Teachers’ Day is celebrated every year on September 5 to mark the birthday of the country’s second President, Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. It is a day to honour, recognise and celebrate educators. Let’s get nostalgic with memories from a few known faces who had a huge crush on their teachers growing up.
Having a crush on a teacher is very common and is incredibly normal in middle and high school. Even elementary school children may develop serious crushes on their teachers. Normally and mostly, it doesn’t go any further than a harmless crush though.
“Just like my mother, I always wanted to become a teacher and so to experience to that it is like, I would teach primary children. They used to come to me saying, “Ma’am you look very pretty”. I had a secret crush on two female teachers, a chemistry teacher named Sonal Ma’am and Jennifer Ma’am from my convent school in Junagadh, Gujarat. The way these ladies used to carry themselves – from their clothes, nails and hair – all inspired me.” – Bhakti Kubavat, Actor
“As an 18-year-old student, I was in absolute awe of Professor Janice Teegen, who taught English Literature at the Florida Institute of Technology. It was her impeccable sense of class, grace, wit and old-world charm that were far more enamouring than her already age-defying looks. I’ll never forget that semester, that course, those lectures. Having a crush on her only deepened my love for literature. And here’s another fun fact: in a rigorous course where the brightest of her students would manage to get a B- grade, I was the only one to earn an A+. By the end of the semester, I finally mustered the courage to ask her out and we went on a lunch date. My friends were dumbstruck as to how I not only aced that course but also pulled off a date! I often miss her and often joke that I’m still single because I’ve yet to find someone as charismatic and entrancing as Ms Teegen.” – Ojas Rawal, Actor
“Why is it very common amongst children to have a ‘crush’ on their teachers? The biggest role I splayed by a person’s hormones, and the changes that happen within the body Also since a teacher is usually portrayed as a powerful person to a student, the child psychologically tries to associate with such a personality consciously or unconsciously. In most cases, children notice how their idol looks, speaks, influences and motivates them. A crush in a teacher crush can be counted as a common phenomenon.” – Dr Prashant Bhimani, Senior Psychologist
“Let us understand this topic both a technical and psychological way. The neurotransmitters in the brain start working actively post a certain age. A crush is usually one-sided and happens mainly at a very specific age – the early teens. The crush one has for one’s teachers is very different from a romantic crush which purely depends on looks whereas an identity crush depends upon the personality of the individual.” – Dr Parth Vaishnav, Psychiatrist
“I always admired only those teachers who were strict and never had any inclination of being a soft-spoken person. I particularly remember Mr Ramanujan, who was a fine math teacher but had to chip in to fulfil the role of an English teacher because of the lack of staff. Even now, I channel the spirit of the teachers I admired, and my students are mostly scared of me in class. I have always admired lady staff especially because they stood up for themselves and were a class apart, while the male staff were always my gurus.” – Shibie Peter, English teacher for Cambridge & IB
“I really admired my English teacher Mrs. Sharad Mohan. Being a sportsperson during my school days, I was always at the ground rather than in class, but I really did adore her. I was always an average student in English, so I don’t think she really noticed me in a class of 70 students. But her innate beauty and style of dressing, her way of communication and even the way she carried herself in class was just wonderful.” – Khyati Randive, IT Coordinator JG International School, Ahmedabad
