Thursday, September 15, 2011

The Other Side Of Teaching

I believe it was my calling to become an educator. Though my mother was a teacher, and one of my brothers ended up in the same profession, I never, for an instant, wanted to be one myself. Somehow, growing up, I'd always thought I'd have a career in the Sciences, and it was just happenstance that everything fell into place and made me what I am today. I totally revel in what I do, and have a thorough enjoyment interacting with all the brilliant minds, young and old, that pass through my classroom. Looking back, I would not have had it any other way. The love and adulation my students have shown me over the years, and the fantastic camaraderie I've enjoyed with all my colleagues down the years have only strengthened my love for my job.

I must admit here that there's a totally different side of teaching that I enjoy, namely, the personal bonding I've had with some of my students outside of the classroom after they graduated, and the strong friendships I've cultivated with many of them in the last 26 years or so. I take care not to let the professional mix with the personal, and as long as one remains a student in my class, I don't let them get close to me at all, lest they see me in a different light in class and lose sight of me as their teacher, but after they leave my class, it is a different story altogether, and I continue to keep in touch with them via email and social networking, of course. It's always heartening when a student from 15 or 20 years ago reaches out to me, and remembers many of the texts and life lessons I taught him or her.

Some of my students have gone on to call me by name, some older ones call me their daughter, some younger ones call me "Mom", many still call me "Ma'am", some think I need to be fattened up and keep bringing me all those sinful, delicious food, some invite me for a drink, some invite me to their homes for a meal they've specially cooked for me, some ask me to name their newborn child, some ask me for parenting advice, some confide in me about their marital woes, some tell me about their health scares and ask me to send my positive thoughts and energy their way, some mouth "I love you" to me on a daily basis, many never fail to greet me on my birthday, some have adopted my son as their own and inquire about him frequently, some email me about their new business ventures and ask me to bless them , some go on to exciting jobs and email me about it from some part of the world, the older ones continue writing about their memories of incidents from a long time ago and ask me to correct them via email, some just reach out and update me as to what's going on in their lives, some email me pictures of vacations they've taken, some call me and ask me where to shop for Indian clothes, and so the list goes on and on. Is it a surprise then that I truly enjoy this other side of teaching as much as I do what goes on in the classroom?!?

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