Profile of Dr
Susan Edward, MSc, M Ed,M Phil, Ph D
It gives me great pleasure and
pride to introduce Dr. Susan Edward Joseph our most distinguished ‘Chief Guest’
and most worthy Teacher on the occasion of ‘Teacher’s Day’ being celebrated
today.
As an educational institution
based on the principles of knowledge dissemination for a noble cause, I am sure
we could not have had a more befitting person to grace the occasion.
The word ‘Teacher’ has a deep
meaning and should not be interpreted simply as a person who stands before a
black board and takes lessons, such a person may be called a tutor. A teacher
plays a much greater role in the life of his/her students and society at large,
she enlightens the mind through imparting of knowledge, moulds character by
inculcating moral and ethical values and in a nation like India with a 2000
years unbroken Guru-Sishya parampara the Guru or Teacher assumes paramount
importance in our lives.
Let me give a brief introduction
to out honoured chief guest, Dr Susan’s student phase was varied and spread
over regions, from her early schooling in Sankaragiri in Salem to graduation
and Post graduation in Holy Cross, Trichy, B.Ed in Mysore.
To young Susan the keen learner
it was a rich and real time learning and exposure to the value systems so
unique to rural India
and she absorbed much more than what was taught in her classroom. This would
have a great influence on Dr Susan who would don the role of an educator in the
years to come.
Dr Susan married Shri Edward
Joseph a duty conscious police officer and the couple were blessed with two
Angels, Angeline and Alice, the Joy was however short lived as destiny most
cruelly snatched the valiant police officer’s life, as he fell victim to the
bomb blast that killed former Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi in year 1991.
Dr Susan took the tragedy with
great resilience, not a person to buckle down in the face of personal sorrow,
she realized that the loss placed a greater responsibility of bringing up the
children single-handedly and she did it most admirably displaying the valiant
nature of her husband.
Dr. Susan has donned several
roles in an eventful career, she started as a Teacher, went on to become a
headmistress at the Presidency Girls High School, became the Assistant Professor
at the Holy Cross Home Science College, Tuticorin and the Divisional Education
officer. Dr Susan left an indelible mark in every assignment that she handled,
she was conferred the ‘Best Teacher Award’ for her high quality of work
and the 65 schools under her showed, when she served as the district education
officer, registered all round progress.
She played a major role in
preparing and implementing the ‘Samacheer system of education’ and was also
recognized by Rotary Club and with an award for her ‘Service to the cause of
education’.
Dr Susan was known for her
extraordinary counselling which changed the course of hundreds of students. A high point in Dr Susan’s
academic life was the conferment of Doctorate for her research and presentation
of thesis, she made a significant contribution to Zoology by discovering a new
species of Scorpion not known to Zoologists earlier, and she named the same in
memory of her beloved husband as Pseudo Scorpion Edwardis.
A MAHALINGAM
Mr S R Gandhi / 
