Remembering our teachers who ignited the flame of education and showed us the right path..

By Dr. Eugene D’Souza, Moodubelle
Bellevision Media Network

Moodubelle, 03 September 2010: By all standards, teaching has been  a very noble profession and will always remain so in future as well.  Since the ancient times teachers have been  highly respected in India. In reality, the teachers are the pillars of nation. They make the future of a country bright by teaching the citizens of tomorrow. The ideal teachers can produce a nation of educated and disciplined people. According to Plato, a teacher is the doctor of mind who removes  the ignorance from the mind of student and teaches him knowledge. Teacher is the person who ignites the flame of education and shows the right path to thousands of students during his or her teaching career.

 

As the Teachers’ Day approaches, it would be worthwhile to remember some of the teachers who have retired from their active service. They are the ones who by their love of teaching have imparted knowledge to the students and by their own example  have shown the right path to them so that they could become fine human beings and succeed in their career and lives and become responsible citizens of India. Though  there are many retired teachers, Bellevision has tried to highlight the contribution of few of them and will endeavour to bring to light the contribution of other eminent teachers as and when opportunity arises.

 

Stella Fernandes: Winner of the ‘Most Popular Teacher’ Award

Few years before her retirement from the teaching profession, she was conferred with the ‘Most Popular Teacher’ Award. The award was the most appropriate  to Stella teacher  who dedicated 39 years of her  precious life to the education of young impressionable children in whose heart she made a home and has been remembered with great respect  by thousands of her students spread across the world.

 

 

Stella Fernandes was born on 17th September 1946 as the fourth among  eight  children of  late Dieg and Dulcin Fernandes of Pernankila. The family’s chief occupation had been agriculture. Stella had her education up to 10th standard, first in the Church Aided Higher Primary School and later in St. Lawrence High School, Moodubelle.

 

 

As Stella was keen to pursue teaching profession joined the  Capitanio Teachers’ Training Institute, Mangalore. After completing the teachers training course, Stella started her teaching career in Nirmala Higher Primary  School in Brhamavara where she taught  from 1965 to 1971.

 

As there was a vacancy in her own alma mater, the Church Aided Higher Primary School in Moodubelle, Stella was fortunate to be appointed as a teacher  which is closer to her home.  She served for 33 years with sincerity and dedication in this school  from 1971 to 2004. Along with her earlier service of six years in Brahmavar, Stella Teacher dedicated 39 years  to the profession of teaching.  While teaching in Moodubelle, Stella Teacher would walk daily around 5 kilometers from her home at Pernankila to the school and back.

 

Stella Teacher taught the students of 5th, 6th and 7th Standards. Though she was assigned different subjects,  her favourite subject was Mathematics. She gained the respect of the students and their parents as a very good Maths teacher  as her method of teaching and making the students to understand the subject was excellent.

 

While teaching in Church Aided Higher Primary School, Stella Teacher became interested  in pursuing further higher studies and  she did graduation through Correspondence course from the Mysore University in the year 1979 and secured  BA degree. Meanwhile, she also did Hindi (Visharadha) course.

 

 

Earlier, as a student, Stella  was known for her intelligence and the capacity to grasp even difficult subjects such as Mathematics. She fondly remembers with great respect her own teachers – B.  Sadanada Rao, Boniface Barboza, Mary Noronha, Srinivas Thantri  and William D’Sa. Later, when she became a teacher and joined the same school, her own teachers became her senior colleagues who were proud of their student who joined the teaching profession.

 

Besides teaching,  Stella  Teacher spent quality time with the students by training them to play Kho-Kho and Throw-ball. She would play with the students  and encourage them  to play the games.

 

Stella Teacher was quite interested in social activities and served as the Secretary of Mahila Samaja of Moodubelle for quite a number of years. The dedicated service of Stella Teacher  in the teaching profession and her  sincerity and popularity among the students and their parents was recognized  by the authorities concerned  and she was conferred with “ Jana Mechchida Shikshaki”  (The Most Popular Teacher) Award in 2003. After being conferred with this award, Stella Teacher was felicitated and honoured by different organizations including the Parish community, Lions Club of Moodubelle and  Jyothi Mahila Mandal, Edmeru.

 

 

Even after retirement in 2004, Stella Teacher continued teaching in the school for further six months purely on honorary basis. After her retirement, Stella Teacher, who remained  unmarried (spinster) has been living with the family of her brother, late Danile at Kaikamba, Gurpur.

 

Stella Teacher spends her time in reading news papers, magazines and books. She says that it was chiefly due to Sadananda Master and Willie Master that she developed the habit of reading as these teachers would bring news papers and magazines to the school and encourage the students to cultivate the habit of reading.

