait that I've now.
Thank you all. I know it's coming a day late, but
Happy Teacher's Day!!!
***
That's all for this week.
If you are interested in reading more, I did a piece mid-week, which can be found here.
And I had written about my last exam in Mathematics in another blog, which can be found here.
So, see you next week.
Have a great weekend!!!
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