Teachers are no more Grinding Preachers

The timeless opening song of the “Sound of Music”: “The hills are alive with the sound of music……” would often stir up my romantic imagination when I found myself amidst the murmuring leaves in the deep wood, surrounded by the silent sunlit hills in my school picnic. I would venture into solitary walks until I reached a sacred spot. I closed my eyes and lo! The picturesque Salzberg hills would merge with the Indian tropical hills around me in my mind’s eye.

I spent my childhood in a hilly green city. During the mid 70’s that I witnessed the beautiful musical Comedy with my Dad, which left a curious lasting impact on my persona. I crooned, “Doe a deer, a female deer,” as my little feet scampered down the hilly roads to my school.  I loved Julie Andrews and searched for her in all my classes year after year. Ironically, I met the likes of “Mr. Grad grind” (Charles Dickens’ “Hard Times”) and his counterparts! I felt so out of sync with most of my teachers. They would often punish me as I wistfully chased one of the twittering swallows among the mango groves in the school compound whose flowers smelt of spring.

 During those greener days, I resolved never to be a teacher because I was scared of the image of “Teacher the Preacher.” If I was in awe of the knowledge and integrity of my teachers, I was also in mortal fear of their methods of discipline, which were often severe and insensitive! Nevertheless, every individual’s life has its twists and turns, and it was destiny’s choice that, over time, I became an English teacher in Indian classrooms! My dream to be a media person, and eventually, a writer remained dormant for decades.

In India, a teacher with a cheerful disposition and wit is generally frowned upon by conservative school administrators. When it comes to a lady teacher, they consider indulgence in humor and laughter in the classroom to be quite outrageous! So a young Indian lady spilling over with cheerful spirit would put on an artificial mask of Victorian morality before she entered the classroom.

However, through my personal experience as a rebellious student, I discovered humor to be a productive way to spice up even grammar classes.  I activated and engaged my class through spirit, and it was fun teaching the English language in a multilingual classroom. During those challenging days, the students worked hard because they could loosen their ties and laugh in my classroom.

 I discovered with time that funny acting too could help a great way to release any tension brewing in the classroom. A teacher, indeed, cannot be a buffoon. But a good sense of humor can make sensitive teenaged children (from diverse family and economic backgrounds) feel at ease in the competitive atmosphere that prevails these days. Humor is a great democratizing force.

Besides, there are funny anecdotes that can breathe fresh air into our monotonous teaching hours. I remember, in particular, about a class where I told them to avoid words that are heavy as rocks and boulders and use lucid language. I illustrated it with a funny joke from the good old Victorian days: A gentleman appeals to a lady to allow him to use a pinch from her snuff box:

“Lady! Would you be kind enough to allow me to dip down my two fingers into the odorous concavity of your snuff box to produce titillation in my nostril?”

Other games, skits, and comical voice modulation can bring alive the subject taught in the class. I firmly believe that such methods motivate even distracted minds to pay attention! 

In this context, I cannot but remember the La Vegas theatre performer Deloris taking on the persona of Sister Mary Clarence, the music teacher played by the showstopper Whoopy Goldberg in Sister Act 1! I love the way she controls her unruly and rude students in her own uniquely humorous style. She motivates the unwilling adolescents to listen to her and helps to spruce up the school with the help of other nuns and fathers. Mary Clarence’s clash with the Reverend Mother, who finds her ways too radical, is curious! The hilarious church choir entertaining the diocese with their hip-hop-inspired choreography is fantastic!  The last gospel song presented in contemporary style took my breath away: “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee”….

The song softens the mind of Rita Watson’s mother, Florence, who is skeptical about her immensely talented daughter’s wish to take up music as a career.  She believed music to be no career choice because it “does not bring food on the plate,” she claimed once. However, after realizing the greater truth of life, the mother hugs her girl, the lead singer in the school music group who won the all-state choir championship trophy!

The movie’s ending shows how love, music, and a lively spirit can melt hardened minds, open them up, and deepen perspective so that we become more flexible and acknowledge the changes and demands of the time.  Laughter and lively spirit can bind humanity as music does because these are the common languages that harmonize ‘Humanity.’ So let the teachers, the creators of the new generation, be Joyful and spread the spirit of Joy around. Amen! J