Sunday, August 24, 2014

What it takes to become a teacher? the words within:







As if i were a river,
the harsh age changed my course,
replaced one life with another,
and i do not recognize my shores.
I have thought this over when i joined this profession way back three years then and now i believe in what the ancient poet Hafiz said in an inspiring way,
this place where you are right now, god circled on a map for you.
Mysterious are the ways of life and we can never see what is store in for us tomorrow. We can only dream, we can only build a gorgeous castle on it. We may or may not own that castle, that dream but somehow the destination takes us to tomorrow we deserve.Teaching profession was once a 'tomorrow' made up of hopes and fears till it became 'today' once in life with challenges and preparations. But now it becomes the glimpses of 'yesterdays'. It becomes a journey taken once, left only and solely for contemplation and reflection. It becomes a rich library of experience to assist me to lead the life as future comes in the face of 'todays' and 'moments'.It was the 25th of february that i had something waiting for myself that i woke up feeling excited in a newly rented house and sent sms to my friends in other schools, wishing for the first day in the school. The adage written on one of the big posters in my room clicked on my mind, ''you never get a second chance to make a good first impression".Dressing in my best gho, socks and my shiniest shoes, making myself look alike garpas and grooming our coiffure simple and presentable, i walked to the school, trying to be the heroes with high self esteem and personalities.Every morning before entering the boundary of my school, i always became aware of myself and that is what mirrors are for. The most important things we can enhance are our hair and our dress and even our shoes. To this i have always worn the gho, shoes, socks and kept hair in the best way i could. I have always endeavoured to show my best to the students as i entered the class, modeling myself after the best teachers,writers and speakers whom i have met in my life.The moment i enter the class i begin to feel like a theatre hall where there are curious onlookers and i am the main protagonist.
Everyday the school starts with the siren of the gong at 8:00 am with the dawn of the bird songs heralding a perfect day. Everyday comes with openess of purity and opportunities to showcase our best potential to the students and only a lighted candle can light other candles and only an inspired teacher can inspire others.
The classes run full swing everyday as its usual ritual. Teachers are busy making meaning rather than merely striving for money. If we really want to see the busiest people in the society, they would be the dedicated teachers, health workers and the farmers. They hardly have a time to play small in life. To quote US secretary of education, ''teachers are the heroes of the classroom, who are on the front line day after day, week after week, dedicated to meeting the needs of each child in their classroom.'' Teachers are truly lost in the busyness of making meaning and the picture of our nation as an architect of the future. It taught me to live every moment with discipline and to grow up in learning to teach and teaching to learn."The universe is holding its breadth........
waiting for you to take your place".............
writes Jean Houston in amazing powerful lines above. It make us think that we all have roles once we enter the globe theatre of this planet. As we enter the theatre of education and school, we have the sacred roles to play. The roles of heroes like in Shakespearean plays, in famed classic romances and say like the heroes in the hollywood hits.
With an estimate of 7.18 billion people on the planet, we are individually made up of million of cells, 23 pairs of chromosomes, 50,000 to 100000 genes inside our hereditary material called DNA, with the 7 pH value of blood , yet we look so very different. So the role we have as a teacher to play has become a bit scary, uncomfortable and difficult. This role gives us choice every day, simple but never easy.
To all those great and an inspired teachers it doesn't really matter whether you are in the woods or in Washington, Laya or in London, Sakteng or in San Francisco, Taraythang or in Thimphu and all it matters is your passion to pursue, inspiration to instill and do the difference.
With many things experienced and learned, teaching has become a rich memory of life and
travelling across the journey of life, the traveller has to come to a halt in the evening.

I saw a dream and in it i was just .................................................