The ‘Woes’ and ‘Wows’ of being a Teacher

” Oh No!Not again!” ,”Bad luck”,” Ma’am is here again,”  ” Thank God! She doesn’t have duty in our class”! …..And with these begin our days as teachers.Being strict has its own pain and price to pay.Day after day we have to hear from students that ‘ we’- a set few- are terrors and have never been lenient.And speaking is the least! There are posts and memes too! Children,whom we have seen growing up- braces on teeth ,eyes wide with awe and wonder – do not hesitate to speak so.Students have been heard commenting when asked about their favourite teacher -” Favourite Teacher! Nah! At least nobody from this school!” These are the WOES.The pain it causes can never be described. Who are we to blame? Ourselves? This Generation? Parents? Or the Media? Things have become such that respect towards the teachers,as well as the alma mater, has waned.                                  But is it only so? Aren’t there students who make our day brighter? Students who make us feel ‘yes, not all is in vain’.? Yes.There are. Whenever I am down after a hectic and seemingly fruitless day,I take out a yellow and worn- out sheet of paper given to me years back by a sweet student of mine.It never fails to bring tears to my eyes . Written inside are the words ” You are my God”, followed by a poem. Whenever I look at it I feel humble as I have done nothing to merit such adulation.But these words still make me feel that it is worth being a Teacher.And these are the WOWS!                                         I love being a teacher and from the bottom of my heart I salute those who have willingly and lovingly taken up this profession, despite the hazards! So, let us forget the numerous ‘ woes’ and cherish the few ‘wows’.                                                     I wrote these words few years back and today once again I sit to weigh the ‘woes’ against the ‘wows’.I ask myself- do I still feel the same?That few ‘wows’ can really heal the pain of numerous ‘ woes’? I am in a dilemma. The pandemic year has given birth to many doubts . Conducting online classes have made me question my worth as a teacher. Do the children really need us? What is the point in talking to disembodied voices? Most of the children do not bother to switch on their videos or interact.One year of this was enough to make me come to the conclusion that teachers are a thing of past! I no longer teach. The zeal is gone. Still, when at midnight a message beeps,” Ma’am, I scored a 98% in Boards… thanks to your guidance “…. once again I feel,’yes’! …a single Wow can definitely obliterate all Woes! Teaching is indeed a noble profession!