O captain, My captain
I have seen you as a free soul who knew how to set things free. Poetry ran through your veins and your words rhymed the poet's thought. Maybe you aren't the most acceptable kind of teacher in our society because you refused to confine yourself to the syllabi or the prescribed norms of teaching. You refused to believe that poetry can be caged within lines and meters.
When you asked your students to tear the first few pages of their book you also tore away the shackles that confined literature within the narrow walls of hollow graphs and poetic devices.
I found a teacher like you who was my friend philosopher and guide, who made me stronger. You reminded me that there are few teachers who teach you how to learn without forgetting your own instincts. You taught your students to believe in their own selves.
Your approach towards studies was always different. You believed in the self discovery of an individual as a way to understand literature. You gave a voice to your students. I respect your thoughts and dignity that you almost made me yell "o captain, my captain" when you left the school silently yet undefeated.
You taught us that to understand poetry you need to understand passion because it's the essence of life.
//these are what, we stay alive for//
is what you told about poetry, love, and romance because you understood what poetry truly means.
Teachers like you are hard to find who always challenges the always-followed-path. Teachers like you teach us to win. Teachers like you teach us to seize the day.
Mr. Keatings I'm glad that I met teachers like you who built my personality and taught me to voice my feelings.
Here's a happy teachers' day to all the people out there who taught us to think a little differently and strive a little harder to live our dreams. Here's to all the Mr. Keatings of our life.
Srestha
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