“One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant
teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The
curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element
for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.” ~Carl Jung
It is
rightly said by Brad Henry that ‘A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination,
and instill a love of learning.’ If I am able to write fluently
in my blog posts it is because of my
teachers
who have taught me alphabets and inculcated in me the love for
language. Probably the creative ideas I put forth in every post, that
also is
honed by my teachers.
‘Guru’ is
one
who shows us the path of light and knowledge, the remover of all evils
and
sorrows, the incarnation of supreme bliss, the disperser of darkness,
the bestower
of blessings. When I say teachers it does not just mean school or
college
teachers. It includes all those individuals from whom I have learnt
important
teachings of life in bits and pieces. It includes first and foremost my
Mom, Baba and my Sisters- my teachers at home. I show my gratitude to
all my school
teachers, to my friends, seniors , juniors, may be strangers, all from
whom I
have learnt at any point of life. Everyone’s contribution counts in
making me
what I am.
This
teacher’s day post I would like to dedicate specially to one of my old school
teacher whom I am very fond of, Dinakar
Sir.. I wrote few words in recognition of Sir’s role during last year’s teacher’s
day. I would like to post that article
for all my friends to read.. A very Happy Teachers Day to all teachers who keep
doing their parts to mould people’s lives..
'IN THE MEMORY OF MY
TEACHER'
When one hears the word
teacher different ideas come to one’s mind. Some view a teacher as an epitome
of knowledge, as a personification of magnificient leadership, for some they
are simply none other than persons with heart
that are passionate, caring, lively, and practical and for some others
they may be symbols of fear and strict discipline.
When I hear the word
teacher I visualize him as a person to be looked forward with awe and respect,
a person for whom love and reverence flows as a spontaneous feeling, one who
tickles our thoughts, inspiring us to aspire for big ideas and most importantly
one who helps pupils know their own potentials. They transform the saplings of
mind into fruitful blossoming trees. They are the ones who hone our potentials
to make us shine like exquisite pieces of diamonds. No doubt that teachers play
a pertinent role in grooming each individual’s life.
From the very childhood
we come in touch with many teachers-at school level, at college and many more
in the teachings of life. Some teachers stir our knowledge base and thinking
and some others are simply soul stirring. When most of us think of a person to
be a good teacher we tend to equate them either to be persons whom we can see
next to our parents in terms of the teachings of academics as well as of life
or just those persons who master their fields of knowledge. There are those few
selective teachers whose words of appreciation and encouragement keep haunting
our minds always.
In my schooling days
too I came across many dynamic personalities as teachers, one among who had
been Mr. Y. Dinakar- more commonly known as ‘Dinakar sir’. Sir had been
dedicated in the field of teaching science and mathematics to high school children
for over forty years- giving them real lifetime experiences.
For the first time, I
met Dinakar Sir in the year 2009 when I was in Std IX. In my first class in his
tuition, we were asked to solve few Maths sums out of which majority people
could not solve and then what followed made me feel really irritated. In the very first class Sir
started correcting us on a very serious note. My feelings then about Sir’s
first class was not very engrossing. For me it was more discouraging and for a
moment I thought as though I was trapped. But, slowly we got used to Sir’s
unique way of teaching or perhaps we got used to his witty remarks. Every word
of sir resounded with tones of virtue. Virtues not just of physics, chemistry
or biology but virtues also of being a
good student, a good child, a good citizen and more about being a good human.
We usually had sir’s
tuitions after school at an odd hour- two in the afternoon. But his classes had
so captivating power that even after the tiring schedule of school, it kept
pulling us throughout his lecture of one and half hours. Hardly can anyone make
subjects like Physics and Maths so interesting for school pupils. With the
practical daily examples and the neat diagrams that he drew on the board made
our classes more interesting. His attitude towards teaching students, keeping
their view points in mind distinguished
him from the rest. Always he kept encouraging students to think
logically and more importantly encouraged us to ‘speak our mind out’.
Sir’s classes were not
just restricted to Newton’s laws of Motion or Laws of reflection and refraction
or Ohm’s laws or Pascal’s Law or Periodic Table but they went beyond that. His
analysis of the different scientific principles and their interpretations used
to make our work easier. Sir’s jokes and subtle sense of humour always made the
class lively. More lively than this were Sir’s angry tones which didn’t make us
fear him rather made us more duty bound and more indebted to him for his right advice in the right point of
time. Sir’s towering personality amazes
me even today. His classes became so
interesting that cycling down 5 km for a 6:30 am lecture in winter mornings did
not feel tiring.
In the short span of
two important years of my life that I spent in Dinakar Sir’s classes can never
be forgotten till my last breath. Towards the end when the boards came near and
tuitions were to stop forever, I felt
that seeing Sir’s face and listening to
the various theories from him had become a kind of addiction which I
never wanted to leave. Even today if I get an opportunity, I would like to sit
in his class once more, once more be back in those frolicsome tuition days
filled with fun while learning. His words of wisdom guide me even today.
Dinakar Sir’s values are like my life’s principles. His worth is no less than
my parents. Indeed I feel privileged being the very few persons to have come in
contact with such a great teacher in my life, more importantly such a great
human. Now when Sir has stooped teaching students I feel sad for those juniors
who got deprived of having had an opportunity of being taught by Sir. On this
teacher’s day, this article stands as a tribute to Dinakar Sir’s efforts in
maneuvering hard in making me what I am today. Surely I am proud to say that I
have a teacher as ‘Dinakar Sir’.
