An Ode to Those who Teach

By Fr Joshan Rodrigues –

“I could not understand why I was getting a medal. It’s not as if I had blown up the Death Star! All I did was get through fifth grade, just like everyone else had. …Maybe then again, that’s kind of the point. Maybe the truth is, I’m not so ordinary. Maybe if we knew what other people were thinking, we would know that no one’s ordinary. And we all deserve a standing ovation at least once in our lives – my friends do…my teachers do…my sister does for always being there for me…my dad does for always making us laugh…and my mom does the most for never giving up, on anything, especially me.”

These are the endearing final lines in the film ‘Wonder’ (2017), spoken by 11-year old Auggie Pullman (played by Jacob Tremblay) as he walks up to the stage, having just been declared the recipient of that year’s Henry Ward Beecher Medal for being the most outstanding student. Auggie was born with a facial deformity at birth and has gone through almost 27 facial correction surgeries in a short span of 10 years.

Still, that’s not enough to stop other children from treating him as a “freak”. Having been home-schooled by his mother so far, she now decides to send him to regular school. The film follows Auggie’s struggles at school, being ostracised and isolated by his classmates. Slowly but steadily though, he manages to burrow his way into their hearts, by his loving personality and strong personal courage.

This is one of the best movies I have seen in recent times. It is a ‘Taare Zameen Par’ kind of movie. In the midst of all the high adrenaline CGI-generated movies that we are so accustomed to watching, ‘Wonder’ reminds us of the simple power of the human story and how it can be conveyed through cinema. The film’s setting mostly being in school, I could not help but also admire Auggie’s teachers, who reach out to him with love and affection, treating him not as a child with facial deformities, but as a child whose intelligence and empathy are way ahead of most kids in his class. They see him for who he is on the inside; they do not judge him for what he cannot change.

As I look back on my own days in school and college, I am eternally grateful for my own teachers, who made learning so much fun and interesting. Many of them had strong personalities which are etched in my memory for life. Teaching wasn’t a job for them; it was a vocation.

History classes came alive in their life-like storytelling abilities; punctuation marks became personified as Mr. Comma and Mrs. Exclamation, who knew exactly where to settle in a sentence; mathematics became a murder mystery with unknowns and clues to be solved; the science teacher strapped us all on a big rocket and fired us all into space! Not to forget Marathi and Hindi. I owe it to my language teachers that I can today celebrate Mass in these languages. The Marathi teacher would call out to me as “Roshan!!!” and five other boys in the class would stand up, who answered to that name, except me of course, much to her chagrin. School was always fun.

Teaching is something that I have always enjoyed myself as well. I consider it one of the most satisfying aspects of my priestly ministry. Teaching at Confirmation classes, Bible studies, Youth groups and various other ministry meetings have always been something that I have looked forward to. Some of the best people that I have met and befriended during my ministry are also teachers, and I must say that they always display a higher degree of empathy, love and enthusiasm in parish life. I remember the tears that swelled up in one of my teacher’s eyes the day I went to invite her to my priestly ordination. You could see the pride in her eyes as she told me that she had received many wedding invitations from her former students, but never one for a priestly ordination. My priestly formation began long before I entered the diocesan seminary; it began with my parents and teachers.

Teachers are extraordinary people, and if they knew what their students thought of them, they would know that. As Auggie says in the film, they deserve a standing ovation for the noble work they do for moulding and transforming young hearts and minds, who can go on to become good children, good parents, good colleagues and good citizens. It is sad and unfortunate hence, that society and government doesn’t always treat them as they should.

Instead of looking after them, the Education Department quite often makes life even difficult for them – unpaid salaries, refusal to confirm jobs, election duty, temporary jobs on measly pay, dumping policy and syllabi changes on them mid way during the academic year…the list goes on. Changes in discipline rules in the classroom have virtually tied teachers hands, leaving them helpless sometimes in front of unruly groups. Add to this, parents sometimes take their children’s side against their teachers, leaving a deformative impression on the minds of young children. How can children learn to respect their teachers if their parents don’t? They do not deserve this.

As we celebrate Teachers Day this year, let us pause to really pay them tribute for the tremendous impact they have made on our lives. We must ask how we can assist them in this noble vocation, not just on one day, but on every day of the academic year. How can we bring pressure to bear on the authorities to treat them in the way they ought to be. Parents should see them as collaborators in raising their kids. If you meet a teacher, give her/him a ‘jappi’ so they feel loved and appreciated. I hope these few words of mine may be a humble tribute to all the teachers whom I know and who taught me over the years (and continue to do so, by the way). It’s a little weird at this age and with my hair, to sit among young college kids and learn – worse still when even the professor seems younger to you!

Pope Francis once said that the mission of teachers is to develop an understanding of what is true, good and beautiful; the maximum of all these three virtues is God Himself. Jesus was also a great ‘Rabbi’ or ‘Teacher’ in the eyes of the people at that time. I pray that the good Lord always protect, love and imbibe all teachers with the grace to carry on this noble profession with ardour and strength. We pray through the intercession of St John Baptist de la Salle who is commonly regarded as the patron saint of teachers. In India, we look to the patronage of Dr Radhakrishnan, the great statesman-philosopher-teacher who is held up to us a model to emulate.

From the book of Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers, we can say this prayer for each one of our teachers:

Lord God,
your spirit of wisdom fills the earth
and teaches us your ways.

Look upon these teachers.
Let them strive to share their knowledge with gentle patience
and endeavour always to bring the truth to eager minds.

Grant that they may follow Jesus Christ,
the way, the truth, and the life,
forever and ever.
Amen.

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Fr Joshan Rodrigues is the Managing Editor of The Examiner, Catholic Newsweekly of the Archdiocese of Bombay. He is an alumnus of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome in Institutional and Social Communications. He has done brief stints with the DeSales Media Group in Brooklyn, New York and Communications Office of the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales, London. He frequently blogs on faith and culture in ‘Musings in Catholic Land‘