Those Were The Teachers & Those Were The Students!

I am really puzzled and shocked to see the condition of present students and teachers; I am referring to their habit of reading.

 
About thirty years ago, we used to read more than fifteen hours in a day, for there were no other means of entertainment, I mean, television channels, computers, video games, etc. Having spent about six hours in our school, we would hardly waste any time and quickly pick up the novels and open the earmarked page to continue the story where it was left the previous day. It was a habit or you might call it a routine.

A dictionary, Oxford Advance English Dictionary, used to be my constant companion after the school time. Before going to bed, at about 12:00 pm, I would look for at least one thousand words in six or seven hours. It used to be the most satisfying experience to me, for the story, article, or the essay which I used to read with the help of the dictionary would mean a lot and I would be delighted.

 
The teachers in our college used to be kind of walking encyclopedias: you ask them anything and they had the ready answers. I bow to those dedicated teachers who behaved like our guardians, unlike the present teachers who are only the paid employees of the school or college administration, lacking the will to seriously learn the new things and transfer that knowledge to their pupils without expecting any kind of reward. Unfortunately, it is not so, on the contrary, the standard of a school or a college is assessed on the basis of its fee structure and the amount of salary the teachers draw.

 
Nowadays, there is so much dependence on the internet and online libraries or knowledge banks that sometimes I pity all those people who to me look like duffers. I am shocked to find the students and even teachers who don’t know much about anything else if it goes beyond the books they are habitual to teaching or reading.