TEACHER’S PET…IS THAT YOU??? 🤔

Remember that rhyme we learnt as kids…

'Teacher’s Pet - Is that you? Yes! Yes! Yes!' 

As a student, I remember my friends often accusing me, of being one of the teacher’s favourites, simply because I was a 'Prefect and House Leader' in school, and was frequently running errands for the teachers. I also got an opportunity to participate in a lot of activities in school, and as a result I interacted with my teachers much more than other students. Automatically, that resulted in being tagged as the ‘Teacher’s Pet’.

After a span of eleven long years, I have heard that term once again; and I’ve been thinking of that nursery rhyme once again today. I happened to hear a comment in school, that there were certain students, who I was favouring more than others. I was never fond of that tag as a kid in school, and it is even more disconcerting, to be associated with that same tag, now that I’m a teacher.😔

In the past three and a half years, I have always tried to be as fair as I could, to every student that I’ve interacted with. No Favourites!!! That has always been, what I aim for. There have definitely been students, with whom I have interacted more than others, in the various activities that happen in school, right through the academic year; and so automatically, a closer bond has developed with those students. In certain cases, that teacher-student relationship has gradually turned into friendship, as the student grew up. Despite that, I have still tried my best, to be neutral as far as I could.

However, I guess I’ve always been a person who tends to get attached to people faster than others. Unknowingly, I think my boys in school, kind of fill up the empty space created in my life, due to the loss of my own younger brother. Without actually meaning to, I think I tend to display a great fondness for certain students, which is not appreciated by the others.

We are human beings. As hard as we try, I don’t think we can take away emotions and feelings from our interactions. Those emotions could sometimes be misinterpreted by some people; and as a result, cause unwarranted stress for the people concerned. I guess life is like that though. 

This makes me think of another line I’ve heard before. ‘You can please some people some of the time; but you can’t please all the people, all the time.’🤷

So, to each his own. I know what I am, and what I do; and as disturbing as the insinuations may be, I guess the best thing to do, would be to keep being myself; and no one or nothing, should be able to alter that.