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As we celebrate Teacher’s Day on 05 Sep to commemorate Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan’s birth anniversary, we also salute the accomplishments of many great teachers and scholars of our country.
There have been many coveted professions but the mother of all is the teaching profession, especially at the primary and secondary school levels. It is here that young minds are nurtured, that values and ethos are imparted and energies channelized to effectively navigate the challenges of life ahead. A teacher, in the wider connotation of the word, does not just teach one or more prescribed subjects but encourages lateral reading and class discussions involving different views and perspectives to open up young minds. The students become more accepting of diverse views while developing questioning minds.
For teaching to be effective in any society, especially in a secular country like ours, teachers have to rise above their own prejudices. Being bipartisan towards each of their students is an important quality that they must possess. Their knowledge and their ability to take along the weakest student in the class and using reprimand that is more salutary than condescending are the hallmarks of a good teacher. While teachers are also prone to human failings, they must have the will to constantly introspect and improve. To lead by example in manners and etiquette and to instill confidence and self-esteem in their students are traits that make a true teacher.
The fact that knowledge is empowering and is the primary aim of education must be understood early. True success is in putting honest efforts. Teachers must make students realize that marks eventually form just a minuscule part of their lives. The greater purpose of life lies in how one strives to become a better person and how one lives in consonance with the eco -system.
I go back to my school days in 1982 as a student of class 9 at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Trimulgherry in Secunderabad. Our history teacher was one Mr Kalidas. He made us all take to History like never before. He never viewed his classes through the narrow prism of “important questions” or “important lessons” or the shortcuts to scoring high marks. He was like a skilled raconteur telling us a story each day for 45 mins. How we students looked forward to History periods! The school gong marking the end of the class would be received with a disappointed sigh. Learning History and scoring well in exams were an effortless exercise in the process. Kalidas Sir also inspired us to get into lateral reading and was the one who introduced us to Alex Haley’s acclaimed book “Roots” in one of his classes. For me sadly, this fortunate encounter with a remarkable school teacher was short- lived as I had to move to another city, mid-session, where my father had been posted. My new school was also a Central School following the same curriculum. However, when I joined, all History chapters had already been covered and the students had been advised to buy a ready reckoner to memorize important questions!
Many years later, as a parent to a class 1 student at St Mary’s School, Pune, the erudite primary school librarian, Mrs Mendanha, reminded me of Mr Kalidas. She encouraged a thirst for knowledge in my little daughter that has been sustained in her till date.
Over the years, education has become commercialized with lesser emphasis on learning. Everything seems to be aimed at cracking competitive exams, leading to immense stress and anxiety. While all this is quite understandable in order to secure a good job to have a stable future, the pure joys of simple learning are taking a backseat.
It is here that teachers can salvage the situation by introducing diverse fields that a student can pursue including the arts, music and other creative fields according to their talents and passion. However, for this to happen, the teachers must be convinced themselves to think out of the box. In India, more often than not, the reasons for taking up teaching are motivated by reasons other than passion for the job. Factors like fixed working hours, summer and winter breaks and striking a balance between household and professional duties are common considerations. There is nothing wrong with this but it may sometimes lead to people not optimizing their expertise and underperforming as teachers.
Also, school teaching is usually not as lucrative as other professions. This relegates it to the lowest rung of jobs for bright and promising students. To be a progressive society, we must accord primary school teaching its due place of importance like many developed nations, where teachers are amongst the highest paid professionals.
On Teacher’s Day, let us salute all the teachers who made a lasting impact on us.
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