TEACHERS AND THEIR TEACHINGS

Teachers play a very vital role in the life of every one of us. After our parents the most important persons in our lives are Teachers. They have a tremendous influence in a boy or girl's mind. A Teacher can make a child grow into a well rounded wonderful person through his/her teachings.

A child grows in the first 2 to 3 years under the personal attention and care of a mother. The child is pampered and always surrounded by immediate family during the first few years. When the Child starts going to school Teacher becomes the first outside contact for the Child. The influence that a Teacher can have on the Child’s mind is enormous.

It is very important for us to remember the teachers who have taught us so many things over the years in School and College. In addition to imparting the knowledge on the subject the Teachers also inculcate a sense of discipline in our minds. We learn discipline, right attitude, passion, culture, behaviour and many more important traits from the Teachers. Teachers at school adopt a “Carrot and Stick” approach and that teaches us to know the difference between good and bad. Both appreciation and punishments comes in public in front of the entire class or sometimes in the presence of the entire school.

We like some teachers and we do not like some of them. Mostly the ones that are showering the students with appreciation and accolades are liked by students. The strict disciplinarian teacher is not liked by most of the students. I have come across teachers who mix both and have a tactful way of impressing on the students the need for discipline.

I have been attending Arabic Classes in Alliance Française and my interest in the language has increased tremendously because of the Teacher. Mr.Ghassan is the teacher who is taking the classes and the enormity of patience and perseverance exhibited by him in the classes is a great inspiration for me.

Rolling back into the years I recall Charumathi Teacher who taught me Tamil when I joined for 3rd Standard in Bharathi Bala Bhavan. A small school in South Mada Street in Triplicane. I went for private tuition to her house in the evenings as I was new to the language. She was a very kind hearted teacher with a smile on her face all the time. I have never seen her getting angry or upset with any student. She remains the best teacher in my life for her dedication, passion, kindness and that everlasting smile.

The second best teacher in my life is Shri.Sampath Iyengar, my father’s uncle. He was a genius in Mathematics. He taught me Mathematics for more than 2 years on weekends. I had never scored more than 80% in any subject in my life until I started going for tuition in mathematics to Shri.Sampath Iyengar. After learing the subject from him I was consistently scoring over 80% but centum kept eluding me throughout. He used sit in an easy chair with eyes closed and teach the subject without using a black board. I have developed my analytical skills only through his teachings and I am indebted to him.

Shri.P.Anand taught me Commerce in School. Being a Chartered Accountant himself he was the first teacher to appreciate me in front of the Class. He also identified the true potential in me and advised me to take up Chartered Accountancy. I will remain grateful to him for ever for unleashing the potential in me at the right time. When I went to meet him after clearing my CA Entrance Exams he was thrilled with my marks and he introduced me to everyone in his office and proudly said “my first student from Hindu High School”. That was a great moment for me in life.

During my CA days I have had some wonderful teachers who have taught me the subjects and I distinctly remember Prof.Sheshadri from A.M.Jain College. He taught me Accountancy in Davar’s College of Commerce where I went for coaching for the CA Entrance exams. He taught Accountancy without using the black board. Very rarely he used to go upto the black board. He taught the subject very nicely with conceptual foundation and made it very simple to understand and learn.

There were a lot of teachers during my school days and college days. Some of them were very good and some were not so good when it came to imparting knowledge. Some of the good teachers whom I recall are Shri.R.Srinivasan (RS); Shri.D.Mani; Shri.L.S.Sivakumar; Prof.K.L.Nagarajan; Shri.R.Bhupathy; Shri.Govindarajan (he taught me Operations Research for my CA Final).

When I analyse now and look back I feel the teaching profession is a very good profession but unfortunately it does not attract the best of the talents. A bright student never ends up with teaching profession. Most of them go into the Industry or start their own business. If the Teaching Profession can attract the best talent it will help the students a great deal in their life.

I am very fond of Teaching Profession and have been engaging myself in delivering lectures and conducting workshops. I have had my moments of satisfaction during the days when I was teaching in the CA Institute in Chennai. After a long gap I have again started engaging myself in teaching since the beginning of 2011 and it has been a very wonderful experience.

Long Live the Teachers. Their Teachings have made all of us proud individuals. I salute them all. Happy Teachers Day.

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
5th September 2011