“A great teacher is like a spark that
ignites the raging fire of passion and inspiration in a student’s mind”
Today, 5th of September is a
Teacher’s Day in India. It is a day that we dedicate to pay much underpaid
gratitude to our teachers. For each one of us a teacher has a different role in their lives, but I’m sure each one of us has come across a teacher that has
changed our lives. A teacher is like the first ray of sunlight on a cold foggy
morning that engulfs you in their arms full of warmth and makes you comfortable with
the new subject and then gradually increasing its warmth to give you the nudge to get
up and achieve the fiery success. As much as it is a vital role of a teacher
to teach the students academics, it is more important for them to inspire the student.
Even if a teacher is entrusted with a class full of 40-50 students, it is the ability
of the teacher to recognize the untapped potential and the seed that is there
in the student’s brain and to nurture it to help it blossom. It is the same
class of 40 students which will produce a Winston Churchill as well as a
Picasso. A great teacher will never tell you what to do, will never tell you
what is right or wrong or will never tell you do this or that. A great teacher
will just create and ignite a few questions in your mind and help you find your
own answers and your own footing.
As a famous poet Robert Frost has aptly
written,
“There are two kinds of teachers: the kind
that fills you with so much quail shot that you can’t move, and the kind that
just gives you a little prod behind and you jump to the skies”
In today’s day and age imparting knowledge although
important is not the only aim to be achieved any more. Finding information
about any damn thing in the world has become just a click away. Does that mean
the role of teachers has diminished in our lives? Well, actually no. It has
become even more important, to help you filter, to help you listen to your
heart amidst so much of chaos and humdrum. A teacher is that whisper in your
ear saying “Follow your footing” when there is so much blaring noise about
everything outside. A teacher is that reassuring hand on your shoulder saying,
“I know you can do it” when you are over-burdened by the expectations of your
society. A teacher is that third person who is not your blood-family and is technically
not biased by any outside factors but has a one to one association with you,
and will never judge you.
I have been lucky to be blessed with having all my teachers, including my parents to have encouraged and inspired me beyond
limits. I have immense respect and reverence for all my teachers and especially
for this particular teacher in my life. This teacher gave me a hand when I
needed it the most. “Do this or do that” was never his style, instead would
just spark a question saying “What do you think you should do?” and make sense
out of everything. This teacher gave me wings to fly, freedom to think out of
the box. Never dismissed my ideas but rather spent time reasoning them with me,
gave me freedom to fall and stretched an arm to pick me up from the puddle of
my mistakes. He never told me read this or that, but posed some questions that
I could never answer by just googling them or without having to put effort in
them. A teacher with whom I could share my concerns and doubts, a teacher who
gave me opportunities to shine and make the most out of my career, knew the
perfect balance of pushing beyond the limits and pulling the reigns when
necessary. He is someone who would never allow self-loathing and would keep me
grounded all the times. While going out there in the real world when I faced
with self-doubt, it was this teacher who said, “I am there”. No fancy words, no
pretense but just a general expression of reassurance, which was just enough to
lift my spirits up.
But it does not end there, does it? In our
Indian mythology we have heard stories of great Gurus and their students. The story
of how the Gurus would ask for ‘Guru-Dakshina’ (something in return for the
knowledge imparted to their students). There are two debts, one that every
generation owes to the preceding one and the other that they pay back to the next
generation. The debt that we owe to our parents and teachers, the only way that
we can pay these debts back is not by turning to them at some point and saying
“We are even” (we can never be even, not in a lifetime) but by doing for our
children and students what our parents did for us. And thus to To Carry The Legacy Forward…
