World In a Nutshell

She was all polite and calm and knew the most subtle ways of treating the kids when in school. Some teachers are harsh but she was not the one from that crowd. She was a true picture of a priest and at the same time an educator. Life brings all sorts of challenges and I think she met in that convent one of the biggest challenges her life could offer. Kindness, patience and an urge to always learn from even the smallest of the things were some of the assets that she was born with I think, because I tell you the way she handled those rapscallions of the class of 2008 in the 9th standard, was an epitome of compassion any human being on this earth could show.

She was an English and a social studies teacher and I guess you will resonate with me in feeling bored with just the names of these subjects. And the same was the plight of those in that class where Sister Brigette tried her level best to teach these subjects. Now children find some or the other way to just pass their time in such classes. There is a twist here, as these kids were offered a time pass in the form of such sleek, gentle and kind teacher to teach them.

Sister Brigette was new to that area in the north of India, she came from the south and was almost 45 years in age. She did what she did and knew exactly how to teach kids. But with the promotions and the need for a good teacher she was suddenly offered to teach in 9th standard. Very happy she was on the day she arrived at that convent, but little did she knew of the real hurdle that was awaiting her and that which will give her a lot to take with her.

Started the days of teaching and suddenly that very studious class of students got bored with the daily lectures on democratic politics, history, and geography. Now they started noticing the ways of Sister Brigette that were too indifferent and were a lot more fun for those kids. Her ways of looking in the notebook with her spectacles resting on the highest part of her head, her ways of scolding by making a different kind of funny faces, all were noted and were made fun of. Suddenly students began enjoying her lectures. They made fun of nearly everything about her, which was all fine with her as she didn’t understand as to why students in her class seem to continuously giggle and chat around. All was fine till one day this nuisance was way beyond the levels she could bear. All this became a pain in her knees with the days to follow as she was unable to even maintain discipline in the class even after expelling the most notorious students. She went on to find ways of taming those lads but to her failure, she couldn’t find any, these lads became so much aware of her ways that even the fear of getting scolded by the principal of the convent didn’t give them shivers. Nothing affected them.
Sister Brigette was the epitome of patience, calmness, and perseverance. She never gave up and was totally devoted to teaching and making her lads good enough to stand out in front of the world. She went on teaching the way she could, at times scolding and even being harsh, but I tell you she couldn’t be so harsh as her very nature never permitted her to be that.

One day on a bright Sunday when she was preparing for her lectures she went on to think about the recurrent thought that always went on in her subconscious. Those questions that what is making those people just laugh their way out of her class and what could she probably do to handle the situation. All that she pondered the whole day was her class and students. She went with an unusually fair smile on the next day to the class and did what she did always. She went on teaching, with students giggling and making fun of her ways. The thing she did this time was she never scolded anyone. The whole day went and the same way the whole week passed by and she never shouted which became a routine of her in recent days. Even the students were worried as to what has happened to Sister suddenly. 

That courage and the will power in her to learn from even the slightest and the most unimportant things in life gave her just what she needed at that point in time. She started noticing even the minute details that the kids in her class reflected on in any way. She tried to notice herself through the eyes of her students and got to know the facts that were behind all that was happening. She knew that in order to maintain peace in her classroom and to maintain the discipline, she has to change her ways. She realized that there was a lacking in her behavior that was causing all the havoc. Instead of taking all that was happening on her heart. She paved a way for her own revival as a teacher. She tried to learn what was wrong with her, more than learning she tried to rectify that which was an error and was always thankful to the lord for coming to her life in the form of those kids that showed her that being a nun or just by getting all that is there to know about your religion or your profession doesn’t make you a perfect human being.

You don’t become educated by just learning and writing the exams in schools or in colleges, it is what you understand of what you read and it is how transparent you can be by imbibing in you that, which so many of us just read and pass. Highest standards of education are not in getting the highest grades but it is how civilized one can be in any situation. Civilized behavior comes from compassion and belonging.

Albeit sister Brigette changed, but what if she thought otherwise? She would have managed otherwise but could it bring joy to her. Getting to know her demons and winning over them gave her joy, peace and made her feel the importance of learning every day no matter what the age or profession, she proved that even a teacher could learn from her students. She educated her students and in the process she educated herself. Life is but a process. You can find obscenity everywhere and nowhere, you can find optimism everywhere and nowhere. It is up to you, how you look at your life. It is up to you, what you make of it. 

You can read me, you can find “n” number of counselors, you can talk to your friends or relatives or go to the internet and find out various ways to tackle your daily problems. But I tell you none of this would help you if you yourself don’t want to help yourself. You can be a problem or a solution. The situation will always demand the heroine in you, the fighter in you. And what are your weapons, your weapon is how well you use your education, not falling into biases or whims but following what is the most righteous thing to do? Now you may ask what is the most righteous thing to do? I would say, it is looking into yourself first, I would say, by finding out positivity in every situation and I would say in a nutshell “fit in to stand out.”