Guru

It was the 5th of September,2020. I had planned the day before, like every year I will call my teacher Mrs.Kamath and wish her a "Happy Teachers Day." So like it was the norm every year I called up my teacher wished her a happy teacher's day. Enquired about her health. We spoke at length after a long time. After leaving school, I pursued a career in graphic design. I told my teacher how exciting my job is. It was a very challenging profession that I had chosen and if you had to survive here you had to ensure that you were the best. Ma'am was very happy when she heard about my achievements. She started enquiring about Rahul, Seema, and many others who were my batchmates. I told her that some of us were in touch but some were not as we chose different fields after class 10 and went on to make new friends and lost contact with old ones. But I was amazed that Mrs.Kamath could still remember the names of all students from my batch of class 10. Upon being asked she said, "Do your parents forget you?" Then how can I? You finish your class 10 and leave the school and go. But we the teachers remember you. A few months before your exams we start experiencing the anxiety of separation. And then after the exams, you are all gone. Some stay in touch. Some refuse to acknowledge or recognize their teacher. But we go on. I think in this age of technology, staying in touch is not so difficult. Right? She said further and I agreed.

A simple message through a social networking site would mean so much to a person who spends so much of their time with us in our formative years. I then asked Mrs.Kamath as to how her online sessions were going on? In the wake of the pandemic schools across the globe were teaching children online. She said every day was a learning experience for her. She was not so tech-savvy earlier but was now making an attempt to do so. She said over a period of time due to constant practice and help from her sister she could manage all her online classes efficiently. But that was not the case with all the teachers she said. The older teachers who had never ever used computers were experiencing difficulties in taking online classes. Also, Hindi and Kannada teachers were experiencing language barriers but nevertheless everybody was attempting to learn. She then told me how some high school students were making memes on teachers and sharing it on social networking sites, with dirty comments on it.

When I heard about it, I felt bad. Recently when I had attended the online felicitation function for school students, I had the privilege of listening to Mr. Giri Balasubramanium. He said in his speech that, " Your teacher doesn't get Rs.5 extra if you get good marks. Nor does she lose anything if you don't score well, but she definitely feels bad. Realize the worth of your teacher. The least you can do is wish them on teachers' day."

I felt it's so true. Teachers do so much for us. So that we can score well and have a bright future ahead. They only have our well being at heart. There's no teacher who would be jealous of her student's achievements. Then why the students of today don't realize this? If you feel your teacher is struggling to take online classes, help her with it. In a few days, she would have mastered taking online classes. There is absolutely no need to make some memes and put it on social networking sites. I feel its no point in calling the teachers as nation builders for one day in a year. Teenagers who are high on their hormones often end up doing stupid things. They feel if the teacher has said something to them means she's insulted them and tries to get back by doing something really stupid. Please realize Teachers are the nation-builders. They can motivate motivation. Thank you teacher for touching my life in all positive ways. Happy teacher's day.