A Turning Point in Life...by Nalaka Godahewa

[sashimaalTop contributor]

From grade one till grade six I was very good at numbers. What ever taught in school I was so quick to grasp.

At grade 5 scholarship examination I scored 2nd highest marks in the Kandy district and enrolled at Ananda College as a grade 6 student.

My class teacher was a math teacher. She was a terrible person. She was very nasty to new students. She openly told that she was not happy at all about outstation students coming to Colombo taking the places that belong to Colombo kids. I felt she was specifically targeting me because she humiliated and punished me at every opportunity.

I was only 11 years old. I was new to Colombo and was lost and helpless.

I used to get all the attention from school teaches in Kandy. I was the school hero there. Suddenly in a new school I was facing a class teacher who behaved as if this small kid is her biggest enemy. She was making every day in school a misery for me.

I started losing confidence . My grades started falling. I was becoming nobody in a strange environment.

More than anything I started hating mathematics ; the subject taught by my class teacher.

Even though my class teacher didn’t continue with us after grade 6, I continued to hate math as a subject. Year on year it was getting worse. By grade 8 math was like Greek to me. I got only 35 marks for math’s paper in my last term test in grade 8. A fail mark for the first time in my life.

My uncle who was a school teacher at that time checked my ability in math’s and reported to my mother that I am hopeless in this subject. “This boy will never pass math’s subject at GCE A/Ls” was his prophesy which horrified my poor mother.

I continued to hate math’s in grade 9 too. I was still ordinary in my studies. But by that time I was involved in a few extra curricular activities. I had started following swimming classes and found I was a better swimmer than most others. I had joined the oratory club at school and there also I had begun to gain recognition as someone with talent.

While I was half way in grade 9 came the turning point.

We got a new math teacher. He had come from some other school so didn’t know anyone of us before.

Two weeks after joining the school some one had invited him to attend a session at our oratory club. I was one of the speakers that day and the new teacher in his address recognized me as some one with exceptional skills.

I was so touched by his comments. I felt proud. Bad news was that he was going to be our new math’s teacher. Soon he was going to find out the other side of my self.

From that day I was determined to impress the new teacher that my math skills are not bad either.

It is amassing how this newfound enthusiasm to impress a new teacher got my left brain functioning again. I started paying attention in the class. With that I started understanding the language of math’s once again. I started doing my homework diligently. I started giving right answers in the class.

The next two terms my grades improved significantly not only in math but also in other subjects.

In grade 10 class I came across another brilliant math’s teacher. Mathematics became my favorite and easiest subject once again. When I finished answering my GCE O/L math’s papers I was positive that my marks should be closer to 100 if not full marks. A few years later I entered University of Moratuwa to study Engineering having completed A/Ls in the math’s stream.

So much for my uncle’s prophesy that I would never pass math subject at GCE O/Ls.

Interestingly this grade 9 math’s teacher praised me on something else not on my skills on mathematics. He was appreciating my oratory skills. But he was very genuine in his praise that and I felt so proud of my self. The desire to maintain that positive impression in the class room made a world of difference in my approach towards studies from that point onwards.

We all have come across great teachers at one point or the other during our studies. This note is a tribute to all such teaches .

Source: fb page of Nalaka Godahewa

[KDDNDTop contributor]

I too really know how the teachers' attitudes/actions/decision impact on performances of students......
Coz I faced such bad experiences....... It was in grade five.... My teacher was biased and she caught me and put me in a position as the robber of a pen of classmate....
Actually it was robbed by the riches student of the class.... Coz he him self later told me Marchand I too the pen I am sorry.....that was after some months... By that time I was already NOTICED as the robber..... When something is missing everybody started looking at me......

It was so nasty but poor me didn't know how to defend and afraid to tell the situation to home.....but used bear myself......
After many years of time...I realised it was my best experience and training..... To stay strong and understand the feeling of many others and listening to others and their difficulties......
It's all about LIFE .......... And the WAY we TAKE it.....
Thx

[sashimaalTop contributor]

KDDND - Sorry to hear about what you went through in School

But we're proud of what you have become...great

I too really know how the teachers' attitudes/actions/decision impact on performances of students......
Coz I faced such bad experiences....... It was in grade five.... My teacher was biased and she caught me and put me in a position as the robber of a pen of classmate....
Actually it was robbed by the riches student of the class.... Coz he him self later told me Marchand I too the pen I am sorry.....that was after some months... By that time I was already NOTICED as the robber..... When something is missing everybody started looking at me......

It was so nasty but poor me didn't know how to defend and afraid to tell the situation to home.....but used bear myself......
After many years of time...I realised it was my best experience and training..... To stay strong and understand the feeling of many others and listening to others and their difficulties......
It's all about LIFE .......... And the WAY we TAKE it.....
Thx

[sereneTop contributor]

I too really know how the teachers' attitudes/actions/decision impact on performances of students......
Coz I faced such bad experiences....... It was in grade five.... My teacher was biased and she caught me and put me in a position as the robber of a pen of classmate....
Actually it was robbed by the riches student of the class.... Coz he him self later told me Marchand I too the pen I am sorry.....that was after some months... By that time I was already NOTICED as the robber..... When something is missing everybody started looking at me......

It was so nasty but poor me didn't know how to defend and afraid to tell the situation to home.....but used bear myself......
After many years of time...I realised it was my best experience and training..... To stay strong and understand the feeling of many others and listening to others and their difficulties......
It's all about LIFE .......... And the WAY we TAKE it.....
Thx

Must be a very tough time in ur life.   
Happy that you overcome that wit colors.

