Two years ago while visiting family in India, we made a trip to New Delhi and Agra to see the historical buildings & learn more about them. While in Delhi, i went to my school. It was a pleasant feeling to step into the learning center after 22 -23 years. I remembered most of the structure, the playground where an eagle once swooped down & made away with my lunch, the cafeteria & classrooms. Then i met my teacher. She was my class teacher as well as a science teacher in my 8th grade. I excused myself & requested her to step out of the classroom. She hadn't changed at all in all these years but i had aged. I asked her if she remembered me? She smiled & said " of course i know you. Your hairstyle may have changed from wearing two plaits to a ponytail but i know who you are". Then she went on to tell me about all my batch mates & their locations & said i was missed at the reunion. As i marveled at her memory, my son asked her if i was a good student? She remembered the times she had to punish me by sending me out of the class or making me stand on the seat for either not paying attention or not doing the homework but then she also remembered me as her student. She told my son, "she was a good girl". I left the school, happy at the thought that my teacher remembered me. We went to a school where the strength of the class was anywhere from 40 to 55 for one teacher. Only the teacher knows how they survived year after year, coming back every working day, teaching a varied bunch of kids.
When my son started school in Singapore, after the first day which was pretty emotional for both of us with tears and hugs. The teaching assistant had come and gently taken him away from my arms. She kept him in her lap until he was ready to explore. Her patience with a bunch of wailing & complaining kids was amazing. He sulked the second day but had no tears. The 3rd day he got ready on his own. The 4th day he peeked into the auditorium & saw the reassuring face of his teacher and waved me off. He liked his teacher & school so much that he insisted on going to school even on weekends. He is now 10 & is still happy to go to school but the weekends are spared. A teacher is always right & he will be ready to pick a fight or argue with me if it is the teacher's word against mine.
In my middle school in Mumbai, i was a class monitor but also played pranks on the teachers. One day we dusted the chair with white chalk powder. We knew our English teacher would like to occupy the seat while teaching. She had the habit of seating herself without looking at the chair. That day, the seat left a mark on her seat. She was very upset with us but after reprimanding us, she was back the next day, ready to teach as if nothing had happened. I think i would be seething for a long time if it was me but she was the teacher & she knew we had plenty to learn. There were many instances where we would scream a nickname for a teacher behind their back. They all knew who was screaming and yet they came back day after day, year after year to teach us all. Most of us turned out good. We even had a reunion and felicitation for our teachers where they remembered all our mischief and misdeeds but also recognized our accomplishments.
Every morning i walk my son to school and stop and say hello to some teachers. Each morning they greet the kids and parents with a cheer. Their energy is addictive. Its pleasing to see some kids from older grades stop by the younger grades just to give a hug to the teachers. Their hug says it all. At times the kids may get mad with their teachers but doesn't last long. In the end teachers are like parents, they mean well.
Last week, i was out supporting our teachers and schools at the county commissioners budget hearing. We were all asking for the teachers to be paid better and that teaching assistants dont lose their jobs.
I fail to understand why do teachers have the uphill task all the time. They also need to eat and feed their families just like any others. A little treat now & an outing later on their time is not much to ask but for the teachers its still a tall order. Some of them live paycheck to paycheck while others wait for the next check.
Even if one argues that some of the big businessmen or entrepreneurs to be dropouts, they still attended kindergarten & elementary & maybe middle and little of high school too. Without the teachers teaching us the basics like abc's and 123's there wouldn't have been phones & electricity, trains & airplanes.
Some of my friends are teachers and i know they do what they do not for the money but for the joy.They were proud of us & we were proud of our teachers.
But for the way of the world, we need money for everything. The teachers need it too. They are not asking much but from what's going on even the little is shown as much. It's sad that some teachers work two jobs to feed their families. Sometimes when i bite into a slice of pizza, i am forced to wonder, if the teachers have the money for their next meal?
This is a problem everywhere. Be it in India or be it the US. The foundation is being rocked time and again. They have withheld until now but when the breaking happens, the repairing may not.
Teaching is a noble profession. Give the teachers the respect they deserve. They shouldn't be thinking of another option!!
Imagine a world without teachers...??