 

 

After retirement, for few years, Stella Teacher felt a kind of vacuum as she was away from the little charming students.  Whenever she would see the school children in uniform, Stella Teacher would feel that she had spent 39 years of her life in the company of children, teaching them lessons and being  with them for the greater part of the day in the school. Stella Teacher is quite happy and contented in her retired life. She loved the students and enjoyed teaching to them. She says that whenever someone coming from abroad tells her that  he or she met  some of her students and these students  inquired about  their favourite ‘Stella Teacher’  is the greatest  reward that she can expect and feels very proud that she is  still remembered by her students.  What more a teacher requires  than the love and respect from  his or her own students…?
(From input from Manoj D’Souza, Dubai )

 

Lilly D’Souza: A Teacher who gained rich experience by teaching in various places

The journey of Lilly D’Souza in the teaching profession took her to a number of places from Moodubelle to Belgaum, from there to Goa and later to Mumbai, Bangalore and finally to her own native village, Moodubelle where served till her retirement. Having the experience of teaching in many places, especially in Mumbai, Lilly teacher was able to introduce certain new things in Moodubelle.

 

 

Lilly D’Souza was born on 13th August  1940 as the second daughter of late William and late Rita D’Souza. She studied up to 8th standard at Moodubelle and for high school studies she went to St. Joseph’s High  School, Kundapur, where she  stayed at the hostel. She is grateful to Neri Master who had encouraged her to join the high school and also accompanied her to Kundapur.

 

After completing SSLC in Kundapur in 1959, Lilly D’Souza , who by that time had developed an interest in the teaching profession, joined Capitanio Secondary Grade Teachers’ Training Institute, Mangalore and completed the course in 1961.

 

As Lilly did not get any opening immediately in the teaching profession, she began helping the sisters in St. Anne’s Educational Institutions in Mangalore such as conducting games.  She would accompany Miss Annie Pinto, the Physical Training teacher to various parishes to start the Legion of Mary groups.

 

Liilly D’Souza got her first break as the teacher  in a far off mission centre at a place known as Deshnoor in Belgaum District in November 1961. In Deshnoor, Lilly teacher would teach the Balwadi class children in the morning and would take catechism classes of the adults in the afternoon. She worked at Deshnoor till 1964. As her health was not in good condition, Lilly teacher returned home.

 

After taking rest for few months and recouping her health, Lilly teacher found an opportunity to teach in the Kunkolim Parish School in Goa where she proceeded in June 1964. After teaching for one year in that school, Lilly teacher migrated to Mumbai in search of better schools and opportunities.

 

In Mumbai, Lilly teacher got teaching assignment  in St. Sebastian’s primary School at Bandra. It was quite difficult for her to travel to Bandra  from her residence at  Vakola. However, in order to ease her problems, the kind headmistress of St. Sebastian’s Primary school helped Lilly teacher to get teaching job at St. Mary’s High School at Kalina where she taught the students from 5th to 8th standard. Lilly teacher says that it was during her teaching stint in Mumbai, especially the English subject that she improved her English language to a great extent.

 

As her parents were alone, Lilly teacher decided to be closer to them in their old age and came back to Moodubelle. Having no opportunity of teaching  in Moodubelle for some time, Lilly teacher remained at home for a year before shifting to Bangalore where she taught for one year in St. Charles Boromeo High School. Eventually, Lilly teacher came back to Moodubelle and in 1969 she was appointed by  Fr. VGF Rego, the then parish priest and Correspondent of the parish educational institutions in the Church Aided Higher Primary School as a teacher.  Lilly teacher continued teaching in this school till her retirement in November 1998.

 

While teaching in Moodubelle church school, Lilly teacher was assigned 4th to 6th classes. Meanwhile, she also acquired BA degree through correspondence course from the Mysore University. Besides teaching the regular subjects assigned to her, Lilly teacher used to teach the children lezim and dumbles and other games that she had learnt while teaching in different places such as Goa, Mumbai and Bangalore.

 

After retirement, Lilly teacher remained at home looking after her old mother. Her father had passed away earlier. It was chiefly due to her commitment of looking after her mother that Lilly teacher remained a spinster. Since her mother passed away in 2001, Lilly teacher stays alone in her home near the Loreto Convent.

 

Lilly teacher is quite happy and content about her teaching career. She says that  as she had to move from one place to the other in search of teaching work, she learnt a number of things from different places.  Even after retirement students used to go to her for extra studies whom she guided free of charge.  She feels happy when her old students meet her and  talk to her. She spends her time in reading news paper, books, doing household work and going to the church.

