Sahityika AdminEditorial – To Sir, with Love
During our adolescence, when we are going through our most vulnerable minds, and preparing ourselves to the adult world, there are a few who stand by us and help us through those sensitive moments. They can be anyone-a friend, a parent, a sibling, a priest, a teacher.
Today, being grown up, we recognise those teachers who helped in our grooming. We commemorate those who have taken up the task of educating us and guiding us through life itself. Today, we honour our teachers, all of you who have in one way or another, played a part in the shaping of who we are and who we are yet to be.
A teacher is more than an educator. A teacher is our friend, a counsellor, a mentor. They guide us even after we pass through the portals of our school and step into the world that lies ahead to be conquered. In these years of our youth and adolescence, when the friends we make are likely to be the friends we keep, it is our teachers who guide us on our path. When we fall, more often than not, it is a teacher who picks us up, dusts us off and gets us back on our feet. When sorrow comes our way, and all who surround us can offer no solace, it is not uncommon for a teacher to lend us a shoulder to cry on.
Today we, your students, be past or present, would like to honour you, our teachers, for all that you have done for us. You have always been there when we needed you most. You have never failed us in any way, have always forgiven us our mistakes, and never turned away anyone who sought your help.
Today, we honour you for the wonderful people that you have been, that you are, that you always will be. Today we can say that although we may be aggravating at times, perhaps even many times, we remember you for who you are.
You have been all things to us. You have been a friend, a counsellor, a mentor, a guide, an educator. You have shown us by example the way to lead our lives as we continue to tread the roads of our lives. You have given us your love, and we could not ask for more.
You have been our teachers
Those school girl days of telling tales and biting nails are gone,
But in my mind I know they will still live on and on,
But how do you thank someone who has taken you from crayons to perfume.
It isn’t easy but I’ll try,
If you wanted the sky I’d write across the sky in letters
That would soar a thousand feet high,
To Sir, With Love.
The time has come, for closing books and long last looks must end,
And as I leave I know that I am Leaving my best friend,
A friend who taught me right from wrong, and weak from strong.
That’s a lot to learn.
What! What can I give you in return?
If you wanted the moon I would try to make a start
But I would rather, you let me give my heart,
To Sir, With Love.
Those awkward years, have hurried by why did they fly away.
Why is it Sir children grow up to be people one day,
What takes the place of climbing trees and dirty knees in the world outside?
What is there for you I can buy?
If you wanted the world I’d surround it with a wall I’d scrall
These words with letters ten feet tall,
To Sir, With Love.
Reference:
To Sir, with Love is a 1956 autobiographical novel by Guyana-born E.R. Braithwaite. The novel is based on his experiences as a black schoolteacher working in a predominately white school in the East End of London.
Tell me and I forget.
Teach me and I remember.
Involve me and I learn.
– Benjamin Franklin
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