Secrets of a Teacher's Ward

It has been a year I passed my 12th grade and began a new journey of my life, but the memories of Oxford Public School have not yet faded. It has been a long journey with some ups and downs, a lot many things a child experiences in his school days - bunking a class, roaming around the corridors, standing outside Principal’s office, parents being called for annual report and what not. I am pretty sure most you might have experienced all of this, but to everyone’s surprise all of this never happened with me because my mother teaches in OPS.

I find this blog the right platform where I can explain how it is to be a teacher’s ward. It is definitely fun. You are neither ghar ka na ghat ka :D . Classmates see you as a potential tale-teller and teachers expect you to be a perfect student! 

I always studied in the school where my mother taught and for a year she was my class teacher too. So in my 15 years of schooling, I never missed her. We literally spent 24 hours together under the same roof. There are perks as well as short comings in such a situation.

I sometimes felt that it’s pretty cool to be taught by your mom in school. Here’s why:

a.  Because there is a funny belief among your friends that if they piss you off, they are pissing off their teacher to. While the real situation is actually quite different. My mother was very impartial when it came to matters related to school and I am really proud of it.

b.   I used to get to know all the cool stuff before everyone else. What cool stuff? Let me give examples:

Is tomorrow a holiday because there is a bandh scheduled? 

There would be no zero-period tomorrow.

Are they closing school from tomorrow because it’s quite hot?

People often don’t know the other side of this, it sometimes feels even worse when your mom is in same school where you study. Why? It is because:

a.    I was never allowed to top in any test, no matter how good my paper was. My paper was corrected with extra strictness. I remember complaining about this to my dad after every test :D. After a few tests, I had this ambition of topping in the subject when mum was my teacher and my happiness knew no bounds when I did it.

b.   I had parent-teacher meeting almost every alternate day. So, I couldn't dare to miss my homework or copy during class tests. That’s one regret I still have :)

c.     Not a chance that I could bunk.

d.    Oh, and most guys were 'afraid' to talk to me as I was their 'teacher's son'. That felt a little awkward and sad.

e.    My friends took liberty in complaining about me to my mom. And that was just to gain an edge. I knew it! Damn it you guys!!!

f.      I never could argue with other teachers because I knew they'd go straight to my mum!

g.    Sometimes I wished she would stop being so impartial and oblivious to the fact that I was her son and craved for her attention during classes.

But that was just me, that kid who was the star in all other classes except her mom's :D :D

This is all I went through my 15 years of schooling, I tried to show you my personal side of it. But on a serious note, I got to see how my mother has managed to be strong out of love for her profession and vulnerable out of love for her son.

Sarthak Dhamija

Alumni, Oxford Public School