Unparalleled Role of Teachers in shaping the Nation

A teacher is a valuable creation. A career of a teacher does not end by becoming one; rather it starts by creating many. This article touches upon the role of teachers in shaping the nation, from traditional to modern days, especially during current pandemic era, which has shifted even classes to virtual mode. It touches upon the efforts of teachers and what physical and mental issues they are facing virtually. It shows many instances of teachers around the globe who are using their own creative ways to impart knowledge. It also points towards the joint efforts that can be put together by both parents and students to tackle the problems that the teachers are facing.

Introduction

Solomon P. Ortiz, a former American politician, has rightly said, “Teachers are our greatest public servants as they spend their lives educating our youngsters and shaping our Nation for tomorrow.”

A teacher could not only teach the subject concepts but could also be a great life advisor. They help us to set our career goals and can also guide us in our personal lives.

Teachers make us feel at home even though we are introduced to teachers at a young age when we can’t even spell the word ‘teacher’. We may not remember them now; still we can’t deny the fact that they play an important role in our growth. We get teachers at every stage of our life. Our mother is our first teacher, and then we get teachers in school, college, and the workplace. Even our grandchildren can teach us about the latest gadgets. In our life, we all get that one teacher, who proved to generate a turning point in our life. See, I just said that, and you remember that one person. That’s the impact of a good teacher in our life.

Traditional days

There are many past instances that show the distinctive relationship between a teacher and a student. One such example is Chandragupta and Chanakya. It was only because of Chanakya and his teachings that a common man like Chandragupta became emperor of a vast empire. He became the founder of Mauryan dynasty by overthrowing the oppressive Nanda dynasty. Chanakya had wide knowledge of fields like economics, medicine, astrology and also Greek and Persian theories. Under his guidance Chandragupta received military and literary education. He helped him to set a goal in his life and guided him to achieve that. He became his counselor afterwards and advised him regarding administrative, defense, wealth and even personal matters. Their combined physical and mental strength made Chandragupta the first emperor to unify most of India under one administration.[i] Ever wonder what made Chanakya to choose only Chandragupta. Simply a good teacher sees capabilities in you and polishes you in such a way that you make the best out of it. He also saw capability in him while he was playing with his friends and portraying himself as a king. He then trained him so that one day he could he could actually become a king.

Since time immemorial we have worshipped the relationship of a teacher and a student. In Mahabharata, Eklavya learnt Dronacharya’s lessons by secretly observing him. He made a mud sculpture of Dronacharya and worshipped it as if his teacher was standing there in person. He didn’t even hesitate for once to offer his thumb as Guru dakshina.[ii] At that time, Dronacharya was fulfilling his promise he made to Arjuna of making him the best archer in the world. Earlier the promises made were performed even at the cost of one life. It was said that Raghukul reet sada chali aaye, prana jaye par vachan na jaye. A teacher demanding an archer’s thumb may sound cruel and partial, however, in reality he could not betray Arjuna who was also his student.

Kabir was a 15th century poet and was greatly influenced by bhakti leader Swami Ramananda. He strongly believed in the theory that the God is alone and opposed the division of people on the basis of religion. Once he said that, ‘Guru govind dou khare, kaake lagoon paaye, Balihari guru aapki, Govind diyo milaye’. It means, ‘I face both God and my guru. Who should I bow to first? I first bow to my guru who showed me the path to God’.[iii] It shows such an exceptional worth of a teacher that a person is ready to place him above God.

Modern Times

When we talk of present times, still we cherish the beautiful bond of a teacher and a student. It is now not just limited to imparting knowledge but also life values to the students. Being a teacher means holding a responsibility to help students grow not just academically but also develop their overall personality.

The current Covid-19 situation has resulted in a forced change of conducting classes via virtual mode. Its pros and cons depend on how we use it, whether just for cheating or learning new things. Now teaching culture has transformed into a learning culture. This new culture is different than the old one as it focuses on understanding rather than memorizing the concept. This doesn’t test the memory of students but their ability to interpret the concept and apply those in real world. Virtually students can learn from anywhere, be it online classes or via other social media platforms. Students can easily write exams. So now effective learning is more focused than rote learning, which could help them gain knowledge for themselves rather than just for writing exams.

