Teacher's Day 2011 - A walk down memory lane

Gurur Brahma gurur Vishnu gurur devo Maheswarah |
Gurur sakshat parambrahmah tasmi sri gurave namah ||

Technology has a funny way of taking us to the past.  Connecting up with Sulochana Miss (literally my first teacher, along with Kamala Miss) on Facebook and visiting the CV Group (thanks to Shobha) presents a wonderful occasion to take that walk down memory lane every so often.  MCC School, of course, continues to be my backyard…a place with so many fond memories, one which had a large part in my childhood.  So, what better occasion than Teacher’s Day,  to think of all the teachers who have shaped and moulded my life.  Not all of them were “teachers” in the classic sense of the term, but looking back, I realize they played very effectively the role of a teacher.  So, this post is dedicated to all of them.

The fondest memories of school are of course reserved for the days at Chinmaya Vidyalaya; those were still the days when Engineering or medicine was not the raison d'être of school education.  This was primary school and we were far removed from the usual worries of jobs and careers.  I distinctly remember Sulochana Miss and Kamala miss receiving us very warmly at the school gate, and actually carrying us into class, sometimes.  (It was a pleasant surprise to discover that the same teacher, now Kamala akka, taught my son too in Class I)  These were teachers who really cared for the children, and made us feel really happy coming into school.  All through my school life, I can never remember an occasion when I thought school was drudgery.  The other teacher from school days, who remains firmly embedded in memory is Shri K N P Nair – the school principal.  School Assembly was something he lorded over…a disciplinarian who gave us some very valuable lessons today…that I still believe are the foundation stones of who I am. One story that will never go away from my mind is his description of Arjuna taking aim and seeing only the bird’s eye – a lesson in focus.  As we moved into Class V, Ms. Prema Mohanraj and Mrs. Jairaj are two teachers who remain etched in memory.  Mrs. Mohanraj, took the liberty of telling us the story of The Count of Monte Cristoe, even though she handled Science.  Laxman used to break into tears every time he got up to read about the troubles Dantes had to endure, while we went about endlessly repeating ao to get the right pronunications in Ms. Nirmala Jairaj's class! :)

Moving into MCC School in Class VI was a given – my father was a teacher in this school.  Mr. Clement J Felix with his charismatic personality was perhaps the most impressionable figure at that time.  Mr. Loganathan is another teacher who carried on where Mrs. Mohanraj left.  He used to read to us Papillon and Henri Charrière kept us company through the three years that Mr. Loganathan was class teacher (Class VI, VIII and VIII).  The best memories of school, however, were on the playfield where as an athlete and footballer, we kept winning laurels for the school.  Mr. John Mark, was the football coach and PT master who inspired and encouraged us, as we went on to win the State Level Football tournament.  The first of the informal teachers was my brother who coached us and who was an inspiration to the entire team.

Mr. P Viswanathan, my Chemistry teacher was the person who I should thank for helping me get into BITS, Pilani.  It was he who convinced me that I should go to BITS, Pilani.  Of the days in BITS, I can’t actually remember any one teacher who has been a great influence on me. Well, I probably spent more time on the play ground of BITS, Pilani… BS Shekawat the Physical Director (for make-up permission letters), Kamala – the Asst. Mess Manager of SV Mess (always making sure I ate well), are people who I can remember having helped me. As a friend and co-athlete Tanvir Ali Khan was perhaps the biggest influence on me at that time.  The football team was wonderful…and we went on to win the GD Birla Memorial football tournament.

Dr. V S Rao, is perhaps the only teacher who during our thesis semester used to spend time with us in the Chemistry lab (don’t ask me what I was doing there…it had something to do with how Insulin got absorbed in the body..) I got to meet him much later in life…and I carry very pleasant memories of my interactions with him.  He has since, gone on to become the Director of BITS, Pilani at Hyderabad.

I don’t believe education ends when you leave college.  Learning is a lifelong process, and you tend to learn from everyone.  There have been ever so many people, right from my first Boss, Venkat, to Hari (who continues to be my mentor), Paddy Iyer, my colleagues and friends who have at various times played different roles as guides, mentors and teachers – all of them ultimately influencing and helping shape who I am!

To all those teachers, by profession or by role, I thank you, for guiding me through life.

To Sir, with Love

What would it be like to become the Headmaster of one of Chennai's most famous institutions at the age of 27? An onerous responsibility for sure, but it would seem like an equally challenging opportunity to carve the destiny of a school. And that was exactly what Mr. Kuruvila Jacob did. As this school turns 175 years old, all old boys of MCC School will definitely salute this man, who made this school one of the most prestigious institutions in Tamil Nadu, probably even in India. For the students of MCC School who studied from 1932 through 1962, he was a powerful force who influenced them, and to put it in the words of more than one man of that time – "Made men out of boys". And we are talking of people who are doyens of Indian Politics and industry; but yet to hear them talking of their teacher is truly inspiring.

And so yet again, August 3^rd was a day when people from different walks of life gathered to pay tribute to one of India's finest teachers. What makes this gathering so unique is the manner in which they choose to pay tribute to someone who inspired them during their formative years. A group of students belonging to this era have come together to create a trust that goes by the name "The Kuruvila Jacob Initiative for Promoting Excellence in School Education". This has been formed with the objective of encouraging schools adopt a more holistic concept of education that allows students to develop a well-rounded personality. One of the key objectives is to act as a catalyst in aiding schools adopts innovative methods and techniques in the learning process. Towards this cause, they have launched an Education Leadership Program that provides senior teachers of various schools to gain exposure in advanced teaching methodology and training methods. The CII Institute of Quality and IIT Madras (whose director Dr. MS Ananth is an old student himself) have been largely instrumental in designing the TQM program and the web-based learning programs, while the Eduction Leadership program is being conducted in conjunction with CEMD, Delhi. They have been taking these educational methods to Government-run schools and supporting the teachers create a more effective mechanism for increasing attendance in schools and reducing drop-out rates. (http://www.kuruvilajacob.com/school.htm has more information about this)

The web-based learning project is yet another initiative that is set to transform the way teachers teach. In a move to make education more student-centric, there has been a lot of emphasis on creating an environment where the teacher is the facilitator and allows the student to explore and discover knowledge. In the collaborative environment that is the classroom, this knowledge is shared and discussed, thus creating new knowledge. Even in the days when the Guru was considered the sole resource person, our ancient texts said the knowledge was the cumulative process of combining the teaching of the guru with introspection, interaction and experience. Today's challenge is to make available the cumulative experience of the class so that the student's learning goes beyond the experience of just one individual. From that perspective, web-based education, rightly-harnessed will allow for greater collaboration among schools and in the process greater sharing of knowledge. It is hoped that this learning process will not duplicate a typical classroom learning experience, but harness the power of the internet to make the resource available in a manner that facilitates and encourages the student to explore and create his knowledge base.

"When I graduate, I'll probably have a job that doesn't exist today". This quite aptly sums up the challenges of the students of the Net generation. In his best-selling book "Grown up Digital", Don Tapscott talks about the this generation of learners thus: "They seek choice, customization, collaboration, fun, speed and innovation in their learning… they expect to learn how to learn, not what to learn." Students will use technologies in collaborative inquiry-based learning environments with teachers who are willing to assist them in transforming knowledge and skills into products, solutions, and new information. How well will our schools be able to transform themselves and adapt to the new pedagogy – the intersection of pedagogy, content, knowledge and technology?

As long as we have far-sighted teachers like Kuruvila Jacob, we can rest assured that schools will face up to this new challenge too.