Mother – The First Teacher
What a great day to remember the people who nourished my childhood and my education than this Teachers Day.
A mother is always the first teacher. Now, at this phase of life, this statement feels true when I notice that many things I have inherited from my mother, were through her genes, her words, or her never ending teachings and this is going to stay for lifelong.
Real World Teachers
When I was growing up, my grandfather had an initial impact on my learning. He used to teach me mostly Mathematics, and whenever I returned from exams, he and my father would ask only one question: “Hishab mein kitna? Saey mein saey?” (How much will you score in Mathematics? Will it be 100 out of 100?)
In the eighth standard, my sister used to teach me Science and Mathematics. In the half-yearly exams, I secured 50/50 in Mathematics. Two boys achieved this, and my teacher asked both of us to stand up. He first appreciated my friend and then, noticing me, said, “Arey tumko kaise aa gaya?” I wasn’t mature enough to understand what he was asking and couldn’t answer. I kept wondering why he asked that for several days.
Then, during the board exams, I again secured 98/100 in Mathematics. My friends went to meet our Maths teacher. Two of his students had secured 98, and his words about me were, “Arey usko kaise aa gaya?”. Again I was not his favorite student. Pardon me for mentioning so many incidents related to Mathematics. The reason can be twofold. First, Mathematics was my first crush; I was almost on the verge of ruining my career because of this love. That story is for another time. Second, in our state, it is commonly believed that if a student is good at Mathematics, will achieve something in their career.
These last two incidents triggered some doubts from people I always held in high regard. So, I became determined to prove myself in areas that seemed tough. When I entered graduation, the complexity of Mathematics began to reveal itself. However, I received guidance from a wonderful faculty member who was a Gold Medalist in Mathematics. I remember that in many of his classes, I did not take notes, but I could tell the value of each calculation he solved on the board. He was always curious about how I got the calculations right. Under his guidance, I secured 100/100 in Mathematics in two semesters.
In our Bachelor’s program, we were introduced to Coding. I was fortunate to receive guidance from a faculty member whom I consider a real gem. Coding can be challenging if the basics are not solid. The way he introduced us to flow charts and asked us to draw numerous flowcharts before writing a single line of code was an excellent approach to teaching coding. He taught us C/C++/Java/DSA, and his teachings were so thorough that I did not need to put much effort into these subjects during my Master’s program.
Moving on to my Master’s at BIT, away from home, I received maternal guidance from one of our faculty members who taught us C++. She was the placement head and appointed me as placement coordinator. Although could not secure placements with initial companies like Direct-I and Samsung, was placed with a third company. Once placement season was gone and we completed our semester exams, she invited me for dinner with her family. I wasn’t sure whether to bring sweets, a gift, or go empty-handed, so I went empty-handed. She hosted me for a dinner with her family and later gifted me a very nice shirt. She and her husband then dropped me off at my PG. I kept that shirt for a long time, only stopping to use it when my body weight no longer allowed it.
Happy Teachers Day to All
In professional life learnt from mentors and people who doubted and who guided equally. In personal life, more than by the support of others, I have learned from the denial of people’s support. Learned the value of money when people denied support in tough situations and learned to be a good friend when friends I looked up to denied support.
So, Happy Teacher’s Day to All!
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