A ode to my teacher

A ode to my teacher

I used to think a teacher was a person who taught you stuff like stroke rehabilitation, Math, etc. Then i went to college and met Mr. Siva Chidambaram. He was my lecturer and the junior most of all my teachers. He was sort of a poor teacher when he went and taught in the class room. He would not write in the board, could not effectively hold the classrooms attention. However, when he taught bedside clinical issues he just transformed into Stephen Hawking explaining black holes to novice in theoretical physics. He was clear in his views made you want to do it then and there what he was asking to do.

His greatness was that he could teach me stroke or SCI, but the way he would make you “want” to learn more. He was telling us to always look forward with theories and techniques.  He was teaching us MRP in 92 when most of the world taught it meant a tyre company.  He would tell me to try mobilisation of the knee joint using techniques he and i saw in a book.

The best anecdote about my beloved teacher is when i started to do my ortho project in 5 semester for my under graduation.  Unlike know, those days the topics were selected by the teachers and we have to select one through lot system. Presto i pick Potts fracture. My teacher who was man bent on teaching me told me to go and refer “Watson and Jones – fractures and injuries. He added that it is the bible of traumatology and I should read this book for the project.

I go and open this book on Ankle injuries and in the first few pages it says- Potts might have made a mistake and blah, blah and they concluded the better terminology could be “Ankle injuries”. I go and show it to my teacher and he says well we have to change our title for your project. We go and show it to my professor after protesting for some time she also agrees. The lesson is they were able to change their views even when a lowly 5 th semester student showed some literature.

Sadly nowadays the teachers will not change their views even it came and hit them on their face. Some clinical are beyond repair they just won’t look for evidence. The standard answer they have is well it works for me and my patients. It is like saying to Newton huh! My apple went up so i am not sure your theory and proof is good enough for me.

Love

K Hariohm

Today’s homers quote

BARNEY: Hey, Homer; you're late for English!

HOMER: Pffft, English. Who needs that? I'm never going to England.