DON’T JUDGE A TEACHER BY THE WAY SHE EXPLAINS HER SUBJECT
Have you ever called your teachers, names? Have you not spoken ill behind their backs? Surely, you have. Technically, most of us have. It’s only human to catch hold of the first stimuli and react to it, but it is also humane to wait for the right stimuli and respond to it! But I guess we’re more of humans than humane.
I have recently been a part of the “Out Of Syllabus Project” organised by Project FUEL in collaboration with our school. The project required us participants to interview our school teachers. And viola, we got to know a totally different side to them, the ones we meet daily but we never bother to open up to. Through the project, we got out of our teachers more intimately—their life lessons, stories of their struggles and stories of moments that left them in awe and way more. The project also got us versed with—“Behind the scenes” and trust me on this: we seemingly got to learn that every action and every trait a human manifests holds a significant reason.
We often confuse the abilities of our teachers with that of the Almighty’s. Them, misspelling a word on the black board or making a small error becomes the talk of the campus in no time. But do we ever think twice? Why don’t we cut them some slack when all of us make mistakes at some point or the other? Each one of us are entitled to commit blunders, no matter if it is a teacher or a student for, aren’t we all mere humans first?
Just like every other person we talk to has a story to tell; every teacher we talk to has a story as well—their own stories, with their own highs and lows, stories of their failures and achievements. Maybe they too have their own demons to deal with on an everyday basis and yet they continue with their lives, without letting the world know of the same. Without even a glint of sadness or worry on their faces, they somehow make us believe in all the goodness in the world and strengthen our faith.
Being a part of this project, I’ve learnt to respect human beings for their stories, their struggles, for whatever they’ve been through. And I have learnt to deal with my subjects with a lot more empathy and emotions.
So maybe, go ahead and ask your teachers, parents, relatives and every person you know or not, “What has life taught you?” and forward the understanding of every life lesson to someone you meet or know or stumble upon.
This experience of the ‘Out of Syllabus Project’ has been a guiding light for me, and to say the least, it has helped me become a better human being.
-Member, Wisdom Squad
Unison World School, Dehradun.