To a child's mind different colors symbolize the character of different teachers. Here is an attempt at a classification. What sort of person is a teacher? When I was being trained as a teacher, I tried to evaluate the qualities of an ideal teacher. I wanted to set my goals in the right direction. I realized that not only are there teachers of all shapes and sizes, but that we could also classify them into colors. Green teachers are raw hands. Usually young and just out of school, they keenly try out different teaching methods. Often they are baffled by all these, become frustrated and end up as failures. Yellow is the color of ire signifying wrath, but yellow teachers are the ones who want to avoid anger and controversy at all costs. They are afraid to displease anyone and can easily be persuaded to give out good grades. At faculty meetings, they will agree with everyone. In the classroom, they say yes to students' ideas because they want to avoid any trouble. They always try to be close to the authorities. At times, they reveal the secrets of their colleagues to higher authorities and act as informers to please school officials. They do not hesitate to find ways to meet those in authority in order to present them with gifts and to try to get their support in their wrongdoing. Have you ever heard of blue moods? Well blue teachers are always moody. They think that the world is a cruel place and that they are the central target. They love melancholy, self pity and are often sickly. They perpetually complain about the noise in the classroom and about the numerous lessons they have to prepare. They always find fault with the system and talk about impractical things. They live in a world of fantasy without any base of reality. Gray is a dull color, and gray teachers are grumpy and the worst of the lot. They are suspicious of every new student. They are pessimistic and students think that they are mean and dislike them. These teachers blow their own trumpets in front of their students and tell them that their academic base is very weak and that they are in urgent need of additional coaching, and, of course, that they are the right coach who can provide the best coaching in the whole world. Gray teachers are very cunning and are capable of convincing parents that their children are academically in a very serious condition and should immediately be given regular doses of a life saving drug - tuition. After evaluating all these colors, I have come to the conclusion that “white” teachers are the ones who really deserve to be called teachers. Being educated and conscientious, they are the ones who can mould the personality and intelligence of students so that they can become worthwhile citizens. They do not treat their pupils as inferiors who have to have knowledge beaten into them. Patiently and skillfully, they bring about a change of conduct among their students. Being aware of the individual differences of children, white teachers take the initiative to find solutions to their students' problems. Albert Einstein summed up the ideal teacher when he said: “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge”. After many hours of toil, when a young face looks up and says: “I can read my whole book now, can't I sir?”, I feel encouraged to put in even more effort to reach my goal of becoming a “white” teacher.
