ARE SOME TEACHERS MAD?

The very first time I saw him, I concluded one of the best teachers in chemistry.
There was something extraordinary about him that made everyone revere him. He was also the departmental head of Science in the school.
Where I come from, age is respected but balding is venerated; so the fact that he had a huge bald on his head made me respect him with all that I had.
He was also a teacher of class and he wore suits from Monday to Friday. Unlike all the other male teachers, his desk was always neatly arranged with books in a spic and spun order.
He was our subject teacher from form one to four. He gave me a very firm foundation in Chemistry and I was not surprised the day I scored a whole 94% in the end of the year exam in form two. I truly enjoyed his lessons. He was to be precise, a gifted teacher. He encouraged all his students to ask as many questions as possible. His door was always open for consultations.

I managed to maintain the position of the best chemistry student in my class until one day.

We were tackling a topic in calculation. According to our predecessors it was a topic that required both the soul, the body and the holy spirit to be tackled. The topic was called THE MOLE and surprisingly, despite my wanting performance in mathematics, I had no problem understanding and even presenting a well done sum.He summoned me to his office one afternoon and expressed his delight in how first I understood the topic. He went on to say that, he wanted the two of us to work together in order to help the other students come up as well. That was a very beneficial responsibility.

Two days later, he called me to his office to explain how far I had gone with the group discussions. As he asked this, his hands wandered over my fingers that were resting on his table as usual. I wouldn't have suspected anything queer had his eyes not started looking strange. At some point he stood up and put his hand over my shoulder. My antennae rose; what was this teacher doing? I got his hands off me and ran to class.

I could hardly believe what had happened. I felt cheated and sick. I wanted to be alone. That day marked the end of my consultations and full participation and concentration in chemistry.

Although I do not like blaming people for my problems, I must say that the incident was the beginning of my deteriorating performance in chemistry. I never bothered with chemistry. I sometimes never listened to that teacher when he came for his lessons and when I could get away with it, I skipped his class. Within a month, chemistry had ceased to be the cup of tea it was for me and by the time I sat for my final exams Chemistry was no longer footwork and I ended up with one of the lowest scores in my result slip.

Perhaps I have no audacity to speak against our honourable teachers. Perhaps it is not right at all for me to insinuate anything negative about the people who have moulded most of us to where we are now. Such people without a doubt deserve our respects. But it is disturbing to note that we have a few individuals who, inspite of being honored with the unique responsiblity, have shifted their crowns to beggars.

This is a very long debate and I know everyone has a different thought. But whatever it is, morality and discipline is paramount to the success of any institution.