“You 2 over there, what are your names"
“Sir, Alex”
“Thomas”
“You’re always seated in the last bench. From now on, your permanent place will be here in the first bench, not because of any particular reason, but because I say so.”
“Yes sir”
And he moved the nerds from the first bench and placed us there. It was 5 years back; it was Mr. Mathew Samuel’s tuition class. What’s so special about him, you may ask. Well, he was one of the best teachers who've ever taught me. ‘Best’ not just because he taught well, but also coz of the stories he told and the values he imparted. As they say, “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” Mr. Samuel was a great teacher.
Once after a particular test, he called me and narrated a personal anecdote of his. He said,
“I’ve taught only 3 geniuses in my life, 2 Indians and an African. And all these 3 were quirky in some ways. When I was in Nigeria, there was this kid, extremely brilliant fellow. During one of the lab exams, I was the examiner of his class. His experiment was related to some resistance measurements and as soon as I gave him the resistance wire, he put it in his mouth and started to chew it. He designed the circuit, I approved it and he proceeded to connect the components, while still chewing on the wire. After a while he came to me and asked,
“Mr. Samuel, where’s my resistance wire.”
“Open your mouth”, I said.
“What?”
The fellow still didn’t get me.
“You’re chewing on it”
It took a while for him to realize the mistake. Eventually, I gave him a new resistance wire. So, my point is that these super brilliant chaps are quirky – some are absent minded and some are not that sensible."
Then he added on,
“Thomas, you’re not super brilliant. So I assume you’re pretty sensible. You can’t just come off-handedly and write exams. You need to study hard. And Thomas, I like my hard working students more than the brilliant ones. You may think I’m preaching more than teaching, but the thing is that, I want good things happen to you. Study well son.”
I scored pretty good marks in Physics for board exams, thanks to his meticulous teaching and inspiring thoughts. But more than the marks, I was happy to see him happy. Yesterday, I called him to wish him a happy teachers’ day; he said,
“But Thomas, I don’t teach anymore. I’ve retired.”
“Sir, you needn’t teach to become a teacher. You inspire to become a teacher.”
He laughed and we went on to talk about all the things that have been happening around us. The zeal and vigor and charm is still there, and will always be there inside him.
HAPPY TEACHERS’ DAY!!!
P.S. The guy who chewed the resistance wire later went on to study in the prestigious MIT (seriously!).
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Inane trifles, whimsical anecdotes.
17 comments:
A very inspiring post indeed!! I love teachers. I have been fortunate to have the best. By the best I mean, people who loved their vocation. And I have been greatly influenced by them. I join you wishing all the 'teachers' of this world, a Happy Teachers Day!
My Parents are teachers..though for me they ll always be parents first..:-)
nice post...reminded me of my fav teachers in school..
A "Gurudakshina" in writing...don't u wish ur sir read this post?. :-)
Liked the balanced style of the post.
Good work!
A welcome change from 'humor' to 'inspiring'.
Nice & inspiring!!
Btw, is the sir AO? :P
@silverine: There are very few of that kind now, who actually love their "vocation". And if you happen to be their student, you are extrememly lucky. I was.
@mathew: My dad always says that the children of teachers are usually very well behaved and are good in acads. Is it so, Mathai? Hehe. Obvious, isn't it, you might say. :P
@neena: Tough question. I would say no, I don't want him to read this post. I guess he expects us to keep the love and repect in our hearts rather than writing about it or saying about it. But, I just penned everything down; the least I could do.
@hari: It is the 5th of September, this post was inevitable. I'm glad you found it nice; I feared whether I messed it up. And, if you asked whether he's Abraham Oomen Sir (AO), no, I've mentioned in the post that he's Mathew Samuel Sir; he had classes at Kurishady.
nice heart warming post man.
your teacher will be touched if he reads this
pinee parayaanu ondo..engane padichu pass aayi ennu enikku alle arriyuu..;-P
That was beautiful :-)
Nice post. :)
My parents are both teachers, not to mention my grandparents, aunts and even one or two cousins!! So, coming from a teacher-family, trust me when I say, don't be a teacher :D
Jokes apart, I love the way they are recognized and treated with respect and love, by former students in many places they go. That's something you wont get with any other profession.
As to the children of teachers, well the knowledge your parents have of the way schools/colleges work can be a blessing at times, and more frequently, a curse . :P
inspiring !!!
There was a time when these super geniuses of teachers inspired me to take it up as a profession. but, somewhere down the line, with changing times and trends that too faded away. But, teachers always hold a special place in our hearts...
The other day I was teaching my li'l cousin and her teacher had missed out something. I tried correcting her but in spite of trying to explain a hundred times she kept repeating, " No my teacher said this... she cannot be wrong"
Sigh those were the days... when teachers words were 'vedavakyams' for us! When we blindly followed whatever our teachers had to tell us. The values they instilled in us, the patience and dedication with which they mended and moulded us... hats off to them!
@praveen: Thanks Praveen. He was really glad that I called him. The last I contacted him was some 3 years before, after my 1st year of engg. So I was a bit guilty too when I called. I'm usually very bad at keeping contacts; but this time I've been thinking about this particular day for about a month, and I called him. And again, I was happy to see him happy! :)
@mathew: Uvva uvva, aaa 'thalachor' ippum Germany yum India yum koodi panku vekkukayalle! Hehe.
@ms criss: Thank you ma'am.
@rauf: Well, honestly, I don't want to be a teacher. The profession needs some sanctity of mind and sincere dedication, some qualities I believe I lack. As you said the recognition they get from former students wherever they go is something that no other profession can give. And you're one of the lucky few to have both parents as teachers. :)
@jj: I've never thought of taking up teaching as a profession, not because of any lack-of-respect or anything, but coz I know I can never become a good teacher. As you said, the things that they said rings in our ears and it moulds us to become what we are now. They play a big part in instilling the correct moral values in us.
Wonderful post tom!! Got me all Nostalgic :)
@deepti: Thankyou Deepti! :)
Sorry about the AO thingy... I thought you'd invented the name just to hide his identity... :D
Never heard of this sir before, though. :)
Great Blog!!! really good..
That was a very good one, Made me equally nostalgic. and if you re a reader! do read this book Tuesdays with morrie by Mitch albom, you'll love it....
@hari: Oh ok. He takes only a few students. So, not that popular like the other contemporaries.
@rishi: Thanks mate!
@the seeker: Thanks buddy, I'll be adding that book to my list; just read about the theme in Wiki.
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