I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework. ~Lily Tomlin as "Edith Ann"

Dude Sajjan download this Mast song : Meri Mehbooba hai thu.. http://s37.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0143GK6KRGQ3E32DNN5I7NPFP1 For Romantic enthusiasts only ... Kumar Sanu at his best.. I bet no one knows what the name of the film is. Do Indian Schools have detention? When I was in my fifth standard, we were supposed to "by-heart"/"mug" one particular poem written by H.W.Longfellow, I'm not sure maybe it was from" Voices of the Night". It was a long time ago and I think I was busying playing cricket and hmm... somehow forgot to study the poem. As the roll numbers were in alphabetical order, I was always last. Number 65 that was my roll number. I was confident that by the time the other students took turns reciting the poem, the class would be over. It was just a 40 min period. And as expected, when my English teacher stopped the class it was roll number 42’s turn. I remember giving a mischievous grin. Post lunch session we were getting ready for the boring " Moral Science" class and Holy Smoke!! Our English teacher walks in. “NO NO its not your class” we screamed. It so happened that the Sister(Nun) who was supposed to teach Moral Science was on leave and so our English madam was acting as a substitute. As a result we had another English class. I was angry and nervous. I still had some time left. So I started cramming my head with the lines of the poem. By the time roll number 58 was called, I had finished studying 2 full lines. When my number was called I panicked and forgot even those 2 lines. Our Class teacher raised her eyebrows and said " All those students who have not been able to recite the poem will stay back and write the poem 10 times". Naaaaaaaaaahi. So it happened that after school, I was outside the classroom, on my knees, scribbling furiously. I was accompanied by a couple of other guys but I was the only one fuming. These guys were busy making rockets, chatting and having fun. And then the unthinkable happened. My sister and her friends walk by. I try to hide myself, hoping that the earth would crack open and swallow me. She goes past me . I thank my lucky stars but then one of her friends turns back and sees me. Grr ,ofcourse she told my sister. My sis comes back, gives me a smile, the trick is not to look into the eyes, and asks me why I was on my knees. I think of making an excuse but couldn't think of any. I was never spontaneous. I told her that as I was given imposition ,I would be coming home a bit late. (I was still writing the #$%#$^ poem for the 3rd time). Yep went home late and got some nice pattars from Mom and Dad. I remember another incident. It was the same year, a few months after the punishment; I had then climbed the ladder and had become the Teacher's pet student. It was our monthly tests and I had prepared well for the Science test and was feeling confident of scoring good marks. The day before the test, my sister asked me questions and I had answered them satisfactorily. The next day ,I walked into the classroom to find my friends studying "Sets and Fractions”. I am puzzled. Why were they studying Maths ? Then someone switched on the Wipro ‘0’ watt bulb . It was Maths test and not Science test. I must have swapped dates when I copied the time-table . I grab the nearest maths textbook. Suddenly Julie walks up to me and says, " Your sister is here". "My sis? ". And sure enough, she was standing by the door, giving me that stare which could turn Carbon to diamond in 3 secs . She enquires " Hmm so which test is it today?" I whisper " Maths" and before she could shout at me, the school bell rings informing us to assemble for the morning prayers. I bunk the morning prayers and the national anthem which gave me approximately 20 minutes to study 3 chapters in Arithmetic, 2 in Algebra and 1 chapter in Geometry.All my friends knew that I had studied Science instead of Maths and came over to console me. ( In those days I was very good in mathematics , it seems I helped my classmates ( especially girls) with their homework. I actually don’t remember that phase very well.hmm.. Then how do I know ? Well it so happened that when I was in my 1st year of Engg , I volunteered to donate blood .You know those organizations which go to colleges asking students to donate blood. My classmates and me decided to visit this camp, the reason being we could bunk a couple of classes. It was there that I met one of my old schoolmates.Shaheen , weird name right !! She used to sit next to me and I distinctly remember copying Hindi from her. We talked a bit and then she poked a needle into me, she was a volunteer too but not giving blood but collecting it. She was studying to be a Dentist. Later when I was drinking Badam milk and munching on an apple ( read checking out chicks) she came over and said She :“ Hey you know I used to copy maths from you ? “ . Me : “Really ?” * I was blushing .. come-on all my new Engg classmates where standing next to me. ) The Test began and our maths teacher started distributing the question papers and as I was her pet student she smiled at me. I was distraught, what would she say when I failed the test ? I don't know how, I think someone must have told her, but she knew that I had screwed up the timetable. She said," So you studied Science instead of Maths? It's alright I know you'll do well ". I smiled and sat down to tackle the problems. The worst part was that she stood right next to me for the whole duration of the test, trying to see what I was writing. I think she was trying to sort of help me. I scored 67. That evening got some nice pattars at home,Courtsey: Sis. The next day, when my class teacher was distributing the Science question papers she looked at me and said aloud:" Now that you have studied Science twice, I expect you to score 90”. I was ready for the challenge and yep-scored 91. Post Script : The teacher was Mrs. Phyllis. She used to teach both English and Mathematics. One of the best teachers in our school , she retired last year.This post is dedicated to the teacher who inspired me to do well in Mathematics. A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others. ~Author Unknown