#06 Jack of All Trades
Often considered disparaging, this description fits a large number of classroom teachers - do you identify? Let me know in the comments.
You’ve heard the phrase, “Jack of all trades and master of none!” This is generally broadcast expressing a low opinion of someone who tries to do a lot in different fields. In my dictionary, it describes any school teacher. Here are some vignettes of people I have known and a little autobiographical insight too.
The year was 1992, the venue was the United States Information Services Library at Calcutta. A motley group of teachers was attending a fortnight long session on Teaching Practices, conducted by Dr Guy Blackburn of the Oakland Schools, Michigan. He asked us to begin by writing an adjective that described us on a sticky note and pasting it to our shirts. I wrote “VERSATILE”. His response was something like, “I’m going to remember that … but it’s more important that YOU remember that for the rest of your life!” Fancy sounding words which I didn’t give much attention to at the time, but remember to this day.
Then followed several years of classroom teaching during which I met many teachers who were just so versatile that my definition seemed pretentious. And every time I met them, I remembered those words.
At a book launch by a former teacher - Mrs Chatterjee - one of her former students told us a story. He said that their Physics teacher was absent one day and this lady walked into the classroom and started teaching Physics, pretty brilliantly, I might add. He leaned over to his classmate and queried, “Isn’t this lady the senior English teacher? Why is she teaching Physics?” With a sneer at his ignorance the classmate shot back, “That’s not a teacher - that’s Mrs Chatterjee! She can teach anything!” That defines a large section of teachers in most schools. They teach subjects they have been trained for, and any other subject that happens to be flavour of the day. It’s not that they “know-it-all” but that they can see a way to excite learning.
There’s a school exhibition coming up. It’s on Conservation. Nobody asks for qualifications as the Math teacher, the Geography teacher and the Art teacher get together and assist the Environmental Studies teacher with the design and display. Annual Day brings out the stage performers - from choral singing to musical instruments, from stage props to costumes, from writing lyrics to dramatics, the teachers are in action. Not many stop to think that they are Jacks of a particular trade - or even Jills. Like Nike suggests, they just do it.
One of my closest friends and colleagues, Elphage Pradip Rozario, was a Math and English teacher. That didn’t stop him from being the Cubmaster or a maestro on the tabla - with degrees in classical Indian music. Or the housemaster, or assisting with the junior football team! And eventually, teaching computer applications and winning the respect of every student with whom he came in contact.
The word polymath springs to mind - a person who can and does learn anything and everything. And then appears to others as versatile and a jack of all trades.
There are many more examples which I could give but I must share the story of my mother, whom we lost at the age of 93, three years ago. She was a refugee from Burma during WW2. Partially deaf. She raised five of us, all completely different from each other and though she didn’t have a college degree, she never tired of telling people that she had studied for her Secretarial course, her B Com, BA, Teacher’s Training and Engineering all at the family table. And also, at that family table, she cut and stitched the most beautiful and functional clothes for us, the neighbours and kids in the community. And her cooking (Burmese and Goan) was legendary with a secret, dog-eared recipe book that has never been published. Did I forget to mention that she held down a music teacher’s job for 17 years and few people believed she was deaf? Add that to her wish that she should continue teaching even after her death — she donated her mortal remains to medical science, so that trainee doctors would benefit. If ever there was someone versatile, it was mom.
Give me jacks of all trades, masters of none or some. They make the world a better place.
Anyone who can learn can teach.
I learned how to use a computer because I was asked, as the "Resource Planning Manager", to run a workshop for Junior Visualisers to help them learn how to use the newly acquired Macintosh desktops bought by Lintas.
All I knew about computers was that there was a way to plug them in and there was a help icon with a question mark.
As each workshop participant did the exercises I set them, they ended up showing me how to use a computer.
This was in 1987.
At that time I did not even know how to use a typewriter.
We always had secretaries to do the typing work.
Yes! We learn best by teaching!