Recent experience teaching Math at the local High school

While volunteering for tutoring, once the regular Math teacher let me watch her explaining circles and tangents to the students. Upon observing many of them busy with their cell phones, she took them away, putting in a rack to be picked up after her lecture. One of the students did not like it, threw some temper tantrum by flailing his folder right in front of the teacher. Then shaking off his shoulders, he muttered "Well, whatever" and walked away.

 

The teacher hardly cared, continued on, nonchalantly. I was flabbergasted. Such kind of behavior during our time would be unthinkable, at least in my school. It was a stark reminder of living in a different "STHANA, KALA, PATRA", i.e. place, time and association. A professor in my Engg college used to say " for coming in no permission is necessary, but for going out a definite permission is needed". One of my friends would deliberately utter "May I come in Sir, to make the professor repeat himself". Needless to say, walking away from the class could invite trouble. This generation simply doesn't fear or respect its teachers. In America they do fear and respect the law, the same needs to be sustained towards the teachers.

 

Reminds me of a few funny anecdotes involving lectures from my college days. The same professor while lecturing would say "you are living in the river and quarrelling with the crocodile", transliterating the Odia proverb "NAEE RE RAHI KUMBHIRA SANGE KALI KARIBA", roughly meaning "People who live in glass houses should not throw stones" stones". Chewing gum, wearing dark glasses or cap (unless you have shaved off your head) in front of teachers or superiors ( an IAS officer is being reprimanded these days for shaking hands with Modi, wearing sunglasses) was considered outright bad manners. Once a student entered the class wearing dark glasses, as he had conjunctivitis (pink eyes). The teacher promptly asked "you caught your eyes", which was a direct transliteration from AAKHI DHARICHI in Odia or getting a pink eye.

 

Pink or otherwise, many more such colorful episodes are associated to our student days. Once a teacher said " If you go DAALE DAALE (covering branches of tree), then I will go PATRE PATRE (covering leaves). It's a  blend of Odia and English, suggesting that I will be monitoring you. Came another request from the same teacher, sing a song so that GAGAN PABAN (sky and air) will be MUKHARIT (become musical). Meaning is self explanatory.