In the hearts of my sweethearts...

By Scholastica Gomes

I am a lecturer with 33 years of teaching experience. Recently, as I sat reminiscing about my student days, a memory of one of my college teachers returned vividly. She addressed every student as a “sweetheart”.

Each time she called me a ‘sweetheart’, I used to feel overwhelmed.
The word touched me so deeply that when I became a teacher myself, I too began addressing my own students as ‘sweethearts’.

Over the years, as I nurtured, disciplined, and imparted knowledge with proficiency to my students, I also strove to be their friend, counsellor, and mentor -- instilling in them a sense of goodness, altruism, and compassion and leading them step by step towards holistic growth. The pulls and pressure I encountered from various stakeholders often weighed on me, sometimes restricting my attempts to shape their journeys as fully as I wished.

All teachers with nobility pour from their vessel only to see the growth of their students, to watch them blossom wherever life plants them – like the lotus that rises in the midst of slush and murky waters. I too emptied myself for their development and growth, though there were moments when I felt that teaching was simply a thankless job, with little reward and even less recognition.

But then, unexpectedly, a chance encounter would prove me wrong. Whenever I was in a public place, I was welcomed with familiar but forgotten faces by my alumni. I would suddenly hear a voice and turn to find a former student smiling in recognition. At a recent alumni meet, my belief that teaching was a thankless job with little reward was again proved wrong. The alumni testified to the influence each teacher had over their lives and considered all teachers as their second mothers. They fervently spoke about how, as teachers, we discovered their hidden talents, encouraged them to step onto a stage and perform – and how these opportunities had given them confidence and helped shape them into distinguished individuals.

Their words of profound gratitude washed away all lingering doubts. I realised then that being a teacher isn’t a thankless job, but one filled with love and gratification. I had to teach students with diverse interests --some playful, some naughty, others studious, smart and austere, and endlessly curious. Even now, wherever I go, I seem to find all my sweethearts. 

I often recall the words of St Francis of Assisi: “For it is in giving that we receive.” How true this rings; it is for all us teachers who have sown in love, as we continue to live in the hearts and minds of our students. As Pope Francis said, ‘What merit is in a teacher if we can’t love all our students?’