Today was the first time when I received any gift on teacher’s day. I am thankful to the students who organized this event. World over teacher’s day is celebrated in respect of the teachers who have made us what we are. Since time immemorial we have revered teacher as a god in India. I am not going to describe here the importance of teachers in one’s life. I think across the world it has been known, irrespective of country, caste, religion that teachers’ are the cause of development of the country in long run. There are enough examples to suggest that it was the teachers who have acted as a catalyst for the sparks in the brightest of minds.
Sometimes I feel that there is a sense of negativism outside the academic fraternity, for teaching profession (I may be wrong). The brand “teacher” has taken a hit in recent years. The day like teachers day is an opportune occasion which reminds us the rightful importance of teachers in our life and in our society. We will have to understand this very clearly that teacher is not someone to be looked down and to be treated as a security loving, easy going person without a fire in his belly. The profession is not only noble but also demanding in terms of skills, time and competency. (For the time being, I will not dilute today’s day by bringing in the money part). As my friend says, this is a profession which requires immense self-motivation to excel. There are two peculiar things about this profession, one the profession is one of the most difficult to be assessed and evaluated on individual basis in short run and second, it has a power to create the most profound of impacts on the personality of person in particular and society in general, in long run which is hard to miss. This nature of this work makes it interesting and intriguing at the same time.
We all know the importance of teacher in the society and on the other hand we are witnessing the same society on its lowest morale and moral. It might be my own perception but when you look around the news, economy, mentality there is no contrary evidence to support that society is on the path of progress. Rapes, scams, suicides, frauds etc. if not out of control are definitely threatening to be so. There are many surveys which tell that most of the current graduates are not readily employable. The days like these are right moment for the teachers’ to take a step back and look at the society. Where it is going and how it is growing. At an aggregate level, it is proof of the quality of their job done. It would be very easy but not desirable to outsource this responsibility entirely on government because they are the one who make the policies.
At this time it is very essential that we revisit the definition of education and teacher. As of now it is understood (read: practiced) by most of the teaching fraternity that education means teaching what is there in the curriculum. The teacher’s duty in current context is to finish curriculum in a specified time. Sir ken Robinson has rightly said in his TED talk, that current public education system is evolved to meet the need of industrialization and it systematically weeds out the creative capacities of a growing student. There is hardly any focus in current education system on creativity, personality development and moral values in student. This is reflected somewhere in the surveys which proclaim that most of the fresh graduates are not employable. In this dynamic and fast changing world the students need to be equipped with life skills and not only curriculum and theories. This requires constant appreciation and encouragement from society for new experiments and for practicing moral values.
We have heard that we all are learners. The other side which nobody thinks is that we all are teachers also. We teach our juniors & seniors, neighbors & relatives, not only by our words but also by our actions. We teach our leaders when we vote for them. We teach our government officials when we offer them bribe. Education is very wide phenomenon which extends much beyond classrooms and curriculum. How we all conduct ourselves in our environment will definitely impact the society. We, by our actions and conduct contribute to the society. It will also be important to understand the definition of teacher in this context. Teacher is not the only one who teaches in the classroom but all citizens who day in and day out teaches each other. Hence it is not the technically called ‘teachers’, who need to reflect upon the environment & society in which we are living.
We need to reflect on our ancient wisdoms of “tamso ma jyotirgamay” and “sa vidya ya vimuktaye” which shines on our various university emblems. You can not have a self-centered, uni-dimensional education leading to peaceful society and blissful individuals. Nowhere are we denying the importance of technical education but equally important is the education of man-making. Educating humans for cooperation (not dependence), educating for competence and excellence, for creativity. This will only come if teachers are open minded, competent, fearless, committed and they are not blindfolded by their subject or discipline.
