“You’re not going there to teach, you’re going there to touch; touch lives” was the clincher. He couldn’t have surmised it in a better way. The situation was that as part of the Youth Empowerment Program I was posted at a school, while being a teacher was the last thing on my mind. He tried to convince me in every way that I was apt for this assignment but I couldn’t get myself to agree to it. I was already teaching since a few years and was looking forward to doing something ‘different’. And here I was, being offered a teaching assignment. But that last line said it all. It hit me like a bolt out of the blue. I sat up straight and agreed to it in that instant.
Looking back, who are the teachers that I remember and cherish the most? Not the ones who waxed eloquent on various topics and regaled us with stories and taught us an assortment of subjects, but inadvertently they are the ones who touched my life, in and outside the classroom, in and through their teaching. They may or may not have taught well, I don’t recollect that much, but for sure they touched me deep within and made a difference; such that I remember them even today and am ever grateful for taking the time and effort for that ‘extra bit’ as one of my favourite teachers called it. They are the ones who cared about me, who gently nudged me to do better, who encouraged me when I lagged behind, who cheered my smallest achievements, who gave me hope when there was none, who looked beyond my follies to highlight my talents, the ones who believed in me and stood by me when I was nowhere in the frontline. They didn’t just correct me; they helped me overcome my flaws. They didn’t just show me the right path; they guided me to choose my own path. They didn’t mould me into a person they thought right, they let me bloom to be what I was born to be. They didn’t ignore my faults; they helped me fortify my strengths. Indeed, they didn’t just teach me, they touched my life and changed me forever.
Unto all those teachers, my million prostrations. I bow to thee in complete reverence. May there be many more like you, who touch lives and make a difference.
