It was a cloudy yet a clear day and we fifty teachers sat listening to our resource person elaborating on the effective methods of teaching English in a classroom. Evidently, in order to bring in the important issue of teaching human values by being more loving and humane to our students, she narrated to us how God made the sculpture of a teacher and was in deep thought as to what to do to complete because this was the character that was going to create generations. It was the angel standing behind God who saw drops of tears in the eyes of the sculpture and told God that He had already completed it and there was nothing more to be done.
Today, there is a departure from the beautiful anecdote that foretold that a very rare species of human beings were being created by God.There is a visible drop in moral and human values in the present generation of young people. Changes in thinking and life style has been drastic and not often for the better. The social set up has changed and Western and European examples have been followed but often without taking into account our age old culture and value system. The shift is not well balanced and is causing crisis before a complete overhaul of our social and economic structure is made possible. In this context, the role of teachers acquires relevance because they are the only fraternity who affect thousands of life together through there vocation.
These are indeed difficult times because gone are the days when life used to be black and white and people thrived on simple rules of ethics and goodness. Time and technological revolution has showed that human beings have a lot of gray shades to them. There was a time when teachers were the most revered citizens of the society and their words were wisdom and the profession of teaching was regarded as holy and sacred. In the present society, education has undergone a whole revolution with the mushrooming of English medium schools .Nowadays, teachers are regarded as mere service providers. The relationship equation between the teachers, parents and students has undergone a drastic change. It is no more personal, respectful or value-based. It’s more of a professional relationship based on quality service and customer satisfaction.
In the changed scenario, the role of teachers assumes huge significance as they are the sole social class who come in contact with a large number of children every day and moreover, they are the people who raise the future citizens. In the earlier society, knowledge and love sufficed for a student to be motivated. But in the current set up, skill, information and technology are the things that rule the roost. So, a teacher is expected to have many things besides having knowledge in some particular subjects. Good teachers of today are ideally expected to possess the following qualities:
Good teachers love to teach. Not doing it for the money, prestige, or glory, they teach because it brings them an incredible feeling of satisfaction knowing they are contributing positively to the futures of others. If a teacher doesn’t have this inner satisfaction, and does not enjoy what they do, they’ll never be able to make lasting impressions in their students’ minds. Passion has great impact and this is something that all really good teachers have.
A good teacher has the responsibility of bridging the gap between themselves and their students, so good communication skills are a must. It’s difficult sometimes to relate to people, especially children, so that learning can happen in their minds, but excellent teachers are masters of this. Relating to students on the student’s level, these teachers have developed many ways to reach their students, and communicate using terrific speaking skills, visual aids, and even in their body language.
Admirable teachers lead lives of high moral ground, and they set an example to their students because of it. Really though, admirable teachers are more credible than others. We as people are much more likely to listen to those we admire, because we wish to be like them. Models of who we would like to someday be, really good teachers help show us the way.
Instead of using strict punishment to discipline students, good teachers know how to use positive reinforcement to discipline instead. These teachers understand that negatively hinders how their students learn, creates resentment in the students’ minds, and ends up breaking the ties of the student-teacher relationship. Often these teachers reward their students for doing a good job, so they are more apt to doing it in the future.
Equality is an ideal that good teachers hold dear to themselves. They treat their students equally, yet giving them the individual attention they need. No child is left out in the mind of a wonderful teacher, and they make it a mission to teach them all the same. In doing so, they end up teaching their students the importance of equality and fair treatment, even if the teacher hadn’t intended to do so.
Teachers are leaders. In the classroom, they own the spotlight, and have the responsibility of being strong instructors so that students listen to them with determination. They have to lead their students on the right path through the learning experience, and help by showing the obstacles that may stand in the student’s way.
There is no doubt that a great teacher is committed. They go above and beyond the time requirements of a typical teacher, and are willing to help students whenever they need it. Good teachers are very committed to the curriculum they teach, and like their students, are always continuing to learn in the hopes of becoming even better teachers.
Great teachers understand their students better than most people. They understand where their students came from, who they are, and know the best avenue to take them to who they will become. Good teachers have an uncanny understanding of what they teach, because they are experts in their fields of knowledge.
There is suffering in the world, and a good teacher recognizes this and has the inner desire to help. Teachers help by teaching, because they know that by giving knowledge to the next generation, they are creating individuals who will have the skills, compassion, and dedication to end suffering. Good teachers care about the world and what they do and wouldn’t have things any other way.
A teacher can’t teach without confidence. Students won’t believe in a teacher that first doesn’t believe in theireselves. Good teachers are confident that they know how to teach, and in what they are teaching. Nothing stands in the way of this confidence, and the teacher does their best not to become arrogant about the job they do.
