The greatest stories take time. Childhood is full of such stories that we hear, tell, and remember for a longer time. There are some incidents in childhood that leave an impact on our lives, whether positively or negatively. School is the best part of our lives, introducing us to friendship, values, education, teachers, and the first temple of learning.

In my childhood, there is a unique experience that my friends and I went through because of our math teacher. Our batch is one of the first in the state where English was introduced as a medium of instruction along with the regional language for teaching subjects.

The teachers were accustomed to the regional language, this was the first of its kind in the state. Some of the teachers were not well-versed in teaching the subjects in English. We were also okay with this, as we were not ready for a complete transformation into English medium. At the beginning of the academic year itself, we received the textbooks, and we were immediately encouraged to buy all the guides.

THE COMMON DAY

When I was in 7th standard, I was very interested in math because of our Math Teacher ‘Michael Sir’.. Suddenly he got transferred to another School and a new math teacher came to our school named ‘John Sir’.Rather Calling him by his name I remember him as ‘ ‘Guide sir.’

He was stout, bald-headed, and had fiery eyes that easily scared middle school children. As the classes went by, I felt he was a bit friendly with us. But he would solve the Math problems by picking up the guide from us and exactly replicating the same from the guide onto the board, which left us in oblivion.

It is intriguing as this process is repeated daily. We were unable to understand the solutions, and sometimes he used to skip the topics that were time-consuming and promised to add marks after the exam if we encountered any problems from the skipped chapters. As children, we felt happy at first, as we received marks without writing. However, day by day, those who were interested in the math subject and feels they will become Engineers only by mastering Math were disappointed and the same felt by many of us Later.

There were days when he would make me write the problems on the board by looking at the guide, and he would just come, read, and go, leaving us in complete astonishment. For every class, there was a monitor who looked after the class in the teacher’s absence and filed complaints about indiscipline. I was the class monitor at that time. Since we didn’t dare to complain to the headmaster for fear that he might target us in class if he knew about our complaints,I decided to take action.

One day, I told my friends that when John sir…asked for the guide, they should say they didn’t have it. However, they were afraid to lie because if he found out, they would receive harsh punishment. I comforted them by saying that if they were caught lying and not giving the math guide, they could say I told them to do it, and I would take that punishment on their behalf. They felt somewhat relieved.

After I said ,the next period is Math, Sir entered the class and, as usual, asked for the math guide from one of my friends.

He said he had not brought it, so Sir asked another, ‘Give me the math guide.’

I felt tense on one side about the replies what they might give.Even that friend also said, ‘Sir, I forgot it at home.’

Sir then asked, ‘Does anybody in the class have the math guide?’

“His fiery eyes narrowed, scanning the room as if he could smell the lie”.

At that moment, my hands become cold with sweat. Everyone in the class shouted at once,

‘No, Sir!’

Then, for a few seconds, there was complete silence in the classroom. He sighed and managed the class with some formulae and left before the bell rang. I felt happy, and all of us took a deep breath after he left the class.

My friends asked me one question, ‘Today we managed, but what will we do when he asks tomorrow?’

I thought for a while and said, ‘Do the same thing you did today.’ They responded simply with, ‘Haaaa…!!’

THE FOLLOWING DAY…

We were waiting with excitement to see what was going to happen today. But to our surprise, something we never expected happened. He came to class with a new math guide that belonged to his daughter, who also studies in the same class at another school instead of depending on us.

We realized that he clearly understood our plan that was executed yesterday. After seeing the guide in his hand, all of us friends exchanged astonished glances with each other.

My friend Robert and I decided that this time we were going to steal the guide from his backpack where he kept it. During the interval, my friend and I reached the sir’s bike without being noticed by anyone.

We reached there, but my friend asked me a surprising question:

‘We are stealing this guide now; what if he gets another new guide the next day?’

I lost my nerve after hearing his question. After realizing the situation that might happen, we felt helpless and left that place without stealing.

THE NEXT ACADEMIC YEAR…

As we realized we couldn’t do much in the math subject last year, we decided to help each other in the subject since we know that next year he won’t be teaching us math for the 8th class.

In the science subject, another branch that is added to this class is physical science. We expected that one of the teachers named ‘George Sir’, who we heard was good at physics, might teach us the subject, but to our greatest amusement, what we could never have dreamed happened: that same ‘Guide sir’ who taught us math in our 7th grade is our physics faculty for this whole academic year.

This time, it wasn’t about the guide but the textbook! As I mentioned, the English medium had been newly introduced, and he knew only a little English. We stumbled over English terms while he fumbled with two textbooks, one in each hand: an English-medium physics book in one and its regional-language translation in the other.

After reading from one textbook, he would read the same section from the translated version. Only then would he attempt to explain.As a result, we never understood the subject, whether in English or any other language.

He used to arrive at class late almost every day, typically by ten minutes. After reading or during his translated explanations, he would often receive a call or make one on his mobile, spending the remaining time wandering outside the classroom. If nature called while he was outside, he would relieve himself near the compound wall behind the school, much to our dismay.

As soon as the bell rang, he would leave the class, leaving us all bewildered. We felt deceived again this year.This time, we became resolute and decided to complain to the Headmaster, regardless of the consequences.

One day, to our surprise, we found out that the Headmaster would be substituting for our physics class because our regular teacher was absent. We seized the opportunity to voice our concerns to the Headmaster during that very period. When he entered the classroom, he instructed us to read something related to physics and later began asking us some questions…

As we had already made Decision , one of my friends started explaining our situation to the sir. We all joined her voice, completed the remaining explanation, and requested him to assign us another teacher.

The Headmaster thought for a while and said,

“Different teachers have their own ways of teaching; we can’t question that.

However, as you mentioned, I will try to ask him about this and resolve your problem.” Later, he continued questioning about a physics answer.

We felt relieved after the sir left and appreciated each of us for our courage. However, We felt the Headmaster’s attitude during that moment was kind to us. But,later we found out that he neither addressed our grievance nor cared about us at any point in time.

After completing the 10th class in later years, many of us friends developed a hatred for the subject or lost interest in it.Even when we had the option to study it later, the early influence in the subject never sparked any interest and only focused on securing marks.

In the two instances, if the Sir had realized or the Headmaster had taken action, our interests in the subject would have been different.

Despite our interest in the subject, we lost faith in both teachers due to their irresponsibility.

Apart from some teachers, all the other teachers explained well, encouraged us, and sparked an interest in learning.

I feel teaching is a profession that shapes the future of generations all at once. It is where the ethical and moral pillars of society are built.

However, irresponsible handling of this role can undoubtedly lead to unparalleled results in society. I decided,I wanted to be a teacher atleast for a brief period in my life, after realising how a teacher shouldn’t be and what actually a teacher could do.Understood that a teacher is someone who truly inspires students for life . A teacher transforms those four walls into doors of learning, rather than merely performing a duty or training students to score higher marks.

How did you felt My Experience …!!

What are your thoughts on Education, Education system &Teacher…Have you come across any such incidents in your Schooling…??Share if any in the Comments below👇