When I was at my pre-primary I used to believe teachers more than anything and anybody, more than my parents. For example- My father once said “B” for “Bird”. I said, “No”. It should be “B” for “Ball” because that is what my teachers said to me. After that, as a kid, I used to think my parents know nothing like teachers. Teachers are Teachers and they are always right.
When I was a primary kid, I had many friends but only one school. The School was everything for me. I didn’t want to miss any day at my school. I had to write very few, actually very few, “request for leave”. It was all because of my teachers who loved and cared me wholeheartedly.
At lower secondary (grade 6-8), I felt secured and happy at school. I was happy because I was pampered and among favorites for some teachers. I used to get a lot of appreciation and motivation from them. That’s why, I started enjoying studies. I used to feel that my teacher considers me as a capable student to answer the questions or solve a particular maths equation. For making such belief come true, I started trying very hard. I studied as hard as I could. I wanted them to see me continuously as a sincere and a hard working student, whatever the situation be. Being a good student in the eyes of teachers was pleasing and challenging at the same time.
Secondary level (grade 9 and 10) was not very different than the previous years. More than that, I felt studying as my only passion and my only hobby. I had a habit of working hard in studies and I was less engaged with my extra-curricular activities. Teachers had a big faith on us to score good in the final secondary level exams. We were happy to get good results. More than us- our teachers looked accomplished and felt their dream has come true.
Higher secondary was too tough for me. Too many teachers and most of them were brilliant. Some used to teach us as if we were their own kid. We used to make fun mimicking few teachers’ acts, but they came as amazingly supportive teachers.
Undergrad was like a small group coaching. We were a total of 10 female students. Our supervisors and co-ordinators were like our moms. They used to guide us in school, guide us when we were in our community practice and took care of our lodging and fooding. Interestingly, undergrad was a different one than previous years. We found our teachers more like our friends, partners and seniors. We had no fear like we used to have before. This again helped us to make ourselves confident and comfortable in the task we were assigned. Thus, the support, guidance and trust from our teachers ultimately paved our path towards becoming a responsible youth.
Graduation was a very different experience for me. A different country, students from seven countries and teachers from many different countries. Teachers were like our guide and mentors showing how to study and how to learn rather than what to study and what to learn. We learned experiences more than the chapters. Teachers were like our colleagues.
Parents are our life long teachers. Teachers at school and colleges helped to shape ourselves to who we are today. Importantly, people I have met as friends, colleagues, juniors, and seniors- all are my supporting teachers.
Dear Teachers,
A big “Thank you” to each and every one of you!!