Though slow, this learning culture was developing for many years however, the Covid pandemic has pushed it. This has developed a culture focusing more on understanding the concept. This has resulted to create a strong bond between a teacher and a student in a way that now unlike some earlier years teachers are not just focused on completing the syllabus but to make the students understand the concept. Students are now less burdened and have inculcated a positive outlook towards teacher and their teachings. Both teachers and students are now not just adjusting to each other in a formal set up, but also understanding each other.

Present Scenario

During the lock-down, all schools, coaching centers, colleges and universities were physically closed for past two years. This increased work-load on teachers. Apart from delivering oral lecture, they also have to prepare a separate study material in the form of PDF or PPT. They are working day and night to prepare the material so that the students understand the concepts well. Even teachers with an experience of 20-30 years have struggled to cope up with the unprecedented circumstances given the technology handicap. Still they are not giving up. They are trying every day to learn new functions of an app. Even the teachers who have come into this profession recently find it difficult to interact and properly communicate with their students. Yet they make efforts to interact with students by asking them to introduce themselves and also give suggestions regarding teaching methods. Though in this lock-down there work load has increased, still many of the institutions are giving less salary to their teachers. So we can’t say that all the efforts of our teachers are just for monetary benefits. In fact, this is their true determination to teach which encourage such students to achieve something greater in their life.

Many instances show the dedication of teachers. There is a teacher, named Fransiskus Xaverius Faima, from Indonesia, who runs teaching classes on the wheels, means that he used to go to the homes of her students every day to teach those who don’t have resources to attend online classes.[iv]

There is another instance of a teacher in Mexico who created a small classroom in a pick-up truck to teach those students who cannot attend online classes.[v]

There are similar instances from India also where teachers have shown their exceptional determination so that their students do not face any problem. One Subrata Pati from Kolkata, who used to face several connectivity issues, now, every morning climb on a tree and sit on a platform that rests on branches.[vi]

A coaching institute teacher of Kashmir, in lock-down started conducting ‘open-air’ mathematics class as teaching online was not possible from the 2G net. Such a class attracted many students from in and around the area.[vii]

Many police officers have taken up the dual role of performing police duty along with teaching the children of marginalized groups.[viii]

Many people who are unable to cope with this lock-down time are leaving their professions, be it a teacher or anyone else. However, many people all over India who have taken up teaching marginalized children as a voluntary job, that too free of cost.

Lucknow teachers come up with an innovative solution to start WhatsApp classes for students of more than 60 villages who have network issues. They share videos and images of lessons and assignments.[ix]

There is another teacher from Leh, who despite testing positive, continue to record lectures and conduct live classes from an isolation ward.[x]

These are the teachers who have maintained the piousness of this profession. These instances highlight the struggles of both teachers and students and how they have learned to cope up with that. Both are fighting with their respective situations and have found new and innovative ways to tackle with it. These teachers have proved that if they are not giving up then there students should also not lose hope. They must engage themselves in any new activity of learning and creativity. They should give themselves brain-challenging activities to avoid boredom and acquire new skills. In these trying times, they have set an example for all others and they are in this together and they will surely come out of this together.

Where does the problem lie?

Though teachers are giving their hundred percent, still online classes have their issues. Due to network issues, not everyone can switch on their camera so this means that a teacher can’t see them all so they don’t know which student need more focus. All they have left to do is to teach on their reasoning that if the students are not asking anything then they must have understood everything. There are the students who are hesitant to ask, the students who really understood everything and the students who in actual don’t have any doubts but they still ask anything just to waste the time of the class or just for their own fun. Above all these, there are only few students who are regular; some have genuine connectivity issues due to their location, some never joins and some attends classes just for few days and then they never show up. Even there are students who join just for the sake of attendance and then after joining they left to do some other work or they are scrolling on their social media platforms. Leave the thought of obeying the teacher; they don’t even listen to them.

There are cases in which teachers are being bullied online. If teachers got even a little slow in understanding any new functions of the app, they are being mocked. There are always such students who consider themselves smarter and are so ashamed of cooperating with their teachers and assisting them technically. However they are completely fine when it comes to making fun of teachers and giving them names. Our teachers are also normal human beings made of bones and flesh. They also have their own personal life. If our little kind gesture can make their day then our disrespectful behavior can ruin their day too.

