Father Rosy, my American teacher

Author: 
Sanjay Sharma

Sanjay Sharma, born 1964, attended St. Xavier’s School, Jaipur. He has worked with several institutions, starting with All India Radio. He has spent many useful years in Africa. He is a multi-linguist with fluency in English, Hindi, French, Lingala, and Swahili. He is presently teaching French to the students of Delhi Public School, Ajmer Road, Jaipur.

A teacher means a lot to his/her students. He/she plays extraordinary roles in our lives. They mould us and our future accordingly in order to make us a responsible citizen of the country. Studying at St. Xavier’s School Jaipur, I realized that I learnt from my teachers a lot.

Here is one such teacher I would specially like to mention. He is late Fr. Richard Rosenfelder S.J. my American teacher who used to teach me English. What a personality he possessed. There are so many good teachers but it was only him who gave me an opportunity to see myself improving every day by his continuous support and guidance. I still remember when he used to give us what he called the golden sheets in English grammar. His answers were to the point. He encouraged us to come to the fathers’ residence whenever we had difficulty or when our work was not complete.

Queries never irritated him, and he answered them very politely. I remember after completing my XIIth standard I moved to Africa. I was in constant touch with him. Being a good teacher is hard, but being a passionate and dedicated teacher is even harder. I remember Fr. Rosy as we used to call him, on this Teachers’ Day and pray to God Almighty that his soul rest in peace.


Un enseignant signifie beaucoup à son/ses élèves. Il/elle joue des rôles extraordinaires dans nos vies. Ils façonnent notre avenir en conséquence afin de nous faire un citoyen responsable du pays. Étudiant à St. Xaviers Jaipur, je me suis aperçu que j'ai appris beaucoup de mes professeurs.

Voici un tel professeur, je tiens particulièrement à mentionner. C’est Fr. Richard Rosenfelder S.J. mon professeur américain qui m’enseignait l'anglais. Quelle personnalité qu'il possédait. Il y a tellement de bons enseignants, mais il est seulement celui qui m'a donné l'occasion de me voir améliorer chaque jour par son soutien et une orientation continue. Je me souviens encore quand il a utilisé pour nous donner ce qu'il a appelé les feuilles d'or dans la grammaire anglaise. Ses réponses étaient au point et éxacte. Il nous a encouragés à venir au quartier des pères à chaque fois que nous avons eu des difficultés ou lorsque notre travail n'a pas été complet.

Il n'a jamais été irrité par les requêtes. Je me souviens qu'après mon XII quand je suis arrivé en Afrique, j’étais en contact permanent avec lui. Être un bon professeur est dur, mais d'être un enseignant passionné et dévoué est encore plus difficile. Je me souviens Fr. Rosy comme nous l'appelions, sur la journée d’enseignant et prie au Dieu tout puissant que son âme reste en paix.

Comments

A touching tribute

Excellent tribute Sanjay. I also owe so much to him specially english language skills. I remember being afraid of coming late for his class, he use to stand on the entrance and punch us while entering! He was the most soft spoken person indeed, saw him getting angry just once in all my 10 years there.

Thanks for the memories

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