
Who said anything about perfect?
Today I celebrate my 20th Teachers’ Day! Yes, I have been surviving and succeeding in this profession since 1999. Gosh, it seems like an eon ago when I took my very first class.
The first day
I taught my first lesson as a lecturer of English Literature at Sophia College, my Alma Mater. To revisit the same college where you’ve spent such fond memories as a student, this time as a teacher… well, it was like seeing the other side of the spectrum.
Teaching a snooty, although eventually lovable, bunch of girls ranging from 17 to 20 years of age was no mean feat for me, a 22 year old bumbling novice with no professional experience of any sort (unless you count a forgettable stint at taking tuitions in my teen years as teaching experience).
At the end of the first day, I was so incredibly exhausted and more than that, totally aghast at the sheer thought of doing “this” for the rest of my life! I remember weeping for nearly half an hour in a Crossword cafe where even their famous chocolate doughnut failed to lift up my spirits. The next one year (till my leave vacancy lasted) was a veritable Agni Pariksha! That year consisted of hours and hours of class prep, poring over reference books (without the Internet, mind you!), trying to find information for my mass communication class and thinking up of cool feminist angles to explain women’s writing in India. And all this, while dealing with a bevy of young ladies who obviously thought they knew more than me (and I’m sure they did)!
I’m happy to declare that I did make it. I did teach and teach my heart out for these nineteen years and I survived in this profession with all my glaring imperfections and in the face of naysayers.
Not loud enough? The myth about public speaking
They told me I wasn’t loud enough. (Well, my husband would never believe it now and would at once denounce it as an outrageous lie!) But it was true — I just wasn’t loud. I was timid as a teen, pretty low on self-confidence and to use the “Q” word — I was quiet! When I travelled in public buses, the conductors would often give me the wrong ticket because I would hazard a whisper and they would understand nothing of what I said! At a drama workshop in grade 6, I was initially chosen for the role of a soldier only to be told by the Drama teacher that I wasn’t audible. And thus I ended up with a blink-and-miss role in the play! I was never selected for any debates or elocution competitions at school and I was NOT considered good at public speaking.
And now my fulltime job of teaching involves nothing but public speaking and you know what, I got so darned good at it! It’s all about getting out there and speaking from your heart. That’s all there is to this whole phobia of public speaking. People who are passionately full of a subject have no room for fear in their hearts. So don’t let any soul convince you that you’re not loud enough! People with the quietest lips have the loudest minds, let me tell ya!
A little bit of self-doubt is okay.
Committed and conscientious teachers regularly go through periods of self-doubt. And I think that’s completely alright! Sometimes it makes us more compassionate toward other imperfect people and it makes us humbler individuals. Self-doubt often makes us put more effort and preparation into our classes; it keeps us more open to other people’s point of view and more importantly, it makes us crave for learning new progressive things. On the other hand, too much of self-confidence can quickly transform into an abominable form of smugness and complacency where people just shut themselves off to voices of reason.
So doubting yourself again after your warm-up activity in class flopped badly because of Monday blues? Take heart, Rabbi, you are not alone.
Be yourself! No one size fits all.
The greatest demotivator of all for teachers is Comparing. Comparing is so rampant –it’s almost like an incurable disease. Teachers compare themselves with co-workers on the grounds of popularity among students, qualifications, teaching style and techniques, professional achievements and much more. But is there really such a thing as that one ideal teacher or that one perfect teacher?
Variety is truly the spice of an educational institution. Students need to experience a variety of teaching styles and no one size fits all! Why should you try to imitate other teaching styles if that’s not really you? No harm in improving oneself by trying out new methods and teaching strategies but all teachers have their own distinct style that makes them truly unique. And I think it’s this uniqueness that we should revel in! The Be yourself maxim was made for teachers! We need all sorts of teachers — the funny ones, the strict ones, the wink-at-faults-lenient ones, the ramblers, the cut-to-the-chase ones, the story-tellers, the hands-on activity teachers, ones who give you torturous weekend assignments, ones who let you off easy, Thus-saith-the-Lord ones, the ones with eyes at the back of their heads — we need us all! And there’s plenty of room for us and all of our quirks in this glorious profession. May our tribe increase!
So hold up your head high as you say — I teach, I change lives daily, I touch hearts in ways that I don’t even begin to understand! Here’s wishing all of us a Happy Teachers’ Day!
You know you are a veteran teacher when:
1. Nothing entices you more than stationery items. You have more than a dozen half-finished red pens in your drawer but that doesn’t stop you from buying yet another red pen.
2. You go to a pub only to correct the bartender for spelling alcohol as alchol. When he disses you, you insist on not going back to your table till he has changed that infernal spelling. After all, there are so many impressionable young people around reading the wrongly spelt word!
3. You have your own repertoire of famous “dialogues” which your ex-students fondly remind you of at Alumni meets or on Facebook.
4. You often get into teacher mode at home and repeat every instruction at least thrice — after which you ask your husband, Have you understood?
5. You stop buying heels and go for comfy flats because standing on your feet during classes for hours is already a killer without stilettos to destroy what’s left of your feet.
6. You stay awake for hours agonising over that kid you yelled at in class (although he totally deserved it!). If you do manage to fall asleep that occasional night, your recurring nightmares include a typical classroom setting where you have lost your notes or you have not prepared for your A Level class or worst nightmare of all, you’ve lost control!
7. You regularly hear a disembodied voice in a shopping mall wishing you, Good evening, Ma’am! Heck, you’ve even started wearing makeup to the grocery store so you can look presentable when you bump into students (who are astonished to find that you do not survive on love and fresh air and that teachers need food supplies too).
8. You are constantly on the lookout for new movies to put on your student’s recommended viewing list.
9. Your sartorial tastes have changed beyond measure. You strictly instruct your tailor to follow the Victorian code of morality and make dresses with high necklines.
10. You have developed an almost stentorian voice and people often ask why you are shouting. You now have a voice that could launch a thousand ships!