Are there any health issues teachers are facing due to change in their work structure? Yes, working all day on an online platform makes severe impact on our body also. Headache, back problems and eye problems are the most common of them. Being in an isolated space for long time could also result in boredom, frustration and even depression. Now being at home means being connected to our work 24*7, without breaks. Most of the teachers are not comfortable teaching in this new normal mode. Cheryl Lloyd Education Programme Head at the Nuffield Foundation says about the research that shows that teachers have experienced more anxiety and depression in this lock-down period than before. One in five is likely to leave this profession. He further stated that the teachers should be provided timely guidance and resources.[xi]

Most of us get reminded of the value of teachers for just two days, which are Guru Purnima and Teachers’ day. So why this prejudice, when our teachers work tirelessly everyday for the growth of the future of the nation. Why we forgot to respect our teachers the other days? Whether for the other days they didn’t remain our teachers or we didn’t remain their students. Suddenly on teacher’s day we are reminded of various fancy words such as resourceful, adaptable, inspiring, supportive, flexible, patient and this list goes on. We need to understand that these words are not meant to be used loosely for just one day of the year. We need to understand that our teachers don’t long for fancy wishes for one day but respect for whole year.

Possible Solutions

We need to understand that these are the times when students must fully cooperate with the teachers. They should guide them in learning the technicalities of online mode. And most importantly they should not make fun of their teachers and respect their efforts.

Parents in these times, when they have got to spend so much time with their children; they must teach them to respect the efforts of their teachers. While mocking their teacher, they should think of their parents that whether they would treat them the same way if they do not understand something, or whether their parents or teachers have laughed at them when they didn’t understand something basic.

Both parents and students should make sure that the teachers are being respected. If they witness any such incident where teachers are not being respected, they must take a stand.

Still not every student is like that, there are many who have used this lock-down time as a gift. They are pursuing their different hobbies and reading as many books as they can. They are also working hard along with their teachers.

Conclusion

So at last I would like to conclude by saying – Thank you to all my teachers from KG to till now, to those I met in a formal set up, in school and university, and to those who were completely stranger and still taught me, to those who are my seniors and to those who are my juniors, to my family and my friends, I would always be indebted of you teaching me and explaining me even obvious things without making me feel small. You all have helped me grow in one way or the other. And I promise to respect all my teachers always.

In fact, this is not just I want to say, but the student in all of us to their respective teachers. As of course, they are to be given credit of who we are today.

References: [i] Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopedia, Chandragupta, ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, Jan 23, 2020, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chandragupta [ii] Earlier it was a tradition to acknowledge the teachings of your guru (teacher) and give something in return as a mark of respect. This is called Guru Dakshina and is given at the demand of the teacher. [iii] Rakesh Kumar, Hand that Guides, THE STATESMAN Sep 4, 2013, https://www.thestatesman.com/world/hand-that-guides-13492.html [iv] 3 Inspiring stories of how teachers kept teaching through the crisis, TEACHER TASKFORCE, https://teachertaskforce.org/blog/3-inspiring-stories-how-teachers-kept-teaching-through-crisis [v] Id [vi] One year of lockdown: 10 inspiring teachers who ensured learning continued for marginalized children, SOCIAL STORY, Mar 22, 2021, https://yourstory.com/socialstory/2021/03/inspiring-teachers-ensured-learning-continued-lockdown/amp [vii] Id [viii] Id [ix] Tanvi Patel, 7 Teachers who went beyond duty during lockdown, THE BETTER INDIA, 2020 https://www.thebetterindia.com/227723/coronavirus-lockdown-teachers-online-classes-delhi-kolkata-chennai-unique-initiatives-inspirational-tan42/ [x] This coronavirus positive maths teacher in Leh becomes an inspiration for others, THE TRIBUNE, May 12, 2020, https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/coronavirus/this-coronavirus-positive-maths-teacher-in-leh-becomes-an-inspiration-for-others-83804 [xi] [xi] Teacher’s well-being largely unaffected by lockdown, NUFFIELD FOUNDATION, Sep 22, 2020 https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/news/teachers-well-being-largely-unaffected-by-lockdown

~Authored by Aditi Kumari