| Issue 23 Vol I, September 15, 2006 | Archive |
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The lost world of good teachers MR. Bal Anand’s " In First Person " write-up titled “Coup D’etat in School” made a very interesting reading. I could well relate to the dedication and commitment of teachers of yore partly because of my own experience both as a student and a teacher. This piece led me down the memory lane to my own schooling during 1940s. Here are a few vignettes to share. S .Kundan Singh, regarded as a nice teacher, sits under a kikar tree in the spacious courtyard of our village Primary School. Using his knife, he meticulously shapes reed pen points for each student of his class so as to make them handwriting conscious. In the middle classes or grades 7-8 of Khalsa High School Kila Raipur, Giani Jagir Singh, Punjabi teacher, introduces and acquaints us with the classic writers like Baba Farid, Bulleh Shah, Waris Shah, Shah Muhammad, Guru Nanak and modern poets, prose writers and novelists as Bhai Vir Singh, Gurbax Singh Preet Lari, Nanak Singh, Dhani Ram Chatrik and others As soon as he enters the classroom, Giani Ji utters a couplet or rubai which is to be written by us correctly and neatly. S. Arjan Singh, English teacher, is very particular about pronunciation e.g. the sounds of W and B; S and Sh; F and Ph etc. He is no less a handwriting stickler. Students have to use ‘G’ category nibs. If he detects ‘Z’ or other grade nib in his writing period, he mercilessly rubs its point against a desk till it breaks. He voluntarily takes after-school classes without charging any tuition fee. Spoken English is a passion with him. When the school is due to be inspected by a posse of education officers. Arjan Singh Ji is in his elements. He selects me and a classmate Hakim Singh to prepare a 5-minute piece of dialogue in English. Yes, English dialogue done orally by two Punjabi village lads! S. Joginder Singh PTI presents in the playground all neatly uniformed students, about 500, in an army-like disciplined formation. They do various physical exercises like one unit and also march to his loud rhythmic ‘Left, Right…..’ commands. The same PT Joginder Singh whose live commentary on popular Kila Raipur Rural Olympics Meet became legendary for the audience. S. Darshan Singh, newly graduated English teacher for Grade 9, brings a drum in the classroom and makes us practice forms of verbs e.g. sing – sang - sung; hide – hid – hidden while marking time with the drumbeat. This is just a sampling of diligent and dutiful input by teachers of yore in the physical and intellectual growth of their pupils. A sound foundation was laid by a self-motivated service sans an iota of mercenary intent. Pritam
Singh Grewal |
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