This post has been published by me on the occasion of the Teachers' Day as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 2; the second edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.
Kal, aaj or kal, I take great pride in my “noble” profession as an educationist.
“Noble?” you ask.
Well, there’s noble and there’s noble.
You can be noble because of excellence of quality or character or mind
And you can be noble by rank.
Noble can mean dignified, elevated, eminent, exalted, generous, illustrious, superior, worthy and excellent.
Noble can also mean aristocratic, high-born, grand, lofty, stately, lordly, masterly..
I can think of several professions that fit the bill of noble on either one parameter or the other.
But kal, aaj or kal, mine is a profession that is all of the above: dignified, worthy, excellent and also grand and stately!
Kal, aaj or kal: Yes, by god, we teachers are noble!
We even have a day in the calendar set aside to celebrate our profession and designated as Teacher’s Day just in case you missed how important we are.
So if you can’t see that halo around my head, at least you’ll see a crown.
When we were in school, there was this song we sang on Teacher’s Day: She’s got the whole world in her hands. And it’s true, isn’t it?
The French have a saying: “cherchez la femme.” I’m going to modify that to “cherchez la teacher.” Examine your selves, your characters, your likes and dislikes, your fears and ambitions, your confidence and insecurities…I promise that if you look closely, behind every one of your perceptions, every one of your ambitions, every success or failure, like or dislike you have, you’ll probably see a teacher’s hand.
I can speak for myself. If I still get nightmares about giant geometry instruments, I know who’s responsible.
If I’m still obsessed with tiny and regular hem-stitches, I know who’s responsible.
If my students have to draw neat margins on both sides of their exam papers, I know who’s responsible.
If I have an aversion to missed apostrophes, I know who’s responsible.
If I can stand up and speak confidently in front of a 1000 people, I know who’s responsible.
If I have grown into a competent, well-rounded human being, I know who’s responsible.
Kal, aaj or kal, can you imagine the power we exert? It’s not an accident that we’re called “masters” and “mistresses.”
We have so much control over so many lives that it’s scary—we have a captive audience every day of our lives. When we speak, you have to listen. We wield the sword of success and failure over your heads. We can reward and punish and banish at whim.
And have you ever tried to tell a child that the way their teacher pronounces a word is wrong? Have you ever tried to get a child to do a sum differently from how their teacher has taught it?
And kal, aaj or kal, if you considered for a minute the kind of work we do for the meager pay we get, you wouldn’t doubt it for a moment!
We teachers are noble!
The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton are Vipul, Rajalakshmi, Dhiman, Ranee[1], [2], [3] , Avada, Indian Pundit, Sojo, Aneet, Pramathesh, Aativas, Sid, Pra, Ajinkya, Lakshmi, Govind, Shilpa, Bharathi, Shankar, Mytuppence, Azad, Pawan, Pankaja, Saimanohar, Guria, Shruti, Vishnu,Nasrajan and Richa. Click on their respective names to read their posts on Teachers : Aaj Kal. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.
13 comments:
Teachers zindabad:)
Now thts the real post directly frm the heart of a teacher..
Tht makes two (including my dad's guest post on my blog)!
Raneeji i saw a movie Freedom Writers yesterday, a true representation of this noble profession. In case u havn't u mst see it.
That was nice.. hearing it straight from a teacher.. Read my take on this too
It really feels nice to teach. And every body calls you sir. You are walking in the road with your family, where you are considered nothing, a student suddenly pops up and wishes you with so much of respect. It is all good.
But, money also matters. I have known teachers who support a family of 6 with only 2100 Rs. He, his wife, his brother, his parents. That is only a teacher can do.
Well we have always been listening from students line but this one's from the teacher's view ...
all in all 3 different all so well presented !
Happy teachers day pal. the penultimate para is so true. I tried and got the expected result :-)
Excellent
Quite poetic, but it conveyed the meaning in a very subtle manner!
Happy Teacher's day!
Cheers!
You inspire me further that I took the right decision when I decided to take up teaching side-by-side with research!
Beautiful! :)
hi :)
its mt first time here and am a fellow blog-a-tonic
Its a pleasure to read the article about teacher by a teacher and i loved ur point!
Belated teachers day wishes to you!!
Check out my post also in the same topic!
That is a very good post! I have tried to teach my daughter to do the sum differentely and she denied point blank. It is very hard to tell her that her teacher could have made a mistake! And yes I can recognise many things I do are due to some of my teachers!
yet another different perspective..I really liked the way you wrote..
Oh, gosh, where to start: I’m honoured by your comments--
@Vipul: Yes, it’s straight from my heart, my friend. I earned a Ph.D. in Literature, then became an advertising and corporate communications expert by expediency, and then I left a lucrative profession as corporate trainer and consultant to become a lowly teacher in a management institute. All because I couldn’t get over the satisfaction I got from teaching young minds. And Vipul, I loved your Dad’s post. He’s a man who knows what he’s talking about!
@evanescentthoughts: Thanks, Avada (tell me your real name sometime). I read your post and have already commented on it. If I have learnt anything in life, it is to be sincere and honest in everything I say and do. My response to your post also follows that principle. Keep writing and always follow your heart.
@Pramathesh: It’s the profession that I find most harrowing and yet most satisfying. Writing advertising copy and telling corporate bigwigs what to do was easy compared to what I do now! The sense of responsibility bends me; the power humbles me. I feel I’m home. Fortunately, the money doesn’t really matter to me anymore.
@Dhiman: Thanks my friend. I feel that I know you now. That’s the thing with reading blogs. You get privy to the way someone thinks.
@Bharathi: I love the way you became my “pal” from the 1st Blog-a-ton. I think you have a lot to give to humanity. When you turn 47 like I did and you’ve been mostly lucky in your life, I hope you’ll want to share your riches—and they don’t have to be tangible!
@Pawan: Thanks for the teacher’s day wishes—I take my vocation very seriously. Glad you saw the subtlety.
@Guria: What can I say. You humble me. I’m grateful you like the way I write. I feed off it. I’m glad you took up teaching as a profession. It has unbelievable, if non-monetary, rewards.
@Shruti: Thanks for your teacher’s day wishes. Check out my comments on your post. I’m always brutally honest.
@Pra: Thanks. Glad you liked this post. The fun of blogging for me is to try out different voices on my various blogs.
@Saimanohar: Hi, old friend. I feel a sense of community with you. Another Blog-a-ton and we’ll really get to know each other!
Ranee
"if you considered for a minute the kind of work we do for the meager pay we get, you wouldn’t doubt it for a moment!" -> re-read your post.. and this statement just shook me.. it is soooo true and thanks for visiting my blog :)
Writing 3 different takes on one topic is genius. I bow to thee Ranee..
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