Monday, November 11, 2013

An aspiring Teacher, I am.


I had this strange dream recently where I was seated in a tightly packed lecture hall, when a fat bearded man with clear signs of baldness got upon the podium. His arrival was accompanied with applause, even from the dignitaries in the front row. He was dressed in a turtleneck, Harris Tweed jacket, khakis, and collegiate cordovan loafers like Dan Brown. He had a scarf around his neck additionally.

Silence spread as he stretched his hands like Christ the Redeemer statue. He started speaking in a voice that echoed from the walls of that large room.

“We are going on a journey together, you and I."

"Today"! (in a soft whisper)

“All you eager young minds on the very cusp of adulthood (laughing), I shall be your consort, your guide, your chaperone into the heart of modern communication. Welcome to Digital media 1.01. “

I woke up at the sound of the alarm clock and came back to the normal world. I do not wish to interpret the dream, but the recollection of this delusion of mine has prompted me to write this.

There are a lot of popular jokes about attending lectures just for the sake for attendance, powerful sarcasm to the classes that can put you to sleep. There are teachers who seem to sing a lullaby that can send you to a state of deep slumber, letting you dream of the lions of Africa or rather think of being in any hell other than the class room. Like the famous lines “Better dwell in the midst of alarms, than reign in this horrible place.”(William Cowper)

We all know that this is not true. Teaching is the best profession in the world. In ancient India, the teaching class were the priests who were on the top of the organised society, powerful enough to influence the decisions of the Kings. They believed that the Mother who is regarded as the living goddess shows you who your father is; the Father will then take you to a Guru or a teacher, who shows you who the God is. This is the divinity associated with the teaching job.

They are the ones who literally command; “let there be light”, showing us the truth that sets us free. They point us towards knowledge, the real God. They are probably our first heroes who do incredible things that make us a fan, like Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter who utters the “lumos” spell to illuminate everything.

As an aspiring teacher myself, I was always fascinated by their ways. The best of them ruled the podium in the classrooms and huge lecture classes with their voices echoing in my mind. Like great artists performing on a stage, captivating the listeners with their awesomeness. They are true storytellers who poured ideas and inspiration into my empty mind.

In the Primary school, teachers play the role of a protective guardian who picks you up and dust you when you fall down, wiping your tears with the end of the Sari, telling you that there is no shame in tears, but never shed them for the silliest of things. They become our icons in high school and friends in the college. Obviously there are exceptions, there are teachers who could make your life a living hell, but now when I look at it from a safe distance, far away from the reach of an educational institution, I realize that I have only gained from what I have got from my teachers.

1 comment:

Meera Menon said...

True..a profession that fetch u minds along with hearts...