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An open letter to fellow teachers
Dear friends,
It is more brickbats than bouquets that come our way — yet we strive to do the best we can. Perhaps we should congratulate each other on doing our job with pride, dedication, sincerity and professionalism.
Every Teacher's Day, the spotlight is on us. However, the glare should not blind us, nor the applause please us. It is actually a day for introspection, a time for reflection, a day for new resolutions and promises for the coming year. As a teacher, this day has always been significant for me — personally and professionally.
Mr. Srinivasan was the grandfather of one of my students. One Teacher's Day many years ago, he sent me a single rose along with a letter. The rose withered, but the letter did not. He wrote:
Dear Madam,
My sincere greetings to you on this happy day! Please accept this flower as a token of my appreciation for all that you have done for my grandson. Hope you will read the rest of my letter and if it inspires you, please spread the message in it to all who care to listen.
I come from a family of teachers, and the day I graduated from a teacher's training college, my grandfather took me aside and gave the following advice, which he jokingly called "The Ten Commandments for a teacher"'.
"Cheenu, the greatest tribute a student can pay his teacher is by remembering him all his life. If you want to be remembered by your students for the right reasons, follow my advice.
Those who dare to teach must learn — and never cease to learn. At the end of each day, ask yourself not what you have taught, but what you have learnt.
Bring the world into your classroom; do not make the textbook and classroom your world.
Change with the times. Remember you will age year after year, but your children will never, for they will always be 12 or 13 or 15-year olds!
Be different. Set your own standards, methods and approach to teaching.
Set the bar higher for yourself and for your children. Never settle for mediocrity — demand the best of yourself and your students.
Take your work seriously, but never yourself and develop a sense of humour.
Never fail to smile and greet your children when you enter your class. Your bad day should not mean a bad day for 50 or more children.
Do not lose your temper or scold the children unnecessarily.
Children are like flowers, precious and beautiful — never hurt them with your thoughtless words or deeds.
Understand that each child is unique and gifted in his own way. Try not to criticise or condemn as failures those who do not "get good marks" in your little tests.
But the most important thing to remember is that you have to instil honesty and truthfulness in your students — for what is education without character?
I hope, Madam, you find it as inspiring as I found it many decades ago.
Sincerely yours,
Srinivasan
I hope you will find it as inspiring as I did.
KALA SAMBASIVAN
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