 

Bhaskar Shetty: Even after retirement, renders honorary service at Edmeru School

Coming from agriculturist family, Bhaskar Shetty has wonderfully combined the family occupation and the teaching profession. Though he had  a successful and fruitful teaching career of nearly 30 years, Bhaskar Shetty continues to render his honorary teaching service in the same Edmeru School where he taught for such a long time. Meanwhile, he continues his family tradition of agriculture and cultivates  the entire family fertile land, when a number of farmers have given up cultivation of at least a part of their land due to various problems associated with farming.

 

 

Bhaskar  Shetty was born on 25th June 1949 as the eldest son of four children, two sons and two daughters of Shyam and Apii Shetty of Belanajale in Moodubelle. He had his primary education up to 5th standard in the United Baptist Mission (UBM) School at Mattar. He continued later education, up to 7th standard in the Church Aided Higher Primary School and high school studies in St. Lawrence High School in Moodubelle, passing SSLC in 1967. For PUC studies, Bhaskar Shetty went to Poona where he studied in the Wadia College.

 

Nearly for ten years, Bhaskar Shetty continued helping his parents in cultivating the family land. However, Bhaskar Shetty had a desire to become a teacher and joined  the teacher’s training course in 1976 in the Government Teachers’ Training School at  Kodialbail, Mangalore where he completed the two yearlong TCH training course.

 

After acquiring the necessary qualification for teaching in 1978, Bhaskar Shetty  joined Shri Mahabhaleshwar Hindu Higher Primary School at Edmeru  which is closer to his home. After a long period of dedicated service to the institution, Bhaskar Shetty retired from the teaching profession in 2007. However, the headmaster a and the trustees of the school requested Bhaskar Shetty to render his valuable service as a honorary teacher in the school for which he graciously agreed.

 

In 1980, Bhaskar Shetty married Ravikala Shetty from Nittoor and has two daughters. The elder daughter-Suprema  is with her parents and the younger daughter-Sushmitha  who has done MBA is married and settled down in Nasik in Maharashtra.

 

Bhaskar Shetty is has been a happy person in his teaching career and still enjoys teaching the young minds.  He says that he has been maintaining good health due to regular walk and agricultural activities as well as limited food and being still involved in teaching in the Edmeru School on honorary basis. He is glad that a large number of his students have achieved great position in their respective occupations and they still respect their teachers.

 

Leena Lobo (D’Almeida): Laid foundation of education as the teacher of First Standard for many years

Being the student of the first batch of the students of St. Lawrence High School, Moodubelle that was established fifty years ago, Leena Lobo has been very proud of her Alma Mater. Being impressed by her higher primary and high school teachers and with a dream to become a teacher, Leena Lobo chose the profession and after teaching for one year at Narampady in Kasrogod came back to her own village and taught in the Church Aided Higher Primary School, Moodubelle. In her own words, in her 32 years of teaching career around 27 years she taught the small children in the first standard and is proud of the fact that she laid the foundation of education for thousands of students who achieved great success in their lives and still remember her with great affection and respect.

 

 

Leena Lobo was born on 8th May 1943 as the fourth of five children, three sons and two daughters of late Albert Lobo and Celestine Lobo. After completing her primary and higher primary education in the Church Aided Higher Primary School, Leena Lobo was lucky to be the student in the first batch of the newly founded St. Lawrence High School in 1959. She was one of the seven girl students and has some vague memories of the days that she had spent in the high school.

 

After passing the SSLC examination in 1962, Leena went to the Captanio Teachers Training Institute at Mangalore to be trained as a teacher. After completing the teachers’ training course in two years, Leena Lobo joined the Church Higher Primary School at Narampady in Kasargod as a teacher where she served for one year.

 

As luck would have it, Leena teacher got a break in the Church Aided Higher Primary School in Moodubelle where she became the first student of St. Lawrence High School to serve as a teacher in the Higher Primary School where she rendered service with devotion for nearly 30 years. For most of the years, Leena teacher taught the first standard students with motherly love and care and laid the foundation of education of many students. As she was fond of singing and dance, she trained the children in these arts.

 

In 1966, Leena Lobo married Isac D’Almeida. They have five daughters, among whom except  the eldest, the remaining four are married. Elizabeth Ida, Hilda and Alfreeda are in Bahrain; Veeda is in the United States and Lind Maria is in Mumbai.

 

Leena teacher has been quite proud of her students among whom some have become priests, some doctors and many others have been following different careers and are successful in their lives. Leena teacher is a happy and contented that as a teacher she has earned a lot of love, affection and respect from the students and the society. As the teacher of the first standard students, she was quite caring and loving.