I have huge respect for teachers. To my mind, teaching is one of the best professions one can take up. Being a teacher is a huge responsibility, for it involves the shaping of young minds. That teaching is not well paid or adequately respected is proof that much of the world is wrong-headed.
You’ll figure what I’m getting at when I tell you a story told by a rabbi that has been doing the rounds on social media. It reminded me of a very kind gentleman who was more a teacher to me than a boss for over two decades and who stood behind me like a rock despite my occasional foolhardiness at work.
I have no clue at which event the rabbi told the story but he talks of a young Jewish man who unexpectedly spots his Grade 3 teacher at a wedding. The man walks up to him and introduces himself but finds that the teacher doesn’t remember him. After a few perfunctory questions about his family, the teacher asks the man what he does for a living.
“I’m a teacher,” says the man.
“Ah, just like me,” replies his teacher, exclaiming that it had been years since he had seen his student. “What inspired you to become a teacher?”
“You did,” replies the man.
“Me? What that I said or did inspired you?”
“I remember what an impact you had on me. I thought I could have a similar impact on children and decided to go into teaching,” the man says.
“What kind of impact did I have on you?” asks the teacher.
The man smiles. “I’m sure you remember the story but I’ll remind you… One day, one of my friends came to class with a beautiful wristwatch his parents had given him. I had long dreamt of possessing a watch but my parents couldn’t afford to buy me one. So I decided to steal his watch. And I did. Somehow, I managed to pull it out of his pocket and slip it into mine.
“When he discovered that his watch was lost, he came running to class and told everyone about it. When you came to class, he complained to you that he couldn’t find his watch.
“You told the class, ‘Whoever has taken the watch, please return it.’ I had taken it but I didn’t want to return it, so I kept mum. When no one came forward, you said, ‘Boys, since no one has returned the watch, I’m afraid I’ll have to check your pockets. Please line up against the wall but keep your eyes closed.’
“I was terrified that I would be caught and exposed in front of everyone, and it would be the most shameful day of my life. But along with the other boys, I lined up against the wall with my eyes closed, and you started emptying our pockets one by one.
“You found the watch in my pocket and took it out but you didn’t utter a word. You continued checking pockets till you reached the last boy who had lined up. Then you said, ‘OK, boys, open your eyes.’
“Once we were back in our seats, you returned the watch to its rightful owner without saying a word. Not only did you not tell me anything, you didn’t tell anyone anything, not even the boy whose watch it was. You didn’t mention the episode ever again, not to me, not to anyone, not ever. It had happened but it was over. You had made your point and I had understood your message.
“Years later, when I thought to myself how you had saved my dignity that day, how instead of having me stereotyped as a thief, as a liar, as a despicable child, how you saved my soul, I told myself, ‘This is what a teacher is, this is what a real educator is, this is what I want to do with my life.’ So, I decided to go into teaching.”
After a long pause, the teacher exclaims, “Wow, that’s amazing! Really amazing.”
But the man isn’t done telling his story. He continues, “Teacher, you don’t remember this? When you hear my name or you see me, you don’t remember… you really don’t remember that it was I who had stolen the watch? That you had asked all the boys to keep their eyes closed so you could save my dignity? You don’t remember it was me?”
“No, I don’t. I wouldn’t know it was you.”
“Why not?” asks the man.
“Because I too had my eyes closed,” replies the teacher, leaving the man stunned and speechless.
What Kahlil Gibran says about teachers
Sample what Kahlil Gibran, the Lebanese-American writer, says about teachers in his seminal book, The Prophet:
“The teacher… gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness.
“If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.”