Teachers always remain prepared. They know the steps necessary in their curriculum to teach students, and follow them well. Teachers are always ready to go when the time calls for it and they never leave their students lost and not knowing the direction they are headed. Good teachers stick to the plans they’ve prepared, in order to teach the beat way possible
Professionalism is the sign of a good teacher. They know that as someone who is responsible for helping people learn, they must take their work seriously. Terrific teachers dress well, have good hygiene, and treat their students with respect. They believe in timeliness, and are never late and rarely miss days they are assigned to work. In doing so, they earn the respect of their students, and the students are more willing to learn from them.
Besides this, teachers see each child as a child, and not a diagnosis. They see the class as individuals and not as a drawer full of case files. They keep their sense of humour against all odds and deal with upset kids, clueless administrators, and pushy parents with great dignity. They are not afraid to be flexible and creative. They know when to make a stand and when to fight their battles. They see parents as allies, not enemies and never give anybody any doubts as to why they went into teaching. They love their job and it shows on their countenance.
To be a teacher is not an easy task. To renew the physical courage every day even after teaching six to seven periods is not an easy task. With their eyes and hair smeared with chalk powder, their vocal chords always under stress, their legs and knees stiff out of continuous standing, their bodies dehydrated because they forget take enough water, their eyes under constant pressure out of correcting notebooks and exam papers, their minds and brains under continuous pressure coordinating between the management, the authority, the parents and the children - being a teacher is not an easy task at all. Despite all this, they love the students, try to understand and sort out their problems, learn, unlearn and relearn for their sake, and sometimes learn from them. They laugh, sing and dance with them, share personal problems and suggest solutions, appreciate them and are appreciated.
Teachers are unique in their responsibility and their contribution to the society. They hold the key to the future of a nation at all times. They are truly gifts.
In a summer afternoon
When a song of the old days playing somewhere
Fell on the ear,
The world, words and the people changed,
The senses melted into a void
Heart drawn into a strange nothingness
As if the last birth came alive
through obscure voices murmuring around.
Amidst the long silence of
Closed windows
And sleeping souls,
While the sun outside
Spread its scratching passion,
They called it seemed
From a place far away
where death can only take us.
Some author had almost nonchalantly mentioned in the beginning of one of his stories that life is a strange humdrum affair, and appearances can be very deceptive. Human mind is capable of perception, yet that perception can be very deceptive because the mind is such a peculiar thing, it fabricates and weaves it's own illusions and disillusions.Most of the time the mind is completely incompetent in understanding other human minds and is deceived like anything by situations and appearances and more often by its own expectations. We are mostly slaves to our own expectations.
To have expectations is not wrong at all, but to simply expect is more than foolishness.Nothing is ever given to human beings on a platter. Yet,often we sit and either or lament about things. We rue that things are not happening according to our desire. Our utopia never happens yet we keep dreaming about it and get disappointed and frustrated. It is a sign of lack of evolution and growth. I am not talking about the consciousness that never expands. In this vast existence that we call universe lives are planned to be different. Every consciousness has to either very underdeveloped, developing or developed state. The existence is designed to be imperfect so that souls born into it are sent with opportunities to strive for perfection: perfection in many aspects and through many stages. Hence each soul undergoes a different set of experiences. The real gems of human kind are those, who take a hint from the existence and work on it, and turn a small small gift into a great event of their life, and make things and people happen. These people bring change in the world.
There are people whose lives are designed to be spent in pursuit of livelihood, bread and butter. The next level is for beings who, sheltered and comfortable harbour ordinary personal ambitions like the material prosperity of self and children.Those, who are able to free themselves from these shackles of petty ambitions through constant thinking, meditation and studying are able to visualize a higher perspective of life. If they are able to steady and still their wavering mind and set it free from the gross and the transient, are able to attain the stability that is required for consistent and committed effort to realize anything that is good, noble and higher. Their mind is established firmly in the consciousness, is unmoving and centred.Nothing disturbs its stillness.
I once read a beautiful story of one of my most beloved Oriya fiction writers,Puspanjali Nayak, in which the hero who is a senior administrative officer, is confessing his failure as a person and a human being. He has acquired wealth, status, prestige,all the comforts of life, yet, he is terribly unhappy and passes his nights tossing in bed. His high society wife's marble white body doesn't evoke any desire in him, his children are so engrossed in their world that they have moved away from him.At the pinnacle of success,he is tormented each moment. At times, he remembers the simple village girl whom he once loved, a girl who only knew how to love with all her heart, but had no eligibility to be the wife of an administrative officer. She had tried to kill herself after he cruelly broke their engagement after being selected in the I.A.S. exam and chose to marry the aristocratic,English educated daughter of a senior administrative officer.
