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The teachers behind the teacher


The Teachers Behind the Teacher

This Teachers’ Day, I realised something I wish I had realised much earlier.

I have received countless messages from my students over the years, but I have never sent a Teachers’ Day message to any of my own teachers.

I remember them. I remember what they taught me. More importantly, I can still see their influence in the teacher I became.

And that made me think about the teachers behind the teacher.

Mr Lewis, my English teacher, was the one who made me fall in love with language. He taught me to look at literature more closely, to analyse it, to question it and to find meaning beyond what was immediately visible.

Miss Namita, my Biology teacher, made me curious about the human body and its intricacies. Because of her, I wanted to read more about human anatomy, simply because I wanted to understand it better.

Then there was Anita Sood Ma’am, my Science teacher during my primary school years. She taught me something that I still use every day as a teacher: how to simplify the complex. Even today, when I am explaining something difficult to my students, I instinctively try to break it down into something they can understand. I suppose that lesson began much earlier than I realised.

And Geeta Ma’am, my Hindi teacher, was the one who gave me the confidence to speak on stage. I wonder if she ever imagined that the confidence she encouraged in me would stay for so long. Even today, I speak on stage, anchor school events and find myself comfortable addressing an audience.

When I think about it, my teachers did much more than teach me their subjects.

They left something behind.

A way of thinking. A curiosity. A skill. A confidence.

Things that became so much a part of me that I forgot where they came from.

And yet, I never went back to tell them.

Perhaps social media simply wasn’t a part of our lives then. There were no WhatsApp messages or Instagram posts reminding us to reach out to people from our past. When we passed our exams and moved ahead, life moved with us. We rarely looked back.

But that is not really an excuse.

I could have met them. I could have made a phone call. I could have found a way.

I didn’t.

And now, some of those opportunities are gone forever. Mr Lewis is no longer alive.

That thought has stayed with me.

This Teachers’ Day was wonderful for me in many ways. There were messages, warm wishes and time spent with friends. It reminded me that we do have a life beyond the classroom too. We can step away from lesson plans, answer sheets and deadlines and simply enjoy being with people we care about.

But the messages from my students stayed with me the most.

They had taken out time to think about me. Some remembered something I had said or done. Some spoke about a particular moment. Others simply told me that I had made a difference to their lives.

As a teacher, we often don’t know what stays with our students.

We teach a lesson and move on. We correct a sentence, explain a concept, encourage a hesitant child to speak, or simply say something at the right moment.

Years later, we may discover that those little things travelled with them.

I am living proof of that.

Parts of my teachers are still present in the way I teach today.

And reading those messages made me wonder: how many of my teachers might have wondered the same about me? Did they ever think about whether something they had taught had stayed with us? Did they ever wonder if they had made a difference?

I will never know.

Because I never went back and told them.

That is probably the part of this Teachers’ Day that has stayed with me the most.

We often wait for our students to remember us. We feel grateful when they do. We treasure their messages and their words.

But perhaps we should also remember the people who once stood where we stand today.

The teachers who taught us before we became teachers ourselves.

The ones whose lessons quietly travelled with us into our own classrooms.

I wish I had gone back.

I wish I had said thank you.

Perhaps it is not too late for some.

And perhaps that is what I will take away from this Teachers’ Day: gratitude should not need a date on the calendar.

We often wait for our students to remember us.

Maybe, sometimes, we should remember first.

Because every teacher carries traces of the teachers who came before them.

I know I do.


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