Haven’t we all grown up admiring our favourite school teachers? This admiration has actually led many to pursue teaching as a serious career choice. On the occasion of Teacher’s Day 2023, we spoke to Mumbai-based educators who credit their success in being a teacher to their teachers
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“Anything said by a teacher is a gospel truth for students. It is necessary for teachers to choose the right words and think before speaking to them,” Sheel Nerlekar says. She is a 71-year-old retired school teacher with 27 years of teaching experience.
“When I look back and reflect on my journey as a teacher, I am filled with a sense of pride and not an ounce of regret,” Nerlekar reveals. What motivated her to impart knowledge to students for 27 long years, you ask? Her own teachers. Nerlekar, however, is not alone.
Ahead of Teacher’s Day 2023, we asked educators how their teachers led them to pursue a career in teaching. They share their inspiration and impart words of wisdom to all the young teachers.
The teacher who inspired me
Dr Vandana Lulla (58), director & principal, Podar International School, also found her calling due to her teacher who is also her father. Becoming a teacher was her childhood dream. “My father would teach with so much passion. All his students performed extremely well. Watching him practice his profession with such dedication and seeing him deeply care for his students and their future was highly motivating for me. I wanted to become like him. That’s how I knew what I wanted to do in my life - make a difference in the lives of children,” she shared.
Her father is not her only inspiration. Lulla’s college professors too, played a huge role in helping her become a better teacher. She says, “They taught me what it is to be an Ideal teacher. They made me realise that teaching is no ordinary profession. It comes with great responsibility as it involves dealing with children. Teachers are responsible for shaping the young minds who contribute to nation-building and also go on to represent the country on a global level”.
Another educator who found her inspiration to venture into the teaching profession because of her teachers is Pradnya Utpal Parkar who has been teaching Geography and Commercial Studies for the past 24 years at Green Lawns School Worli, Mumbai.
We have all admired our favourite school teachers either for their dressing style, their wacky, patent one-liners or even their hairstyles, at some point in time during our school days. It was the same for 46-year-old Parkar.
Reminiscing her childhood days, Parkar, a student of Canossa High School, says, “As a child, I was fascinated with teachers and their style of teaching”. She adds, “I always focused on how they spoke, how they pronounced each word, their accent, how they wrote on the blackboard and how they treated students. After returning home from school, I used to role-play as a teacher and teach my imaginary students”. Her fascination and admiration led Parkar to pursue teaching.
For Nerlekar who taught Mathematics and Science to the tiny tots of Green Lawns School Worli, Mumbai, it was during her formative years that she realised she thoroughly enjoyed sharing knowledge and nurturing young minds.
Besides her innate passion for learning and knowledge, her teachers played a significant role in her decision to become an educator. She says, “Their dedication and enthusiasm motivated me to follow their footsteps. Many of them ignited my curiosity to learn new things and encouraged me to think on my own. Their strong belief in my capability to become an educator, led me to become the teacher that I am today”.
Imbibing teachers’ style and attitude
Teachers, as we all know, are a storehouse of knowledge. They don’t just educate students but everyone around them. They are individuals who never stop learning as well as teaching. Lulla, Parkar and Nerlekar credit their holistic growth as children to their respective teachers.
“My teachers always motivated me to participate in all curricular and co-curricular activities in school. That’s what made me an all-rounder. I developed risk-taking abilities that have now helped me explore unchartered areas. This was one of the prime reasons I was so confident in introducing the international education boards in India”.
Besides pushing us to excel in academics, teachers also instill key qualities that help us during our lifetime. Parkar says, “Being in a catholic school where most of the teachers were nuns, I was taught lessons of simplicity, honesty, sincerity and dedication towards work which I still follow in life”.
These teachers, today, have picked up the style, attitude and teaching methods of their teachers. For Nerlekar, her teachers made the process of learning fun. “I ensured to stick to that when teaching my students. My classes were always full of laughter and intellectual discussions which made learning fun,” she says.
Speaking on how she has imbibed her teachers’ teaching style into her own, Lulla says, “I am a reflection of my teacher’s style and approach. One of my teachers Dr D’Lima was tech-savvy and she never stopped learning new things. I follow her footsteps. She made me realise that age should never be a barrier to learning”.
In an interesting answer, Parkar's observations of a few teachers also made her realise what she should not do as an educator. “I had a Biology teacher who used to simply read from the textbook and not explain much. I know it is not something that will help students, especially for subjects like Biology”.
However, she also mentions her English teacher whose language skills were impeccable. “It was because of her,” Parkar shares, “that I developed a love for reading”. She believes, that to be able to make a difference and have a positive impact on students, a teacher needs to be a master of their subject. This is what Parkar strives to do each day in her profession as a teacher.
Meeting teachers as a teacher
Teachers beam with pride when they see their students as educators. Lulla often meets her teachers. When they first found out about her choice of teaching career, many of them told her that they always knew she would end up becoming one, since she had all the qualities required to become a teacher.
For Nerlekar, meeting her teachers as a teacher has been a heartwarming experience. “My teachers’ reactions after knowing I have become a teacher were ineffable. Their encouragement reaffirmed that I was on the right path. Honestly, I share the same emotions towards my students when I hear their success stories”.
Speaking about her experience of meeting her teachers, Parkar says, they were all excited to see me. The bright smiles on their faces made her happy. “It's a surreal feeling to see students when they come back to meet you after accomplishing great heights in life”. She adds, “Even today when students drop a simple text message wishing me a Happy Teacher’s Day along with a memory they have with me, I get emotional. It moves me to realise I have had such a profound impact on the minds of so many students”.
It is little things like these that have kept these teachers moving from one classroom to the other and impact young minds for years.
Word of advice for young teachers
A teacher’s profession is the most unique one. As the job involves shaping up tender minds, it requires complete dedication and commitment towards work. When asked about what advice she would like to give to aspiring teachers, Nerlekar says, “Be passionate about your subject, be empathetic towards your students and always be open to learning. Each student is unique and we learn a lot from them. When asked a question, think before you speak. Anything said by a teacher is taken as gospel truth.”
Similarly, Lulla advises all the new teachers to be open to accepting challenges and any sudden changes like what we experienced during the pandemic. She says, teachers should be tech-savvy, creative and innovative. They should be voracious readers and researchers and must always keep themselves updated. She shares a mantra for teachers to follow: Teach from the heart to the heart.
Parkar too has a message for the new teachers. “Don’t take up the job of teaching just for the sake of it. Be in this profession to truly make a difference in the lives of students.”
With Teacher’s Day 2023 just around the corner, don’t forget to express gratitude to your teachers who have educated and equipped you with the knowledge and skills to excel in life.
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