Teacher or Trainer?
Waiting for my turn outside my son's classroom,at the parent-teacher meet,it felt ....how should I put it? Awkward? After years of teaching at the same school,and being on that side of the table, here I was, in a queue , with a dozen other impatient parents,exchanging pleasantries and comparing notes.
"She's taking so much time with every parent," remarked a young parent, "doesn't she realise it's a working day for us?" Well, that remark came as a surprise to me. Here was a teacher, giving all the time she could , to each parent,only trying to do her job well. Surely,a parent-teacher meeting isn't supposed to be just an obligation, a formality!I've always thought that it's a great opportunity to find out how your child's doing at school.And even voice your suggestions ,if any. Perhaps,I was still looking at it from a teacher's perspective.Perhaps,this parent had a real busy schedule and had great many important things to do after the meeting. Perhaps......but then,what can be more important than your child's progress at school?
My thoughts drifted to one such day in the same school,about six years ago, when a parent had rushed into the classroom where I was the teacher...this parent seemed to be in a tearing hurry...she announced that she was an advocate in the Supreme Court and needed to rush off to a very urgent case awaiting her at court, so would everyone please let her speak to the teacher first? Her attitude left most parents speechless with surprise till one plain-mouthed mother retorted,"Sorry to be rude, Ma'am, but the most urgent case is going on right now here in your daughter's classroom. I left aside every other task to be here today,because my son's progress is more important to me than any other appointment."
I was only beginning to wonder whether I was more of a teacher or a parent when I discovered that two of the parents standing in the queue with me already knew me as I had taught their daughters."We still talk about you," said one. I remembered Esha, her daughter,very well.A vivacious eight or nine year-old when I taught her. In class 9 now?,I asked.
And today,with my own son in the same class,the tables had turned and I was on the other side.
"Thank you so much," said the other mother, "Amreen is what she is today because of you.You brought her out of her shell and I can never forget that.Her sister is just like her,very shy, and I wish she had a teacher like you."
"Don't worry," I said,"Try telling your daughter's teacher more about her and how she's best handled.I'm sure she'll do her best to help out. After all, she's a teacher," I reasoned, even as a sense of fulfilment overcame me.It was indeed a satisfying thought to know that one has made a difference to a child's life.
Today, I'm no longer a 'teacher'. I'm supposed to be a 'trainer'........yet, all the differences pointed out make no sense to me.
Even today, I enter a classroom full of eager faces, waiting to be transported to another realm...even today when I attempt to train these youngsters in the skills that will help them cope with the challenges of life, they look up to me as they'd look up to a teacher. Even as a teacher,I have often 'trained'. Where then, lies the difference?
"She's taking so much time with every parent," remarked a young parent, "doesn't she realise it's a working day for us?" Well, that remark came as a surprise to me. Here was a teacher, giving all the time she could , to each parent,only trying to do her job well. Surely,a parent-teacher meeting isn't supposed to be just an obligation, a formality!I've always thought that it's a great opportunity to find out how your child's doing at school.And even voice your suggestions ,if any. Perhaps,I was still looking at it from a teacher's perspective.Perhaps,this parent had a real busy schedule and had great many important things to do after the meeting. Perhaps......but then,what can be more important than your child's progress at school?
My thoughts drifted to one such day in the same school,about six years ago, when a parent had rushed into the classroom where I was the teacher...this parent seemed to be in a tearing hurry...she announced that she was an advocate in the Supreme Court and needed to rush off to a very urgent case awaiting her at court, so would everyone please let her speak to the teacher first? Her attitude left most parents speechless with surprise till one plain-mouthed mother retorted,"Sorry to be rude, Ma'am, but the most urgent case is going on right now here in your daughter's classroom. I left aside every other task to be here today,because my son's progress is more important to me than any other appointment."
I was only beginning to wonder whether I was more of a teacher or a parent when I discovered that two of the parents standing in the queue with me already knew me as I had taught their daughters."We still talk about you," said one. I remembered Esha, her daughter,very well.A vivacious eight or nine year-old when I taught her. In class 9 now?,I asked.
And today,with my own son in the same class,the tables had turned and I was on the other side.
"Thank you so much," said the other mother, "Amreen is what she is today because of you.You brought her out of her shell and I can never forget that.Her sister is just like her,very shy, and I wish she had a teacher like you."
"Don't worry," I said,"Try telling your daughter's teacher more about her and how she's best handled.I'm sure she'll do her best to help out. After all, she's a teacher," I reasoned, even as a sense of fulfilment overcame me.It was indeed a satisfying thought to know that one has made a difference to a child's life.
Today, I'm no longer a 'teacher'. I'm supposed to be a 'trainer'........yet, all the differences pointed out make no sense to me.
Even today, I enter a classroom full of eager faces, waiting to be transported to another realm...even today when I attempt to train these youngsters in the skills that will help them cope with the challenges of life, they look up to me as they'd look up to a teacher. Even as a teacher,I have often 'trained'. Where then, lies the difference?
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