[shane101Top contributor]

This shows two kind of teachers in our society , luckily Godawewa met a teacher who could change his life , but what if he don't met that teacher ?

I know a very talented girl from a reputed school in Colombo , who had to work as a housemaid in Dubai , all because of a teacher's fault . When she was competing for house captain at the school one teacher openly said to her you are not going to get this position just because this girl was not attending the teacher's tuition class. And gave the position to less talented girl who is coming to her classes.

The disappointment from this led her to fail the A/L and many failures in the life.

[Jana1Top contributor]

Enjoy his PhD thesis too... He just completed in 2007.

http://ura.unisa.edu.au/view/action/singleViewer.do?dvs=1411442009858~355&locale=en_US&VIEWER_URL=/view/action/singleViewer.do?&DELIVERY_RULE_ID=10&adjacency=N&application=DIGITOOL-3&frameId=1&usePid1=true&usePid2=true

[yellow knifeTop contributor]

We are proud of what you have become and thanx for sharing what teachers can do and undo to our lives

[sashimaalTop contributor]

Jana1 - link gives an error message

[Jana1Top contributor]

Jana1 - link gives an error message

Try this one... Seem u r interested with his thesis....

http://ura.unisa.edu.au/webclient/StreamGate?folder_id=0&dvs=1411459895775~597

[sashimaalTop contributor]

Still error coming Cannot process request: null

[Jana1Top contributor]

Still error coming Cannot process request: null

Tell me how to attach a pdf file? I coudnt attach here. No options??

[sashimaalTop contributor]

How about share it from your Google Drive?

Still error coming Cannot process request: null

Tell me how to attach a pdf file? I coudnt attach here. No options??

[Jana1Top contributor]

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B0r5vUI-bt5jWG9kb2FSWGhRRnM&usp=sharing

Try this one....

[sashimaalTop contributor]

Thanks a lot Jana1

[කිත්සිරි ද සිල්වාTop contributor]

Long long years ago few senior boys and thugs came in and beaten up a parallel classmate during the school interval time.
We did not say nor do anything but watch in owe as we did not know what to do.
Chemistry was the period immediately after interval and as the Master entered the class, we knew that he was not in a mood to teach.
He was silent for some time and we were waiting for him to say something.
Then he asked all of us a very simple question.
What kind of young men are you, watching your fellow student being beaten up by thugs coming into school premises and do nothing?
No Chemistry lesson that afternoon and some enjoyed the break but a few started pondering seriously.
After tasting success pervious day, the seniors and thugs revisited again during the interval with the idea of messing the poor fellow up little more.
What happened afterwards is well known in the school history and that was the last time we had thugs visiting school or seniors flexing their muscles.
The Chemistry Master came to class grinning from ear to ear, after the interval that day.
Recently, we had an old teachers’ felicitation ceremony and sadly he could not be invited for obvious reasons.
The value of unity and standing up for injustice were two lessons, we learned from that great Chemistry Master.
When I narrate this incident at the ceremony, even the hotel staffs were teary eyes.
Yes, I agree that teaches can do or undo a child in a second.
May our old Chemistry Master attain supreme bliss of Nirvana.

[Jana1Top contributor]

sadly he could not be invited for obvious reasons.

[/i]

I dont understand this line. What does it mean?

[කිත්සිරි ද සිල්වාTop contributor]

@ Jana1,
He is no longer living at that time.

[Jana1Top contributor]

@ Jana1,
He is no longer living at that time.

Thanks...Quite touching story...

[KDDNDTop contributor]

Hi All

This is another funny story in my school time....
there was a very clever and nice Sir in school teaching Maths.....
He was very famous and well recognized gentle man of the school but very hard person on students.....
Many students were afraid of him.....

there was a student [grade/school mate - he was in the same grade but in another class] who was very stubborn and manipulating situation well....
he obviously had good brain but he used to use his brain for his gains....
but this chap never study well instead did all funny and cunning things.....

during in my grade 6, i was gifted by a well known parker pen by my relations...
so in that days it was kind of proud to have such......
but I need to pay more attention to protect it bit....
thus i used to hold the pen in my shirt's pocket...

one day this stubborn student came in front of me and made a sudden collusion with my body and said sorry.... and gone... it was during the interval...and quite natural so i didn't cared it....


after the interval... class was about to start......i was waiting for my teacher.....
i heard ... that sir was coming passing class by class......
asking "is there any body who lost your pen...???"
i just didn't care his words.... as i knew my pen is in my pocket.....
then
at last that sir and that stubborn student came to my class... sir was giving so much caring to that stubborn student... giving his one hand on the shoulders' of that student...
and again sir asked...."is there anyone who lost a pen....?"
i didn't care of it...
again he asked the same question...
so, i just checked my pocket.... amazing MY PEN was GONE......!!!
i said.... ohhhh... yes I have lost..., but it was with me for sure..... but i don't know how i lost...

then the sir asked so many questions about the details of pen.... and i answered.....
Sir gave me the pen.... and lot of CLAPS offered to that stubborn students.....
sir gone......
then I went to that stubborn student... asked....
"mate.... you PICKED POCKET my pen when you collided with me during the interval.....and then you went to sir and said that you found a pen ...????"

then he started saying".... pls machan don't say it to sir, yes i did it so..., and he started worshiping me"

so i felt.... I was no where... and then decided to not to go to sir......

that stubborn students got the FULL CREDIT...... and lot of APPRECIATIONS....!!!

even now when i remember the incident ... still i smile along....!!!
see how the brainy people used their brains.... for good s and bads.....!!!

though i felt bad on those days......
now i fell it as funny story....
its life experience....