Tribute to a 102-year-old teacher
The year is 1948. We students at St. John’s College Panadura watch the Principal Cyril A. Jansz (Jnr) escorting a beautiful young lady up the steps. He brings her to our class (the HSC as it was then known) and introduces her as our class teacher and the teacher for Sinhala and Pali. These are new subjects in this school which had opted for Latin and Greek throughout its hundred year existence. It may surprise many that at that time Latin was a compulsory subject to enter Medical College.
The far-seeing Principal had decided to move with the times to ensure that his students would fit in with the national resurgence taking place. He could not have found a better teacher to guide us from a totally Western milieu to a comfortable Eastern culture.
Mrs. Hettiarachie’s English was as good as her Sinhalese. She handled both languages at such depth and made it so interesting. Those of us who began to study Sinhala and Pali (in English of course) began to love these subjects. She was opening up a new world for us. She made us aware of the beauty of our language without ever deriding English or the Western culture.
She guided us in such a way that we were made to feel that our own culture was as rich and colourful as the culture we knew before. She made us appreciate the East and the West without ever making odious comparisons. In fact she guided us to be world citizens with open minds. She never tried to foist her own opinions on us. Instead, she made us think.
This was just the beginning. There were vast changes in the social, political and educational sections during this time. In 1957 the school was handed over to the Government; not taken over as happened to most other schools. St. John’s lost its identity. After the take over the school was named Panadura Vidyalaya and later changed to Cyril Jansz Vidyalaya in 1957, in honour of its founder.
Today sanity has prevailed, and it is once more St. John’s College, Panadura.
Along with this change in nomenclature, other changes were taking place. For instance, the Sinhala only policy came into force. These were difficult times, but teachers like Mrs Hettiarachie had the vision and the ability to handle all this with aplomb. With all these changes taking place it was difficult to find teachers. After all the turbulence, St. John’s settled down to a normal routine. Thanks to the teachers of that day, the school was able to maintain a high scholastic tradition.
It was then that we realised what a versatile person she was. She taught English, Sinhalese, Pali, Mathematics and History etc. as the situation demanded. Students at St. John’s were not left in the lurch as there were gifted teachers like her to guide them. This was the time that private schools were acquired and converted into State schools. The old standards had to be abandoned. A new order was in the making. A new class of students joined the school. They and those of us who came from private schools had to find a common platform. We did this successfully, thanks to the guidance we received from our teachers.
Ms. Hettiarachie continued to be a part of St John’s until she retired in 1973 at the age of 60. Many generations of her students still remember her with love and respect. Most are in touch with her, even though she lives in Canada. She still remembers us just as we remember her.
In her retirement she has not been idle. An expert with needle and thread, at the age of 90 she was able to have two exhibitions of needle paintings, one of exotic birds embroidered in vivid colours and the other of butterflies.
Dear teacher, to say you were a wonderful teacher would be an understatement. You looked for our strengths and not our weaknesses. You inspired us to develop those strengths into life forces that have kept us vitally alive even today.
Thank you Madam, for moulding our lives. You are special.
As the bard put it,
Age has not withered her
Nor custom staled
Her infinite variety
We all wish you the blessings of the Triple Gem on your Birthday and always!
-On behalf of all your students
Usula Wijesuriya and Sumathi Fernando