Teachers have a bagful of challenges to keep pace with technology and also ways to deal with pampered pupils

In an era when the ethos of children is more in sync with social media and electronic devices than academic pursuits and overall growth and wellbeing, it is ticklish for teachers to do their job in earnest. Gone are the days of a hard task master, who the parents also appreciated for keeping the erring students on tracks. A simple verbal reprimand in a classroom, let alone corporal punishment, may lead the flared up parent interrogating school authority the next day for the harassment of the child, quoting the guidelines in place.

No wonder, one teacher in every four or five schools in capital cities faces a police case to defend his alleged ‘misconduct’. It is as if the entire

society, media, politician and child rights activists collectively want to let the student’s whims who believes whatever way he follows must be endorsed (mein chahe ye karun, men chahe wo karu, meri marji). The student is catapulted to hero status and all machineries are supposed to work in unison to serve his or her needs. And why not!

A child is often raised in a system where he obliges parents by finishing his breakfast, completing the home work, and visiting his maternal grandfather on his return from the mall. Over the years, education boards have also been pampering students by liberally giving high marks on mediocre performance in written papers. “If a student is short of three or four marks to pass, write down the answer yourself with your pen, so the student gets through,” announced a senior CBSE official, briefing the answer sheet evaluators in the orientation session, adding that “no mark should be deducted for approximately correct answer”.

In the end, students and parents celebrate the excellent results in big ways. Trouble starts when ushered in the realistic world like admission closed at 98 per cent cut off or when compelled to join a lowly job. Conditions in engineering, management and other institutions are hardly better: uninspired students sans professional commitment. As for parents, they want their darlings to somehow grab an MNC job on a decent package. That was the message being ingrained in the minds of the children over the years.

In our pursuit of the mundane we often overlook that at the back of any innovation — scientific, technological, spiritual, and intellectual or else — is the story of consistent, painstaking efforts, discipline and uncompromising attitude in accomplishing the given task.

It is only an arduous journey that leads to a beautiful destination. Teacher, basically a giver, gives to the disciple what nobody can. Like the downwards drift of a flow from abundance to scarcity, a teacher imparts knowledge, wisdom, know-how and foremost the blessings, reason enough he is held in high esteem in all communities and regions. In grooming the learner, Aristotle placed good teachers above parents who just gave birth.

However, only a motivated teacher, with an abiding spirit to learn can deliver the best. Unfortunately, in recruiting teachers scholastic record rather than fit aptitude has been the criteria. Consequently, those aspiring to be in civil services, engineering jobs, etc., join teaching; some of them use it as a platform for competitive exams and switch over. Given an opportunity to become Tehsildar or police sub-inspector, how many of our professors would say ‘No’ even at significantly lower salary.

We can understand the quality of teaching of persons with neither enthusiasm nor loyalty to the profession. The founder of Infosys Narayan Murthy is on record to lament that engineers of our premier institutions first choose management courses and then get busy selling soaps and oils.

We grow only so long as we keep learning, unlike non-living entities that entail no intrinsic change or improvement. “Education is not preparation for life,” said US educationist John Dewey, adding “it is life itself”. One with eyes on the future is reflexively attuned to learning; he is imbued with enthusiasm and optimism to steer clear of any depressive or melancholy thoughts, affecting most others. In teaching, for good delivery one has to keep spirits of learning aflame, because knowledge is ever expanding and understanding of latest developments can in turn keep the students enlightened. It is with this premise that in-service courses are being continuously conducted by educational institutions.

Apart from the sound knowledge of the subject, the present day teacher not only has the spirit to teach but also has to be well-grounded in electrical gadgets so as not to be fooled. Yet the foremost attribute is the teacher’s ability to gain the confidence of students. Only when a proper rapport has been set up between the two that message shall go down the heart.

(The author is a Delhi-based journalist & blogger)