A Gem of an Educator

by Basil Fernando

(February 18, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Brother Alexander Cyrilus FSC passed away on January 8th 2011 at the age of 81. Until last fall, when he fell into the coma which kept him to the end, he lived a healthy, happy and active life. Education was his life-long commitment . He chose this path very early in life when he joined the religious order of the La Salle Brothers dedicated to the teaching of the poor, established by a Frenchman some 300 years ago. De La Salle lived at a time in which education was the exclusive privilege of the rich. He established his organization to teach the poor without a gratuitously. It was this great tradition that Sri Lanka’s Brother Alexander embraced as a young boy studying at Kurunagela. His own single-minded ambition was to educate the young. He left a beautiful example of what it is to be an educator.

It is one of my great fortunes to be educated by him and I take a great pride in being able to be a direct witness to the manner in which this great man carried out his life. The years I spent under his guidance between the age of 15 and 17 have left in me a vivid imprint.

He was a simple man. Among the things he insisted on teaching in relation to writing was to write in very simple language and not to try to imitate. He was at best when teaching languages. To us he taught English and Sinhala but I know he also taught French elsewhere. He tried to encourage students to discover their own creativity. Though never a flatterer, he could make remarks of appreciation that remain in one's mind for the rest of life.

He was also a good teacher of literature. The way he taught Martin Wicremasighe’s Ape Gama (Our Village), a school text at the time, was remarkable. He was able to impart the basics of literary criticism through explanations of a few paragraphs of the text. He believed that an average child was quite capable of understanding very profound concepts. It was this faith in young people's capacities that was quite unique in his approach to children. He was like a gardner who know that if he cared for the plant, the plant will surely bear the flowers.
Brother Alexander was fond of studying roots of words. Perhaps he got used to this when he studied for his own first degree, which he obtained at the age of 24. Having understood the words, he was able to simplify difficult ideas and concepts and to explain them in a way that anyone can understand them. He was never boring.

A deeply religious man, he did not discriminate against anyone. In his classes at St. Benedict's, Kotahena, there were students of all races and religions. And also of every kind of character. He got on wonderfullywell with those whose were usually considered the difficult ones. His sense of humour and capacity to laugh gapped the bridge with them. He encouraged debating and literary festivals.

He was keen student of psychology. He had read a of lot of literature on adolescence. This also may explain his capacity to deal with many issues with rare insights.

A good teacher is one who comes to ones mind long after students days and when one has to deal with many things on one's own. In this sense, he was a great guru. Wisdom contained in little things he said comes to one's mind at all types of odd moments. In this sense he still continues to teach.

When I first heard of his passing away, I wrote this poem. It is a poem that, unlike the ones before, I am unable to send to him.

A poem for a teacher

(A poem dedicated to Bro. Alexander)

I HEARD THAT YOU HAVE PASSED AWAY

Sorry I was away, when you went away
But in my dreams, and in my inner mind
you will always remain.
You are the guru, I am the learning child
you are the smiling friend,
the compassionate one.
I am that perplexed one
who needed your words.
I see your walk,
sound of your voice still echoes.
Green grass and the sea
will remind me of you.
The big Nuga tree under which
you taught us poems
and the beauty of words,
that tree rooted in the wisdom of the ages
will never die, will remain moving
with the wind.