An Ode to A Special Teacher!

The life of a teacher is not an easy but certainly a remarkable ride. Blessed with the opportunity to heal ignorance and enlighten thousands of minds, they have an imperative role to play in the society.

Being a parent, I feel honoured to mother two, and rather accomplished at having done the job reasonably. I can only imagine the sense of pride a mentor would feel, seeing his prodigies take wings and go places in this world, all sprouting from the saplings he had carefully grafted. It must involve a hell lot of responsibility, only a feeble part of which is answerable to the employer. Mainly it is to self that he answers whether he has guided each inquisitive young soul rightly. And, for a special education teacher, this sense of accountability is even more deeply rooted.

As all his prodigies, each skilled in a different and unique way, look up to him to teach them not just inked gibberish but the skill to survive. Survive... Survive against all odds of life, and he teaches them to believe in miracles and more than anything, in themselves.

At a school for physically challenged, you can see lives being transformed as little ones learn to master their more visible inadequacies than their ‘so called’ normal counterparts. They learn to believe in the spirit of humanity as they are exposed to the rawest forms of human compassion under the care staff and wonderfully patient special education teachers. In a way, this ironically points out what such a teacher imparts so easily by leading by example, and we so often fail to teach our children.

Being human is a simple virtue too tough to master. And these teachers lay paradigms of it for others to follow, unknowingly in their simplicity. What are nuances of daily life for them is an awe-inspiring life changing miracle for people like us. When with the kind of talent they have, they can easily opt for white collar jobs and more paying professions; they choose to work with these special children. A career path with little recognition and tough life, where swapping duties of a nurse and a teacher is everyday life.

Perhaps, they seek no accolades and adornments but their rewards lie in seeing their students smile and take a shot at life with full might. I salute their spirit!