The new teacher
It would be hard to take over Mr Singh’s place. He was our English Literature teacher and he often entertained us with his jokes. He had been transferred to another school, and we would be getting a new teacher.
When she walked into the classroom, I heard a few girls giggling. Miss Rahman the new teacher looked very ordinary. In fact, she was rather thin and short. Some of the girls commented that she did not wear make-up at all. But as the saying goes “don’t judge a book by its cover.” On her first day. Miss Rahman introduced herself briefly and explained how she would approach teaching English Literature. She told us that she wanted it to be a “living” subject because human life is complex and wonderful. We could all learn about life from stories written by great writers.
She also asked us to write on a piece of paper a short description of what we each like and dislike, and what we want our lives to be. When we handed it back to her. I thought that this exercise would end up like the others before. It would be forgotten by us as well as by the teacher. But Miss Rahman proved me wrong. Each time she talked to us outside the class, Miss Rahman seemed to remember the details we wrote and showed concern about our interests and expectations of life.
She told us that to enjoy reading, we have to imagine that our mind is like a multi-dimensional television set. When we read, we create pictures and images in our mind. If the book is a good one, we can also feel the emotions that the characters in the book are going through. Reading a book, thus, is an imaginative experience that cannot be duplicated by any technology.
Miss Rahman would often ask us to give our interpretations or views about certain passages in the book. She always considered our opinions carefully and never used the word ‘wrong’. In this way, many of us lost our fear of literature. In fact, we enjoyed offering out views, and we looked forward to her interpretations which she explained in a clear manner.
Whenever we had covered the lessons and had some free moments before the class ended. Miss Rahman would tell us about tier travels. She studied in Canada and had also worked as a teacher in Pakistan. Her travels had taught her that there are some universal emotions and needs that unite people all over the world. That is why we can learn to enjoy literature written by a writer of any race or from any period of history.
On the last day of class, Miss Rahman gave us a list of hooks which we might want to read during the holidays. She promised us that we would enjoy reading them. Our class gave her a book “Great Woman Writers.” We wanted to thank her for making us enjoy a subject which many of us had considered dull or difficult.
It is not often that we get a teacher who not only prepares us well for the examinations, but who also cares for us as individuals.
