Why I Became A Teacher

An educator remembers her mentors with transformative superpowers.

- Urmila Chowdhury

I DECIDED AT 10 YEARS of age that I was going to be a teacher, because I wanted superpowers. There! I’ve said it. It’s true. When I was in primary school I could clearly see that some of my teachers had extraordinary powers. My classmates went about their day with joyful abandon. Not me. I was the quietly observant one, noticing things.

There was our English-language teacher in fifth grade who could magically transport us to different worlds every day, simply by telling us stories and reading to us from books we would otherwise never pick up. This was our secret, because fifth graders were considered too old to have stories read out to them.

Then there was the founder–principal of the school, a teacher as well, who knew everything about every child, knew not just their parents but even their grandparents. You couldn’t escape her superpowered laser-like eyes that could see right into you— through flesh, bones and all. That was a scary superpower. Her hawk-eyed scrutiny often left us feeling like there was no escape.

BUT, OUR CLASS TEACHER IN fourth standard could see the invisible. I was one of those who remained invisible, being rather quiet and shy as a child. Yet my teacher would notice me, even when I was unnoticeable. The unspoken message in her superpowered eyes told me: