teacher's day Archives - Obsessivemom

05/09/201408/11/2022

10 wonderful things I learnt at school

Like for most others, schooldays were perhaps the best days of my life. However, I like to think that my school was better than everyone elses. Yeah! yeah! you can say what you like and argue all you want but ours really was just that tad bit better. Today on Teacher’s Day I’m sharing some priceless lessons that I got at my school.

1. The joy of singing in a choir

The skill and energy that the nuns put into teaching us hymns at school will stay with me forever. In fact when I had the twins I found myself singing ‘Joy to the world‘ while putting them to sleep. And later when my son took up music and came home humming ‘Give me oil in my lamp‘ I felt such a sense of home coming. Others might think of Rajesh Khanna at the mention of the piano but I will always remember Sister Alice Mary.

2. To say it with cards

We made cards for everything. invitation cards, thank you cards, sorry cards, get well soon cards! A habit that has stayed with me and one I’ve tried tirelessly to pass on to the children.

3. That punishment could be given creatively

We got some of the most creative punishments in school. We’ve been paraded before our younger siblings (‘Look how careless your OLDER sister is!’), made to sing Edelweiss, made to hold our tongues, quite literally (just trying doing that for a while), made to stand inside a waste paper basket.

4. That books are to be respected

‘No bookmarks no books’, was the rule in our library and I remain compulsive about bookmarks. The other day I’d gone to get a passage from a book photocopied and as the lady there turned down the corner of the page I winced so audibly she thought I’d hurt myself.

5. That girlfriends are the best friends

Aren’t they? That comfortable feeling of being completely yourself, of being able to talk about ‘anything’ under the sun. Yeah girlfriends are special.

6. That cricket isn’t the only game in town

Along with basketball, throwball and volleyball we played games like French Cricket and Danish Rounders. Heard of them? Anyone? For the record: We played no cricket.

7. That all religions are to be respected

I think it’s a great idea to study in a school of a faith different from yours. It gives not just tolerance but love for that other religion. Growing up in Lucknow in a Hindu household, with Muslim culture all around and a Christian school. It can’t get better.

8. That it was perfectly normal for girls to play boys’ parts in school plays

… and hilariously funny for boys to play girls’ parts in all-boys schools.

9. That kids with raffle sheets deserve kindness

Those weren’t the times of multi-storied societies. Only I know how many times I have roamed around houses brandishing raffle sheets and trying to explain to people (very far removed from raffle sheets) what it was all about!

10. To keep my knees together when I sit

Right from my earliest memory of school, I was never a girl – always a young lady. And there were some things that ladies never did. They never shuffled their feet when they walked, they kept their shoulders back and heads up, they always spoke politely and they kept their knees together when they sat.

So tell me what’s special about your school people.

03/09/201415/04/2017

Sickbay tales

This Friday while everyone was welcoming Ganapati, N, the strong one, the girl who never falls ill, caught the virus. She’d been up early morning and dressed in all her festive finery ready to go visiting all the Ganapatis that were arriving at our friends’ and relatives’ homes. Even as I sponged her burning forehead she refused to change out of the Chaniya Choli confident that she’d be up and about soon. After all, she never did fall I’ll.

H wandered about listlessly with nothing to do since his favourite ‘toy’ was out of action and the house was so so quiet. By the night, as expected, he followed suit.

Next morning The Husband was travelling for work and I spent my day sitting between the two children sponging them turn by turn. N opened her feverish eyes once to murmur happily, ‘our house looks like a sick-bay’ and then went off to sleep again. Why she seemed so happy about that, I have no clue. Meanwhile the Husband caught the virus too and slept his days off in his hotel room!

H firmly believes what N can do, he can do better and so he decided to have rashes along with the fever and I was rushing to the ped yet again. To make matters even more interesting they got calf-cramps, apparently that’s a viral side effect. They couldn’t stand or walk and proceeded to crawl all over the house like one year olds. No, the option of sitting in one place was not an option at all.

Phew!!

Finally day 6 sees them better. The biggest problem has been FOOD. They just do not want the regular stuff and my limited cooking skills have been stretched to the limit.

I’ve had a hard time steering them off television, with limited success. Today, however they spent the day making Teacher’s Day cards and gifts all on their own. Yeah sometimes I do get the feel that they’re growing up after all.

Those rolls are ‘pencils’ which they intend filling up with sweets.
And that’s a ‘tippy tippy top’ with a straw pushed through to make a flower.

So that’s what the week’s been like! I still haven’t managed to go Ganapati visiting. Hoping the next few days will bring better health and some peace to our home.

05/09/201315/04/2017

To Sir with love… Or ma’am, if you please!

I’ve admitted often enough I’m a last minute person and so of course despite reminders from good friends it was last evening when we got down to working on our Teachers Day craft. It had to be something quick and easy – that’s all we had time for, anyway.

At the stationer’s shop as I was picking up some glitter paints I found another hapless mum, a little girl tagging along, asking the shopkeeper for ‘inexpensive gifts’. Apparently the little one wanted gifts for not one or two but ten of her teachers. Couldn’t help smiling at the mum’s predicament as she see-sawed between a host of pens and keychains. As she saw me picking up the 3-D paints she seemed pretty inspired. She managed to convince her daughter to make cards instead and walked away with a bunch of glitter paints! I made a craft convert :-). Yay!

I picked up some sheets of foam, some glittery ribbons and paints and we went to work on our fridge magnet photo frames… Two each for Hrit and Naisha. Thank the good Lord I didn’t have to work on 20.

Hrit always likes to work to his own ideas. Even if he likes mine he will undo it completely because it has to be ‘his’ idea. Naisha on the other hand is often ready to accept my suggestions and will simply add to them… How different are the two of them!

Here’s what we made.

These are Hrit’s, done completely on his own..

And these are Naisha’s with some help from me…

A simple contraption at the back to hold the picture.

And here’s one more idea.. Contributed by the SIL. My niece asked for, hold your breath, 15 handmade roses. Check them out… Paper flowers with toothpick stems and a leaf that says ‘Happy Teacher’s Day’. Isn’t it just perfect to make her smile?