An Open Letter to All our Dear Teachers in These Covid-19 Times

Dear teachers,

One day is certainly not enough to celebrate your sustained efforts to mould us into better human beings. I am sorry that you are once again called upon to observe this day without the healthy classroom community that you cultivated with years of your patience. The students that turned into your kids in no time yearn to see your cheerful smiles again as well; a smile that came right after successfully explaining a tough topic, a smile that knew no bounds when our fatigued brain cells finally understood something after hours of your hard work, a smile that you wore proudly when we flooded you with obvious questions. The pages that brought us close had lessons that extended beyond our exams. They spoke of our stories, our efforts and our struggles. We have bookmarked them and wish to open them at the earliest. 

What is often known to be a very rewarding profession has now turned into a prolonged torment. A miniature virus has separated you from the buds you wanted to nurture into colourful flowers. You had so much voice to give to our budding opinions but we all have been shushed. Long years of your perseverance did not deserve to get reduced to students trying to digitally bully you. I am sorry that your valuable experiences are being disrupted and ignored by students, consciously or unconsciously. I am sorry that you have to wait endlessly to get a bare minimum response from students and that the meme culture is cashing in on your helplessness.    

Much like the frontline health workers who have been working tirelessly, you are also called upon to fight a battle – a silent and unnoticed battle wherein you are only armed with your immense patience. While there is no Richter scale to acknowledge your patience, I wish you to know that behind those dreaded screens, some minds are really learning so much from you. Your efforts are making a huge difference to some of us. You are as important and valued as some of the great heroes of the nation even though you are not listed as one. History shall remember you as the strongest fighters who had to face the most prolonged brunt of the pandemic, the fighters who gave their all to keep an enlightened legacy alive. Precious class group pictures are missing from our walls but your fighting spirit towards a transition you never signed up for is permanently etched in our hearts. 

Dear teachers, our forced split is absolutely unfair. Because they say nothing lasts forever, a minuscule fragment of my heart believes that we’ll meet again for our lessons. Echoes of our meaningful discussions and learning will once again adorn our classrooms. The walls of our classrooms will hear inspiring stories again and see our collective capabilities performing miracles. There is so much more that we need to pick up from you and oh we are not leaving anywhere before we have had our fair share of learning from your rich persona and precious experiences. We’ll fly back home one day to our safe and formative space and tell you how much we missed you. Before we stand up to greet you, we’ll pay a salute to you, our unsung warriors. 

With lots of love,

A student from an unfortunate batch