The story is beautifully written and the pain and agony of a so-called worldly wise man is so vividly brought out that it raises a question on the validity of the modern man's self-centred life without any love or dedication to a higher purpose in life. Man today has become an emotionless, mechanical, pervert who only moves in certain spheres of existence in the mad frenzy of achievement.What man doesn't understand is that any endeavour, any pursuit without love, commitment and a pure purpose can bring material success, but it can never lead to happiness. Wealth and fame can never buy contentment and satisfaction. They only give a superficial sense of achievement, undermine the higher purposes of life and ultimately lead to a life of emptiness and discontentment. On the other hand, things done with love and sincerity with right understanding of situations and people leads to general well being of individuals and the society and leads to bliss. Resultantly,the human soul remains calm, unpolluted and pure and thus dwells in bliss.
-1-
It was hard to come by,
There was not a sign of it, nor the sound of it, for ages,
But it came such an odd way, one day,
through the hardy terrain it came
burdened with disbelief and disgust,
but it came,
climbing on the soft, magical wings of a crooning,
And nudged the heart,
then entered it, pierceing through,
The walls closed around itand it remained enclosed there,
It still is.
To release it and to give it wings to fly back
and to fly away somewhere,
will require a lance-blow, a tear, very strong and deep blow,
a death.
-2-
I hate that 'karmic' madness,
and that feverish mind that keeps jumping from branch to brach
like a monkey in pain,
I hate the long silences
that seem to dismantle things,
I hate the surface dreams,the forgetfulness,
that surges over the sand and keeps earasing the good,
and the memorable,
The rude words that break the heart time to time I despise,
yet Underneath all, runsa a stream, cryustal clear,
the slime never rises to the surface or muddies the stream,
It flows, queitly,
Through seasonal tears and pain, and flows,
Because love never quits.
A young married woman goes to her parents' house for the delivery of her first child. When she comes back with the brand new baby in her arms, her husband refuses to take her in. She comes back to her father's house with the baby, tries one more time, but the husband doesn't buzz. Their marriage had been the culmination of a love story. Now the husband lives with another woman and the divorce case is still in the court.The baby has grown without knowind who has never known what a father is. The man who abandoned the wife with a newborn child legitimately fathered by him, never wanted to see his son nor wanted to know about his well being. And he didn't think twice before shunning the woman whom he had loved for many years and had married.
A young MBA girl joins a job. As she is new to the place, she decides to stay with a distantly related brother who works there. Her family also feels secure that the girl is with a brother.within some months something very shocking happens with the internal world of the small town, morally conditioned girl. The brother declares to her one day that he loves her. This is a jolt to the unassuming,moralistic girl, but the boy keeps singing his song of love. One day he coaxes her into a fake marriage citing that as they are cousins, their families would never agree to the alliance, so they would marry privately and remain committed to one another for life. They start living like husband and wife. A few years elapse and one day the girl catches the boy having an affair with another girl. She confronts him and reminds him of his vow to remain committed. The boy promises not to do so again but clandestinely continues with the affair. The girl takes courage, confronts the other girl and the matter is put to rest. But when the girl asks the boy to marry her legally, the boy tries to sneak away from the scene altogether. The matter end tragically with the girl committing suicide after many months of mentally agony and torture. The boy works in a lucrative position in another city and in all likelihood,in a few days, he will find another girl for himself.
These are two stray examples of how the young minds of our country are completely out of sync with the moral and ethical principles of Indian culture that have been the proud heritage and the backbone of our society. They have moved into an alien world of their own with its own perverse rules minus any moral scruples. In this world, egotism and self-centered existence is regarded as normal. Pleasure is the main purpose of life and human emotion, affection and caring are strange words. The blind imitation of all that is detestable in the Western society has been accepted as the sign of progressiveness.The magnitude of such moral and cultural crisis is increasing day by day and the view of these distorted world is quite distressing. In the land of the likes of Swami Vivekananda and Dr Kalam, such degeneration is a matter of great shame and disappointment. Human goodness makes the world what it is, and degeneration of values will make it a land of demons. Only the face will be a human's, the conscious will retrograde into that of devils.Is there any hope for our young minds?I am not including those who still carry the torch of moral uprightness and are never afraid to stand up for something good and extraordinary.
N.B.-The incidents cited in the above blog are purely imaginary and any resemblance to any person or any real-life incident is purely a co-incidence.
