I first caught the news headline of the killing of the school teacher on my mobile web at an interminable traffic jam on my way back home. Painful though the news was, I did not think about it again for some time as the traffic started moving.
The news did not strike me even when my mother and my wife both checked with me if I had heard it on the radio while driving back. I was wondering why they were talking about it. Did it happen in my daughter's school? It could not have happened, I thought, as I remembered it was a boys' school. Only when my wife told me that it was MY school where the incident had happened, did the full import hit me.
The fact that this had happened in my school made it all the more difficult to digest. Memories came swimming as I saw the visuals of the school premises in the evening news bulletin — memories of a happy childhood in a school whose portals I had walked out of exactly 25 years ago. It could not have happened in this school, I thought. I could not help wondering that while I had got out of the school, it was very much a part of me. My instincts, values and whatever I stand for today were imbibed in those hallowed halls, classrooms and playfields.
Why did this have to happen? So what if a teacher is strict? Strict teachers too are part of children growing up. In fact, stricter teachers are the ones who offer many an anecdote that we carry to the grave. One had the most fun in school imitating a strict teacher admonishing a friend. Even now when we all meet, we talk only about such moments. Who remembers what happened in class or during lunch hours or PT periods? What we reminisce about when we meet old schoolmates are only these moments — about how Kishore was hauled up by the headmaster, how the PT master caught Sakthi who could not stop giggling during the assembly, how Keith was caught eating in class by our maths master. If you got caught, there were always consequences, but the affected parties were never aggrieved inordinately. The punishment was a badge of honour!
But I guess those days are over. Well-intentioned admonishments and corporal punishment administered at the right time are gone for ever. Today, a teacher is not supposed to pull up a student, let alone punish him. I guess there could be hell to pay if she did that. It is a pity that this teacher paid with her life.
With our society and schools having “evolved,” parents and teachers are supposed to handle kids only with kid gloves. You cannot be too harsh or physically punish. Society will look down on you if you are caught punishing a child. It is as though you have failed in your calling as a teacher or your duty as a parent.
We have to admit it is difficult. A teacher cannot ALWAYS have a kind word. One is not denying that kindness has its merits. But it cannot always be honey-dripping words that the teacher uses. Most errant students have to be dealt with in a matter-of-fact manner. Based on the situation, the teacher must be allowed to choose between positive and negative reinforcements.
My feeling is that the boy at St. Mary's would not have had a problem had he been simply shouted at or punished for whatever was his misdemeanour. He would have sulked for some time or would have worn his punishment happily as a trophy for a while among his peers. Since we as a society have removed the tools of matter-of-fact admonishments and corporal punishment from the poor teacher's hands, she had to record bad behaviour in the boy's school diary for his parents to take note and correct. We don't know the circumstances that prevailed in the boy's home. It may not have been conducive to such negative remarks is all that one can surmise.
Whatever it was, an irreparable loss has happened. Two children have lost their mother forever, the school has lost a good teacher and my school is in the news for all the wrong reasons.
As I close this, I cannot but help recall my School Anthem with a heavy heart. Somehow it sounds apt now.
God bless St.Mary's..
School that we love,
Stand beside her, and guide her
To do the right by the light from above.
In the classrooms, on the playfields,
Along the roadways where we roam,
God bless St. Mary's, our school, our home,
God bless St. Mary's, our school, our home.
May God bless the soul of the poor teacher and give comfort to the family members of both the teacher and the student. May the light from above guide them to face the difficult times ahead with fortitude.
(The writer is an alumnus of St. Mary's and his email ID is hemanth_kumarg@ yahoo.com)
Keywords: Chennai teacher killing, school education
I passed out from St.Mary's in 1983 nearly 30 years ago and settled in the United States for 24 yrs now...i am deeply saddened to read/hear this news...as are a number of batchmates around the world..this is NOT the school we remember...i was under the mistaken impression such things occured only in the US..how sad..
Eventhough it is proved time and again that there is no direct correlation between children's performance at school and their future, why do we pressure cook our children without letting them to blossom at their own pace. Most, if not all, successful people, materially spiritually or otherwise, have never had a remarkable school life. But we still think that it is the only way and raise the bar way beyond for our little ones to joyfully handle. No one is a born criminal. This sad incident should trigger a dramatic change in the way the society handles education. Hemanth, it is high time for you to become a full time writer. You certainly will be read more.
A very poignant article and presuming that you are a young parent an
admirable one. Your love for your school is evident and that would come
only when you remember that you were corrected in that memorable place.
This mishap has unsettled me to a disturbing degree. It does not augur well for a nation like India. It's time we inculcated the right attitude in the young minds,who are to take the nation forward.
This is still unbelievable to me.
We had a good time at school - I was pulled up many a time to the Principals office, had "remarks" written in my calendar and what not!!! This was a part of my life that cannot be changed and i humbly say i am a better person today because of the love and respect shown to me by my teachers. When I think about it now, who cares if they wrote remarks in my calendar, who cares if they beat me or called to the Princi's office - that was a part of my growing up into being a mature adult who learned and keeps learning from mistakes of the past. I will always be grateful to God for the Teaching profession as a whole - they have a thankless job and its sad that they have to face the consequence of what is becoming an insensitive, immoral and GOD-less society.
R.I.P dear Miss, I'm sure your family and students will miss you. God grant rest to your soul.
The mistake lies in the modern notion that teacher is just an employee.There are reasons for this notion.... on one side the teacher is not dedicated, he/she works only for money and on the other side, the parents and students take the teacher as one employed by them through the school for making the students fit to pass and to gain a job. That is why any harsh treatment or corporal punishment is considered inadmissible.When the teacher or for that matter the father or mother or the head of an office has no 'authority'and no 'power' to control and direct, there will be disorder in the school, in the house , in the office. A thorough change without imitating the West is the dire need.
Hemanth, You have summarised well for all of us old boys of the great school. I belong to class of '78. i.e. 33 yrs ago I left the school.
very well said, hemanth! am yet to get out of this numbing tragedy!
Sentiments for the school can be well understood and we all can relate to. We parents always want to make only proud statements about our children. A simple question on 'how your child is doing in studies' can become very frustrating to the parent, if the child is not among the first few in the class. We might have been in the middle order or even last ones in school, but we always want to SAY that our children are the firsts kind. If we are honest, we will admit that this expectation does show up in our behaviour to our children. In all, we as a Society, are responsible for such incidents. Time for introspection. If corrective action needs to be taken, it is to be taken by us as parents.
It is with deep anguish and sorrow to read that my school is in the news for the wrong reasons.... Hemant's article reflects our thoughts.... A proud old school tarnished by a teacher's murder.... May her soul Rest in Peace.
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