BEST TEACHER

A teacher should have a good knowledge of the subject he teaches, good communication skills to transfer the knowledge to the students and a good character to earn the respect of the students. Teachers may use different methods of teaching which may also depend on the subject. Some teachers are kind, friendly or funny but may not teach well.

The best teacher I had was Mr. Jacob, a mathematics lecturer at Fatima Mata National College, Kollam. He taught me for two years (1974 – 76) during the pre – degree course. He made a tough subject easy by clearly explaining each step involved in solving a problem and getting us to do it along with him. He would then give us problems to solve on our own.

Mr. Jacob had a stern face and would not smile even once during the two years he taught us. There were about eighty students in the class. He would stare at any student who made even the slightest noise till there was total silence. There was pin drop silence during his classes. He never had to raise his voice. When asking questions, he would point a finger at a student and raise the finger. The student is expected to stand up and give the answer. If you see him outside the class, he would totally ignore you.

When the results were announced after the final examinations, most of the students got very high marks for mathematics. After the course, when he was no longer teaching us, he would smile briefly when we wished him.