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To my teachers, with love.
Education, like charity, begins at home. So it was in my case. The
relationship between my father and me was more of a 'guru-shishya' parmapara
than that of a child awed and constantly corrected by the parent. His life,
words and works are what have shaped my life more than anything else. I salute
him this week in which we also celebrate "Teacher's Day" in India. I also
salute my teachers in school and University. It is not everyone who is blessed
with teachers like Pandurang M.Naik, known simply as "Guruji" by the thousands
of students he taught, Theresa D'Souza, Ivan Rocha, Edwin Saldanha, Shrikant
Hegde, Fr. Vivian Lobo, Fr. Theo de Sales, James Fernandes, Queenie Saldanha,
Fr. Nicolau Pereira, Dr. K.R.Melanta and Dr. Lamon Brown. Surely, I have had
many more good teachers, but these are the ones who have influenced my life
the most.
>From the student's point of view, it is not so important as to how well a
teacher teaches as how much one learns from the teacher. Whether it is in the
examination at the end of the term or during the many tests during one's life,
what the teacher has taught is not as critical as what one has imbibed from
the teaching and the teacher's life. That teacher is best who creates the
proper environment for learning to take place. Teaching is not the continuous
process of life, learning is!
My greatest 'guru' outside home is Edwin Saldanha. He taught us art
[or 'drawing' as it was known when I was in school] and I must admit that, in
spite of his best efforts, I still have not learnt to draw. I did
learn 'colouring' and how to use contrasts and harmony of colours. This is
useful in my professions of landscaping and publication. His greatest
contribution to my life is the introduction to "Boy Scouts" and the constant
goading to excel. He was never my 'Scout Master' in school. This role was
played by Shrikant Hegde to perfection. Mr. Hegde and I learnt how to tie the
standard scouting knots from the book because he did not want his student to
look like a fool at the training camp held a few days after I was 'invested'
as a Boy Scout in school. With Hegde as my Scout Master, Fredrico de Ataide as
the trainer and Edwin Saldanha as the pace setter, I had the distinction of
being the first Boy Scout from Goa to receive the President's Medal from the
President of India. Remove Edwin Saldanha from this stage of my life and I
might have been just another mediocre student with poor self esteem and then
employed in some nondescript job.
A teacher who has shaped the lives of many students, including me, in St.
Britto High School is Ivan Rocha. He picked up boys and trained them for
General Knowledge Quiz, elocution and debates. He invested his time in many
generations of students. He would dip into his pockets to buy us snacks and
tea, for growing-up boys are forever hungry. Quite a few of us have ventured
into journalism, and are doing well in it, because of him. Team work,
delegation of roles, quick thinking, the art of repartee all come from such
events. We are richer for the experience and the guidance of teachers like
these. They gave us the better perspective of life.
The difference between a rich person and a poor person is often determined by
the person's perspective of life. A friend of mine forwarded this illustrative
story to me just a few days back.
One day a wealthy man took his adolescent son on a trip to the country with
the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple
of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"
The son replied, "It was great, Dad." "Did you see how poor people live?" the
father asked. "Oh yes," said the son. "So, tell me, what you learnt from the
trip?" asked the father.
The son answered, "I saw that while we have only one dog and they had four. We
have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek
that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the
stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole
horizon. We have a small plot of land around our house and they have fields
that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve
others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our
property to protect us; they have friends to protect them."
The boy's father was speechless. His son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me
how poor we are." The boy's perspective is a refreshing one. It makes one
wonder what would happen if we all had teachers who gave us such a perspective
of life. I salute my teachers especially on Teachers' Day. (ENDS)
Miguel Braganza's column at:
http://www.goanet.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=482
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The above article appeared in the September 1, 2006 edition of Gomantak Times,
Goa
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