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When your teachers praise you, it matters

A couple of months ago, an ex-professor (my favourite!) reached out to me to check if I'd like to speak on digital journalism to the graduating batch (Mass Communication) of Panjab University, Chandigarh.

My school-going years were guided by a philosophy that if my teacher didn't know answer to a certain question then nobody else possibly did. Mum-dad could be wrong, but not my teachers. Likewise, their approval, be it a nod of recognition or a pat on the back, mattered the most; more than marks, certificates, or trophies. A lot of us go through this phase - the 'my teacher is the best' phase. One would assume growing up would bring about a change, perhaps not. Yes, while the relationship we share with our lecturers in college and professors in university does undergo a change, the urge to be in their good books doesn't. We never get tired of impressing them, and why not! To date, I wait for a 'very good', if not a star, from my teachers.
A couple of months ago, an ex-professor (my favourite!) reached out to me to check if I'd like to speak on digital journalism to the graduating batch (Mass Communication) of Panjab University, Chandigarh. It's the place where I learnt how to write headlines, love fonts. The session was done via Skype. Whilst it made me realise how years go by and students sit at the same desks and nurture similar dreams, it also made me see my teachers in a different light. I learnt how teachers don't tire of teaching, encouraging, educating and instilling faith. My talk on digital journalism went well - I think so.
The students asked the right questions, and seemed impressed with my answers as well. But for me it was the smile at the end of the session by Ma'am that mattered the most. It was her pride in my work, my session that was my takeaway from the experience. And just like that I was the university girl once again - looking forward to my teacher telling me I fared well.
What's it about the praise and validation that come from a teacher?  I am yet to come up with an answer. But these words from Stephen Hawking come close to it: "When each of us thinks about what we can do in life, chances are, we can do it because of a teacher".
Yes, we're all growing old and perhaps our teachers aren't around anymore either. Of course, we've learnt how to ridicule adults, teachers in specific - who needs them when we have Google and YouTube? In this era, does a nod from a teacher hold any value? I will leave you with an incident, which may help you decide. A 40-year-old friend is learning how to play the guitar.  These days he is working on a special self-assigned task - to learn and master a special song that he'd play for his Sir on Teacher's Day in September. Why, I asked? "He'd be so happy when I'd raise my hand and say I want to play for him and the class!" It's nice not to grow up, right?
 -purva@khaleejtimes.com