“There are two kinds of teachers – the kind that fill you
with so much quail shot that you can’t move, and the kind that gives you
a little prod behind and you jump to the skies” ― Robert Frost
Well, teaching is not an easy job!! Every day you are judged by 60-70
pairs of eyes (less if you are lucky and more if unlucky!), they expect
you to know everything; they expect you to understand them. Is it
possible for a teacher to understand every student in the room, know
everyone personally and also know the subject thoroughly? Well, if not
impossible, it is a tough job for sure! But those are not the things
that make teaching one of the most respected professions around the
world. It is the TEACHER herself/himself that does so. It is not
about how much knowledge the teacher has on the subject – it is the
love and passion she/he has for the subject and for her/his students because
it is this love and passion that is contagious, that motivates the
student to learn.
I have been a student my whole life and so I think I have a pretty good idea about what I want from my teachers. But it was not until I came
to my Masters that I realized how important a position teacher holds in
our life and in shaping our careers. And fortunately, we don’t need all
the teaching staffs to be equally good at what they do. A few will do
the job and have an everlasting effect on the life of all the students.
The most important quality of a teacher is his communication skills.
And when I say communication, I am not talking about how they deliver
their lecture but a far more important aspect of communication –
listening skills. Unfortunately in my experience, I have come
across very few teachers who actually listens when students talk. This
God-knows-better-teacher-knows-best attitude does defer the students
from expressing their views, actually it intimidates the students and in
the long run it helps no one. As students we lose interest in our own
views and well, make us question if our teacher was ever interested at
all!! Recently I was lucky to get selected for a short course with one
of USA’s most prestigious university. For practical purposes the
students and some faculty members of the university came to India and
honestly, I was surprised by the way the professors and students
communicated. It was a fully professional relationship where no one was
intimidated by the others. And then I looked at the way we Indian
students communicated. To notice the inhibitions one need not be a Sigmund Freud! In fifteen days the US faculty have
earned my undying respect. It was so easy to communicate with them, they
never tried to impose the fact that they were at a higher position and
this earned them the respect. But the best thing is that they encouraged
the students to speak their minds confidently. Where I come from, most of my
professors often ask for honest opinions about teaching but when they get it, they have a very hard time digesting the facts. I have pretty much learned my lessons and do prefer to keep
quiet when asked any questions. We have great faculties in India and I
am not trying to disrespect anyone here but there is a lot to learn in
terms of dealing with student. They are all over-achievers and so ego is good but when it comes to a teacher-student relationship, it should be respect and not ego that places the teachers at a higher pedestal.
I am a Ph.D scholar now and the thing that I feel is mostly lacking
in our education system is respect for the student’s views. It is an
increasing trend I have observed that in master’s and doctoral level,
the students are rarely asked what research they would like to do. The
adviser chooses one for the student and the student does not know
otherwise. When the students choose a topic for themselves, they go
through a lot of literature and in the process learn a lot about international developments in the subject. The double benefit is they learn a lot
more than they would have otherwise from books solely and better even,
they love their topic and it is close to their heart. It is a constant
motivation to do an outstanding research and no matter what the outcome
is, the student stays interested. Research is no more limited to partial
fulfillment criteria to receive a degree but a quest for development. And is that not the whole point of research in the first place?
This made me think every other profession – be it
scientist, administrator, doctor, engineer or school teacher – have a training period
where the new recruits are acclimatized and taught what to expect in
real working situation. Is there any such thing for assistant
professors? It is a career and character building position but has
enough attention been given to how to behave and how not to behave with
students. Again I have to say, it is not what they teach but how they
teach is what captures our attention and imagination. And in my opinion, we
really need to work on that!
But having said that all, my only aim in life is to be in the
teaching profession and that is because my teacher have inspired me. I
was the most laid back person I have ever known and my teacher have
transformed me. My teacher believed in me when no one else did and that made
me try. When my parents were surprised by my success, my teacher said
‘You can do better’ and that made me strive for better. I am lucky enough to have a great teacher to show me the way and so I know how important
that is and all I want is to give that
confidence to as many young minds as I can. Only a teacher can do that – a
person who really knows the meaning of being a teacher. And if we are
all lucky to get that one teacher, the world will definitely be a better
place!
“Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence”.
― Robert Frost
