Parent-Teacher Thing

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Shy and reclusive as I am by nature, I always avoided the compulsory Parent-Teacher Meetings of my son, and sent my meek wife instead, from LKG at St Agnes School to KV @ IIT KGP.

But she put her foot down and refused to do duty in his Class 12 and I had to reluctantly go.

I had promised myself that I wouldn't interfere with the Teaching at KV come what may.

But I had to break my own promise when they started teaching that a point charge left at a point on an Electric Field Line will travel along it forever.

The two young and handsome Physics Teachers rebuked my son for his effrontery, showing him that they had followed in letter and spirit what was printed in the very popular Text Book they chose; and were no doubt waiting to pounce on me in the PT-Meeting.

I hid myself in a backseat in the Class Room watching the fun going on at the Teachers' Table where the two poor souls were hounded by angry mothers pointing out mistakes from totaling errors to outright wrong questions; and making them eat crow.....I too am wit-scared of Campus Mothers...

After everyone left, my son crawled to the Table to have a ceremonial peek at his script, sign it, and return it hastily.

But the two Teachers refused to hand it to him asking for his Physics-Father.

So, I had to walk up and wish them in all the humility of a wrong-doer.

They asked me to have a look at the QP and AP; but I buttered them up declining to do either, saying that I myself am a Physics Teacher and so have implicit faith in them.

It was as if two huge balloons were punctured with a pin...they were expecting a Battle Royal.

Then they offered Tea and winked that my son is good but busy otherwise than studies in their School...and we all agreed that it is the hormones that flow in Class 12...

They then asked me my advice as to what is the most important thing for a Teacher of Physics.

I said honestly that picking up the right book is half the battle.

And told them how fortunate I was that Mathews & Venkatesan chose to write a book on QM when it fell to my lot to learn and teach QM all by myself...the book is almost flawless and made a great foundation to build on other lavish books.

We parted with great empathy after they reopened my son's answer script, reevaluated it quickly and found it deserving an extra fifteen marks all in all here and there...not that their marks mattered a whit in Class 12...

Good Old Olive Oil...

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