How Far Does A Teacher Influence You ???

"Carpe Diem"

(origin  - Latin : Noun)

Meaning in English  -  Seize the day.

In the movie "Dead Poets Society"  -  one of the students of Mr. John Keating's class found this old copy and asked him what the word meant. One teacher's principle in life affected the impressionable seventeen year old group of teenagers of the very conservative and aristocratic school where following the rule and not questioning authority are the norm.

Dead Poets Society was an unsanctioned society by the same school. It was a way for Keating and his friends to express their love for poetry their own way and life in general. Thus, to this group of students it was a way to challenge authority and an outlet for their love of poetry. Mr. Keating unorthodox ways of teaching in class and out of it left a huge imprint in the minds of these impressionable youths who were already controlled by authoritarian parents and school. 

They got "out of the box" as the term was referred to now. They seized the day and opportunity. They reached out far greater heights and in the process tried to push the boundaries of the rules and regulations. One of them pursued and persevered persistently in going after the girl of his dreams even though he was threatened and beaten up. Another managed to get out of his low self-esteem and low confidence by finally creating poetry off hand and presenting it in his class. Yet another pursued his love for acting. Another created trouble by publishing a letter to the school under the society's name. Even though he was meted out the capital punishment, he refused to reveal the members of the society.

Yet, the question goes - how far does a teacher's influence go? When the young lads realised that they had the potential to go their own way on their own terms, they went a tad too far. One of the young men, Neil, did not tell the truth to his father. After his first show as an actor and although he was great and superb in it, his father took him home and decided to transfer him out of the school. That night out of desperation and a sense of hopelessness as he had no choice but to follow his father's orders, he committed suicide. Neil's father blamed the school. The school had to find a scapegoat. It was in the form of Mr. Keating. Though it was not fair but the students could not go against the norm or the rule. On the day Mr. Keating went to collect his things from the classroom, the Principal was teaching as the replacement teacher. One by one his students stood on their table and gave him a resounding applause while calling "Captain! My Captain!" Mr. Keating thanked them while a fuming mad Principal was trying to control the class ..... how far does a teacher touch a young life?

Thus, in life, should we seize the day i.e. grab the opportunity? Yet, there are always consequences we have to consider. There are rules, terms, obligations and other commitments we have to comply with. There is just so much of the system that we can fight ....  at the end of the day ... the choice is yours - seize it and live with the satisfaction that you have at least tried. Or ...  let it go and live with the "What if ... ???"

A fitting end to my last week in school as a teacher. I watched this movie "Dead Poets Society" ... I hope I have touched and influenced the lives of thousands of my students ..... yes, I would do the same thing and told them to seize the day .... ;-))