Please don’t conclude that the current youth is inferior to any previous generation or it’s the teachers who are not doing their job. But for sure, we need to rise from where we are today. In a broader context, we all are teachers and we have an important role in shaping the youth and future of our country. They learn from us. They become what we guide them to be, what we define as desirable. It is time that we respect the practice of truth, openness, hardwork and all other virtues that we demand from others. I think this will be the real gift of teachers’ day, to the teacher in all of us. Happy Teacher’s Day. !
Sometimes I feel that there is a sense of negativism outside the academic fraternity, for teaching profession (I may be wrong). The brand “teacher” has taken a hit in recent years. The day like teachers day is an opportune occasion which reminds us the rightful importance of teachers in our life and in our society. We will have to understand this very clearly that teacher is not someone to be looked down and to be treated as a security loving, easy going person without a fire in his belly. The profession is not only noble but also demanding in terms of skills, time and competency. (For the time being, I will not dilute today’s day by bringing in the money part). As my friend says, this is a profession which requires immense self-motivation to excel. There are two peculiar things about this profession, one the profession is one of the most difficult to be assessed and evaluated on individual basis in short run and second, it has a power to create the most profound of impacts on the personality of person in particular and society in general, in long run which is hard to miss. This nature of this work makes it interesting and intriguing at the same time.
We all know the importance of teacher in the society and on the other hand we are witnessing the same society on its lowest morale and moral. It might be my own perception but when you look around the news, economy, mentality there is no contrary evidence to support that society is on the path of progress. Rapes, scams, suicides, frauds etc. if not out of control are definitely threatening to be so. There are many surveys which tell that most of the current graduates are not readily employable. The days like these are right moment for the teachers’ to take a step back and look at the society. Where it is going and how it is growing. At an aggregate level, it is proof of the quality of their job done. It would be very easy but not desirable to outsource this responsibility entirely on government because they are the one who make the policies.
At this time it is very essential that we revisit the definition of education and teacher. As of now it is understood (read: practiced) by most of the teaching fraternity that education means teaching what is there in the curriculum. The teacher’s duty in current context is to finish curriculum in a specified time. Sir ken Robinson has rightly said in his TED talk, that current public education system is evolved to meet the need of industrialization and it systematically weeds out the creative capacities of a growing student. There is hardly any focus in current education system on creativity, personality development and moral values in student. This is reflected somewhere in the surveys which proclaim that most of the fresh graduates are not employable. In this dynamic and fast changing world the students need to be equipped with life skills and not only curriculum and theories. This requires constant appreciation and encouragement from society for new experiments and for practicing moral values.
We have heard that we all are learners. The other side which nobody thinks is that we all are teachers also. We teach our juniors & seniors, neighbors & relatives, not only by our words but also by our actions. We teach our leaders when we vote for them. We teach our government officials when we offer them bribe. Education is very wide phenomenon which extends much beyond classrooms and curriculum. How we all conduct ourselves in our environment will definitely impact the society. We, by our actions and conduct contribute to the society. It will also be important to understand the definition of teacher in this context. Teacher is not the only one who teaches in the classroom but all citizens who day in and day out teaches each other. Hence it is not the technically called ‘teachers’, who need to reflect upon the environment & society in which we are living.
We need to reflect on our ancient wisdoms of “tamso ma jyotirgamay” and “sa vidya ya vimuktaye” which shines on our various university emblems. You can not have a self-centered, uni-dimensional education leading to peaceful society and blissful individuals. Nowhere are we denying the importance of technical education but equally important is the education of man-making. Educating humans for cooperation (not dependence), educating for competence and excellence, for creativity. This will only come if teachers are open minded, competent, fearless, committed and they are not blindfolded by their subject or discipline.
Please don’t conclude that the current youth is inferior to any previous generation or it’s the teachers who are not doing their job. But for sure, we need to rise from where we are today. In a broader context, we all are teachers and we have an important role in shaping the youth and future of our country. They learn from us. They become what we guide them to be, what we define as desirable. It is time that we respect the practice of truth, openness, hardwork and all other virtues that we demand from others. I think this will be the real gift of teachers’ day, to the teacher in all of us. Happy Teacher’s Day. !