Teaching is a very noble profession that shapes the character, caliber and future of an individual. If people remember me as a good teacher, that will be the biggest honor for me -Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

On this day dedicated to teachers, I am writing this blog, to pay my respects to all my teachers who have made a big impact in me. Today I am in a similar profession, a soft skills and behavioral trainer, trying to bring a transformation in people’s life. My skills as a trainer are attributed to each and every teacher whom I will be writing about in this blog. They have in some way or the other impacted my qualities as a trainer.

Esther miss who was my 1^st standard class teacher, who I get to meet at times when I am in my native, is one I remember who is known for making students understand their mistakes in a way that students do not get hurt. Felicia Naveen miss my 2^nd language teacher in 3^rd and 4^th grades who used to give us assignments regularly on weekends to get the week’s portions registered in our minds. By the end of the week, students would get the poems and grammar part so thoroughly.

Since both my parents were working, they had arranged a home tutor for me and my 2 elder brothers. Chandrika miss, was our tuition teacher. She used to come home every evening and patiently sit with us to make us do our homework and complete our studies. She was yet another parent to us. I have always admired her for her patience.  The tribute to Chandrika miss in this blog is not only from me but also on behalf of my brothers.

My 7^th grade class teacher and English teacher Ms Rajan, made me realize the importance of showing the right kind of strictness with students. She was a straight forward teacher who would put things in the right way when students did something wrong or appreciate them truly for something good they did. Our Maths teacher Mr. John Vincent was one who made Maths interesting to all the students. We enjoyed Maths for his teaching.

Ms Yolanda and Ms Myrtle, who are no more now, have taught English to 3 generations. In my 8^th grade I have had the privilege of attending couple of their classes. The way they explained poems and stories is still ringing in my ears. Mr. Dinakaran, one of the other English teachers, used to make us feel as if we are traveling along the happenings in each lesson. Ms. Nirmala, my 10^th grade English teacher, taught us grammar which I can still remember. She took almost a month’s time to make us understand the concepts of simple sentence, compound sentence and complex sentence.  The way she split them into bits and pieces to make us understand them is something I follow now to teach something to my child.

Revathy mam and Vijaya mam, my Maths teachers in 9^th and 10^th grades,  were the people whom I remember could make even the dullest of students understand Maths. We would wait for Maths classes not only for the way they taught us Mathematics but also for the friendly relationship they had with the students. Mr Gunaseelan, was our history teacher, was also our vice principal then. History was a dry subject but with lots of facts to remember. But Mr. Gunaseelan made even history an interesting subject to learn through his unique way of teaching. He would share a lot of stories to make the subject interesting and follow different techniques to make us remember facts.

Vidya mam, is one of my most favorite teachers, who taught us Biology and General Knowledge in my 8^th grade. Her systematic and organized way of teaching Biology was very interesting. I never had to study anything again for any exams. Just attending her classes and completing the assignments and activities would be enough to understand the subject well. A strict teacher when it comes to teaching and kind hearted person when it comes to making students learn them. I remember an incident where, there was a student who had scored a little less than the passing marks. She did not speak any harsh words the student. Instead she just gave the paper and said “go through your paper and see if there is a place for me to give you a little more mark so that you can pass”. This statement, I am sure would not have hurt the student but would have definitely given a realization to work hard next time. In one other instance she took a lot of time individually for another student to ensure that student was well prepared for the exam. Also the time she spent on correcting the work of students would be the same as the time she would take to prepare for teaching. She would pay detailed attention to the students’ work to mark corrections and mention detailed remarks on the work. This would give the students an encouragement and a lot of involvement to do a better work next time. I can keep writing about her, I would need one separate blog to write about Vidya mam. I am happy to be still in touch with her sharing my thoughts and getting to learn a lot from her even now.

Surya mam, my higher secondary class teacher, also taught us biology in 10^th standard. She made learning biology very interesting to understand and learn. As a class teacher in higher secondary she was a very friendly teacher as well.

 I would also like to mention about my college professors in my post-graduation, Mr.Joseph Zachariah, Mr. David Leolex and Uma mam who have taught the subjects in a totally different way making us understand the subject by not following the usual methods. I can still remember their sessions and also wonder how teaching can be made so different.

There are a few resource persons from a couple of training camps that I have attended, Ms Chitra Ganapathy, Ms Girija Sathya Shankar, Mr Paari Vallal, Mr T K Chandra Shekar,  Mr.Panchanathan, who have inspired me to take up soft skills training as my profession. These are the people from whom I have understood the nuances of training. They have made the training programs very interesting that it has made me realize there is a trainer in me too.

My tribute would not be complete if I do not mention about Manasa mam, from whom I am currently learning Carnatic vocal music for the last couple of years. My interest in learning music was always there in one corner of my mind, but did not get materialized until I realized it would help me equip myself in my training profession. Technically, a trainer needs to have a good voice training to deliver training effectively. Yes, I landed in the right place. Manasa mam not only teaches me music, she also teaches the technicalities of doing the right things to get my voice trained. I have understood what I was doing wrongly, where I need to correct myself and what I need to work on. The level of confidence I am having now is immense than it was a couple of years back. She also shares a lot of videos and articles on training, which I use for my training programs. I am greatly indebted to her for all the learning that I am getting from her.

I would like to conclude my blog by taking this opportunity to thank all my teachers for the learning I have got from them, which has made me what I am today. With their blessings I wish I move up to higher levels in my training profession.

Aacharya Devo Bhava