#3 Why did you leave teaching?

Teachers' Day Revisited

Clearly Larry Hartnett's doing, this.  He posted on Facebook today, musing about Teachers' Day tomorrow, and I got to wondering if I should answer the oft-popped question, Why did you leave teaching and join corporate life?

But before we go there, allow me a comment on this whole concept of Teachers' Day. For one thing, it's the punctuation that often gets me, especially in the greetings cards that are so lovingly and painstakingly directed by the parents of those ever suffering kids. The term has been variously misspelt: Teacher's Day (only for that ONE special teacher?) and Teachers Day (all of them, no possessive case).  So I thought it might be a good time to reiterate my obsession with the proper apostrophe, seeing that it's part of my name. So, three cheers for all those kids (and adults) who write Happy Teachers' Day on September 5th this year and every year.

I miss it, for sure, every year.  Those fabulous hand made cards with your name hastily scribbled on just when they noticed you turn the bend.  Those awkward bunches of flowers handed from boys to men!  And then, it's annual pen collection time too, though there was one time when I was gifted a set of "sidewalk chalk" in bright colours. My class sixes will recall the huge chalk sticks that were used to learn Geometry on the basketball court.  I miss the class parties they used to organize, with everyone's mum sending in goodies which were soon polished off. The excellent performances they would rehearse for their teachers, ranging from recitation to singing to one very spectacular karate demonstration during which suspicion for broken benches suddenly and inexplicably swivelled towards Ganesh!

The unavoidable general stage performance by the kids in "honour" of their teachers left many red-faced as they were mimicked and impersonated on stage.  Many a true word is spoken in jest and some of the quirks of the classroom were assassinated on stage in similar fashion to the character assassination of students that is so diligently practised in the staff room!

There were the low points too.  For example, the Class Teachers would be ensconced into their classrooms and feted in style. The "subject teachers" were subjected to less attention and were often forgotten.  They would sit around in the staff room till some class representatives came to call them to the party.  Naturally, they would have to go literally door-to-door visiting various parties and that led, eventually, to the downfall of the celebrations.  And I'm never going to get into that one party (at another school where I taught briefly) during which the kids threw food on the walls, the ceiling fans and out the window --- in fun!

In an effort to create equality and all that blah, the class parties were banned, gifts were (rightfully) banned and the school settled down to a Teachers' Day Lunch after the community stage show which in later years were choreographed (read: vetted) by the Management.  Why "rightfully" in brackets, back there?  Well, there were teachers who ran a campaign before the great day, hinting and specifying what they might like. Shirt sizes?  Cheap stuff.  Lamy Fountain Pens?  Mid-range to say the least.  Some gifts were so demanded that they had to be delivered at home, privately.  I kid you not.

At any rate, the entire exercise resulted in the celebration slowly descending into a ritualistic set of activities and often enough teachers themselves didn't show up for the staff lunch.  Last I heard, the lunch might have been abandoned in favour of a day off.

But I hope the boys (big ones) have kept up the tradition of the beer at Olypub after the rituals?  Used to enjoy hanging out with my colleagues in the affordable beer days.

So, just in case you think I faded out of teaching in the same way as teachers' day celebrations faded out of the calendar, that's so not true.  I quit at a time when I was in top form.  However, this essay has really gone on too long, so you will have to hear that story in the next episode.

And for their own sakes, I hope someone mentions Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan tomorrow.  Who's that?  Oh, never mind.