My mother, as a teacher of many years, had her trials and tribulations as well as many glories to boot.
One day, I saw my mother return from school beaming with joy. Was it a promotion? A raise? Or some award? I wondered. She laid out few sheets of papers in front of me. There in the papers were drawings. It seems the primary children (Grades 1-5) were asked to draw their favorite teacher on a piece of paper. “How can novices draw?” I thought. “The drawings need not be artistic but a simple outline with the eyes, nose, ears, hair would suffice," they were told. They had to name the drawing thus celebrating their favorite teacher. They were given a chance to come open about their personal choices. It was a sweet exercise. Just to let every child speak their mind of whom they liked best. Everyone had a favorite.
The children drew, amidst hush-hush, some giggling, some whispering, delighted to partake in such a unique exercise and handed over their ‘work of heart’.
They drew my mother, their favorite teacher, the teacher they adored and how did they set her apart? By drawing a face with flowers in the teacher’s hair. Yes, that was my mother’s uniqueness. She was a teacher, a loving teacher, whose hair was always adorned with flowers. White jasmine most of the time, synonymous with Indian culture where women wore flowers in their hair.
This teacher with flowers in her hair had won it. She had achieved what was most vital to the life of a teacher. The love and affection of her students!!
“In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day’s work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years.” ~ Jacques Barzun. But then you may not have to wait that long, do you?