Penning the Pedagogues - 2

I had survived the turmoil of kindergarten and now we move on to the people who took it from there

PRIMARY SCHOOL
Ms. Catherine (1st Class) : One thing we had in common was that both of us were new to this section of the school. A new teacher and a new student…….what problems could we have with each other? Why none at all! She was really sweet, always had nice words for me and very understanding and of course she had the energy to keep up with the sugar induced hyperactivity of a class full of midgets. I really don’t have many memories of her but I do remember her making us learn opposites by enacting them and she did offer to arrange a full-fledged boxing match between me and a girl with whom I was having a minor scuffle (hmpf!!!)

Mrs. Daphne Stevenson (2nd Class) : Like I mentioned earlier that I had always been a favourite with my school teachers but here is a person who truly, truly loved me. Mrs. Stevenson was this jolly, plump, middle –aged lady and had more than the required patience for handling us imps (excluding me please!) She was to me what an angel would be to the wretched in those parables. A special mention here about a hellion named Mrs. Ingrid who made sure I was a nervous wreck throughout my stay at primary school (I was so relieved the day I graduated to middle school!) Let us say it was…….hate at first sight. She was notorious for pulling people down from their posts of authority on pretext of misbehaviour. Many people had suffered at her hands but I alone held a special place in her heart and she made it her business to see me through this eternal damnation I was condemned to for Jesus knows what reason! Yes, pretty soon it was my turn when she accused me of indiscipline during prayer time when I was actually putting up with a very trying charge (that is what’s written in my job description lady!) Thus my fall from grace. This is where Mrs. Stevenson picked me up and sheltered me and told me not to get on her wrong side. I know I made her really upset the day I was caught writing song lyrics in class and as punishment she made me read it out in front of the whole class and that really left a mark on me. So if you ever see me covering my ears and shouting in anguish when the song “Ye Dil Deewana” from Pardes is being played, you’ll know why………….. On the very last day of school, she presented me with a story book and told me to consider it as a prize for the Handwriting Competition I never won (Mrs. Ingrid was on the judge panel. Hmmmmmmmmm……) Tell me can any of one of your teachers match upto mine?

Hindi Teacher (2nd Class) : Why is it that I never remember the name of my first Hindi Teachers? Anyways, she was North Indian tadka wrapped in Kalkatta Meetha . She showered her wrath on everyone in sight but softened towards me when she found out I was somewhat related to the city she grew up in (read Calcutta). I remember her reproaching me for not giving her chocolates on my birthday. What a glutton……..

Mrs. Margaret McLeod (3rd Class) : Now she was a teacher with spunk. Boisterous, loud and a laugh riot, she rocked to the core!!! And we 3rd graders simply loved her for her personality. My memories of 3rd class are mostly having fun with her and laughing a lot. We really missed her the days she was absent because we would get…you’ll never guess who..as our substitute teacher. Drumroll please!!! Mrs. Ingrid!! TA –DA!!! One math period I had finished my sums like a good girl and was waiting for our next assignment. I had absolutely no idea that the girl next to me, Akshaya, had stolen my book and was copying from it. That didn’t go unnoticed in her eyes. So up she marches to me and says “How dare you let her copy!” and WHACK, conveniently ignoring the real culprit. Poor 8 year old me! My conscience didn’t even permit me to use profanity for uppity Mrs. Ingrid. Mrs. Margaret did her sharing of protecting me as well. Oh you should have seen her whizzing around helping us set up our little food stalls on carnival day! Some of us were even made to put up game stalls. (My idea of a game? Make Mrs. Ingrid sit at the stocks and pelt her with rotten tomatoes. Now THAT’S a carnival!) You rocked Mrs. McLeod!

Mrs. Bindu (4th Class) : Meri Pyaari Bindu, Meri Bholi Bindu……..It’s like as if that song was written for her. Tall and graceful, that’s how I remember her. Not many memories of her either but I do remember her being very concerned about my drill uniform because parrot green was a very hard colour to find! Yes 4th class was mostly about Sports Day and Drill practice. One day during practice, when I was completely in sync with the girl in front of me, Mrs. Ingrid (yes, its her again) materializes out of nowhere and has the audacity to tell me “Are you blind? Why can’t you look at the girl in front and do?” and obviously WHACK! (I told you she hated me)

Mrs. Anita (Games) : She was pretty nice. Firm but all the same good natured. She was unbiased, gave equal attention and care to all 4 houses and…………..didn’t speak very good English sadly (eg. “How many money you paid?”)

Mrs. Greta (Singing and Drama) : She went about her job with the enthusiasm of a corpse. She always treated us as if we were dirty laundry she was supposed to wash. Our voices were never good enough for her, we always sang out of tune, we were bad actors, we were terrible dancers, we were indisciplined, we reminded her of a fish market, we were stupid………..you get the idea. She was never endearing to me anyways not after her constant jibes at my physique. Well atleast my teeth were white and perfectly aligned and my skin was wartless and wrinkle-free (Touche!)