The board room was high strung and all teachers saw the results of this year’s batch of 2010 in baited breath. All the names scrolled as we teachers screamed in excitement...the kids do surprise you every time! All those who played truant, procrastinators who spent almost all their classes with you near the doorstep(I never send them out lest they just chill out!:)), the liars(But maam I sent the softcopy…u didn’t get it?!?;), the brats who told you, “Don’t be upset ma’am… we will do it better there! Just chill! They all lived up to their words! All of them did us proud yet again.
As we teachers walked out of the board room (the kids would know only an hour later!), there they all crowd and stand. Literally face reading us. Now this is the toughest part…to keep a poker face. Inspite of our efforts, one of my naughtiest kid stands there , waves and says,”Inspite of all that you teachers want to hide we know we guys have done you proud. I am sure I need to go up on stage(only 42+ points for 45 go up on stage..so!)”. Well he was a 43 pointer and at that precise moment I thought that this is the confidence that has got him his points. Today’s students are fearless, confident, diligent, focused, informal and though they seem like they lack constructs and formats they are well ahead of us in their plans. They know what universities want apart from academics and they consciously get involved and make a mark. They have identified their core-competencies(probably better than their parents have!). Sometimes practical to the point of unnerving you! “Don’t place the deadline for this before the third week please…SATs coming up. Need to work there! We ‘ll give it to you the following week. A word maam!”. I yield to this normally! Then there are those who will submit before deadlines! Sigh! It takes all kinds to make this world!
After the shaking hands was done , it was drama in the auditorium as they collected their marksheets from their respective class teachers. Every year some cry in joy, some laugh, some give you a high fi, some give the camera to the absolutely thrilled parent to get a picture with you, some give you a Cadbury , some plain hug you, some tell you things that they wanted to say for a long time, some just plain come to just hear what you have to say to it and among all the gestures there is that strong expression of gratitude and gratefulness that you can see instantly. Now who said it’s a thankless job!!!
The day is like a ceremony and the whole time is full of sharing and some want to chat up with you recalling the submissions. An immensely delightful and satisfying day! Well we teachers also need to catch up on the year and the kids that went by. As these kids embark into the world of challenges and races, I know for sure that they are not only very talented young ladies and gentlemen , but they are also beautiful kids at heart. As we teachers discuss the kids, there are certainly many things on our minds…a lot of good wishes and heartfelt blessing for their futures. There were one set of kids who surprised me yesterday when they said, “Ma’am we will come back to school to see you before we go to the University after our National service (they do it for a year) and we bet, you will never have a more memorable, smart and lovable class than ours! “. For which I laughed out loudly as I know that each year presents us with a very fine bunch of kids. But they continued and jokingly said, “Ma’am its almost a curse to you from us that the TOK discussions will never be more fruitful and scintillating than our class ones that we enjoyed!”. Wow ! That made my day though it was suppose to be a curse!!
As yet another year has started in full swing, I realize that being a teacher is absolutely fulfilling and the happiness we derive by going that extra mile for the weaker ones and the handholding we do for the lost ones is not just for their goodness but to the glory of just being in this profession!!
