Mathew K Thomas is one of those special teachers who has been awarded a National Award to commemorate a truly special career. A Saini School teacher all his career, he has been a guide to students for over 30 years now and is still going strong. He talks to us about his teaching career and the bonds he has forged with his students. Excerpts from a conversation:
How did your journey in the Sainik schools begin?
I am a postgraduate in social science, specifically history and also a master's degree in education. I joined Sainik School Kazhakootam in 1995 and before that I was at Sainik School Imphal in Manipur. At the Sainik schools we groom the students to join the National Defence Academy and train them to be physically fit and mentally tough as well. Essentially, we are a feeder institution for the armed forces.
Thirty years of teaching must have been gratifying for you. Tell us about it
Sainik School is a fully residential school where students come from all parts of India and they leave their homes and parents at a very early age. So they definitely require a certain amount of parental care from people who are not their parents. Some of them experience homesickness when they join here and it is our duty to make them feel at home. We also need to ensure academic excellence as part of the overall development of the student which is the crux of the training. Our role is not confined to just classroom teaching.
What has been your personal experience teaching at Sainik school?
It has really been a tremendous experience for me. It is a big challenge to live up to the expectations of the children because they really are the cream of the society and their calibre is higher than normal students. When they finish their time here at the school, they remember their teachers respectfully because the teachers guided them like their parents. Their words of appreciation really mean a lot to teachers like me.
Why do you believe this Award was conferred on you?
I believe I received it for the cumulative efforts that I have undertaken over the past 26 years or so at Kazhakootam. There are several facets to this, I feel. I won the Director General's Cane as a volunteer-officer in NCC camp held at Nagpur. Under me, 150 cadets have gone on to become armed officers through the National Defence Academy and 32 students of mine have gone on to participate at the Republic Day parade at Delhi and represented Kerala. Eight among them have excelled so much that they were chosen to represent India at youth exchange programmes in other countries. I also organised a cycle expedition across the length of Kerala — from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasargod — as part of a cultural exchange for the students. This was at a time when we had no cell phones. We didn't even have an ambulance that oversaw our expedition. I also started an equestrian club at my school that trained cadets in horse riding. We adopted a beach, called Saint Andrew's Beach, where we would conduct monthly beach cleaning activities as part of our community development programme. I am also a sports aficionado and I coach the school basketball team and also train the students in badminton and swimming. Last, but never the least, the class average in my subject has been 92 per cent, which is a great achievement for any teacher.
What are some of the challenges that you have faced along the way?
One of them is that a lot of the time parents would send their kids to Sainik School without understanding the goal of the institution. Many of them do not want their children to join the armed forces. What happens is that the funds invested goes to waste. My first challenge was to convince the parents that a career in the armed forces is essential for the nation. Secondly, personality development is a huge ask for the teachers. The students need care when they first enrol and teachers need to navigate through the tricky adolescent phase throughout their time at the Sainik School. Finally, in the last year, classes have been going on through phones. What I have observed is that some of the students are not regular in their attendance. This has been the latest challenge for us. We are trying to restrict the usage to just constructive development.
Do you have a message for teachers everywhere?
A teacher is not just remembered for the academic excellence that they deliver to the students or for the brilliant lectures they take in classrooms. I feel it is also important to touch their hearts. This will enable them to transform their personality as well. The duty should be bound by compassion and empathy towards the students. Teachers must give students the space to grow and give equal attention to everyone. I have a couple more years of service left and I hope to inspire more teachers to win such awards, but more importantly, develop deeper bonds with the students.