Dr Freaks Journal - The Crush

The physical appearance and or attitude of a teacher of a subject has a way of impacting on a student's interests or otherwise in a subject,

In my early years, what the word "crush" meant to me was a fizzy beverage brand owned and marketed internationally by Keurig Dr Pepper, originally produced as an orange soda, "Orange Crush". Crush primarily competes with CocaCola's Fanta; but as the years rolled by, my lexicon (and indeed idiolect) became expanded and same admitted yet another meaning of the word thus: "...crush on somebody" (...to have a feeling of romantic love for someone, especially someone you do not know well).


1988:


For strange reasons, History, Literature in English and English language were my favourite subjects in my senior secondary school days. I was so madly in love with these subjects and honestly speaking, I still am.


Earlier in the week, images of the respective teachers of these subjects flashed into my mind and behold, they all had something in common. They were women, and they were beautiful.


My first History teacher was a diminutive damsel, beauty personified! She had just graduated from the university then and she was young, even though she was like seven or eight years older but truth be told, she was my first crush!

I wished I were a little bit older. I wished I were a little bit taller. I wished my circumstances were different. Lol. I was so madly crushing on this aunty who coincidentally happened to be my in-law as I was to later discover. She's a professor now. The only way I could console myself then was by paying attention in class such that I would be noticed by her. Guess what, my strategy worked!

 I became one of her favourite students.


My English teacher happened to be my Form Mistress too. She was simply beautiful. Her voice was captivating. She must have been in her late 20s or early 30s at the time and she was a beauty to behold. With that kind of teacher, "if you don't fall in love with English language, wetin you gain?"


Literature was fun! The subject was also handled by another damsel. I can still remember that black and brown Toyota Solara car of hers! She was a Niger-Deltan and she was a paragon of beauty. Most of my naughty friends had a crush on her too. She made me fall in love with Life. Literature is Life, and life is Literature!


Well, other subjects, for me were just there and I simply paid attention in class because I needed to pass as part of the conditions precedent to promotion.


On a very serious note now, the physical appearance and or attitude of a teacher of a subject has a way of impacting on a student's interests or otherwise in a subject, in some cases. I wouldn't know if it can be or has been proven empirically though as I do not pretend to be a trained educationist or physiologist. Most of the subjects I hated in my school days, I never really liked the disposition of most of the teachers who handled them.

 Meanwhile, the ones I idolised, I loved the subjects. Dropping Chemistry in SS2 was hard for me because I was in love with the teacher -"Prof" even though I didn't like Physics and I had already pitched my tent with the Arts. Who knows, maybe if some of us had had great teachers (whom we had a crush on) in some subjects we could have ended up differently.


I hope my teachers are not reading this piece. Lol

Stay Safe,

Its Kunle!

*No wonder i haTed maths so much and still do... My Maths teacher was the opposite of the word crush and used to crush us with his long canes...LOL