Teacher, Guru, Ustad is not only a person but also a symbol. A symbol of Good, of Truth, of Purity, & of Beauty. Ancient India has revered teachers as almighty, the ‘Param Brahma’. He is the Creator, the Preserver & the Destroyer. He creates ideas & ideals. He preserves the sense of Truth, Justice & Fair play. He destroys evil, both intention and deeds. Though with the passage of time the modus operation of ‘Teaching’ has changed, the teacher till date has essentially remained the same. He facilitates the learning in the minds of the taught, catalyzing the chemistry of knowledge in the cauldron of intellect. S/he stimulates the growth & development of values, moral, attitudes & beliefs in body & spirit. He is the true architect of the individual, the society, the nation and the humanity.
The world is always in a state of flux, with changes taking place all around. Thus it is imperative for the teachers to modify the methods to obtain the maximum outcome of her efforts. The role of the teacher is primarily two folds.
The role of a person, helping to construct knowledge.
The role of a person transforming personality.
Knowledge is one commodity, which is expanding at a mathematical progression. To be abreast with the latest is therefore essential. Knowledge is available in books, periodical journals and nowadays in the information web. A teacher today has to read and study constantly. She should be able not only to answer the numerous queries of the students but also guide them to various resources available in a given topic. She should be able to differentiate the essential from the necessary, the necessary for the useful and the useful from the trash. This sense of prioritization of knowledge has to be the backbone of today’s teacher, to truly utilize the abundance of information at the disposal of mankind.
Knowledge is the bricks with which the building of education is constructed. However the building should also have a plan, which facilitates better living condition. This architectural plan is developed on the blue print of ‘PEACE’……truth, non conformity and acceptance. The necessity of Education for Peace is more so relevant today when the social frictions are so high. The society is fragmented in lines of caste, creed, nationality, religion, sex, colours of skin, language, political affiliation etc. The ability to tolerate the others point of view, the ability to think from another angle, the ability to realize the others perspective is another area, which the teacher should emphasize. The National Curriculum Framework for School Education (2005) emphasized the concept of Education for Peace. ‘Nationalism’ is to be integrated yet in this world of ‘global village’, ‘Internationalism’ is the way to go. The teacher today has to deliberate in these areas.
The tremendous increase in the population has caused an uneven teacher to student ratio. A teacher faces 80-100 students and is sometimes burdened with 120-140 students in a class. Individual attention has become impossible and yet the teacher has to ensure that the exceptional gets her attention. Exceptional not only, are slow learner & under achiever, but also the gifted. For these are the leaders of tomorrow’s world and their neglect in the alter of mediocrity will ensure poor progress of humanity & the nation. The teacher has to fight inspite of this ‘massification of education’ to assist the best, for the genius lotus to bloom in the mud of mediocrity.
The UNESCO international commission on education for 21st century has identified four pillars of learning.
Learning to know (acquisition of relevant knowledge)
Learning to do (prepare to contribute to economic development)
Learning to be (development of individual for self reliance)
Learning to live together. (to minimize social frictions)
The teacher has to reap all these to be effective in tomorrow’s world. She has to, to quote Tagore, ‘Keep the windows of the mind open’ so as to ensure that her students ‘hold their head high with a mind without fear’.
The task is difficult, to quote another great man, Abraham Lincoln
‘A tall order – but see what you can do’.
The world is always in a state of flux, with changes taking place all around. Thus it is imperative for the teachers to modify the methods to obtain the maximum outcome of her efforts. The role of the teacher is primarily two folds.
The role of a person, helping to construct knowledge.
The role of a person transforming personality.
Knowledge is one commodity, which is expanding at a mathematical progression. To be abreast with the latest is therefore essential. Knowledge is available in books, periodical journals and nowadays in the information web. A teacher today has to read and study constantly. She should be able not only to answer the numerous queries of the students but also guide them to various resources available in a given topic. She should be able to differentiate the essential from the necessary, the necessary for the useful and the useful from the trash. This sense of prioritization of knowledge has to be the backbone of today’s teacher, to truly utilize the abundance of information at the disposal of mankind.
Knowledge is the bricks with which the building of education is constructed. However the building should also have a plan, which facilitates better living condition. This architectural plan is developed on the blue print of ‘PEACE’……truth, non conformity and acceptance. The necessity of Education for Peace is more so relevant today when the social frictions are so high. The society is fragmented in lines of caste, creed, nationality, religion, sex, colours of skin, language, political affiliation etc. The ability to tolerate the others point of view, the ability to think from another angle, the ability to realize the others perspective is another area, which the teacher should emphasize. The National Curriculum Framework for School Education (2005) emphasized the concept of Education for Peace. ‘Nationalism’ is to be integrated yet in this world of ‘global village’, ‘Internationalism’ is the way to go. The teacher today has to deliberate in these areas.
The tremendous increase in the population has caused an uneven teacher to student ratio. A teacher faces 80-100 students and is sometimes burdened with 120-140 students in a class. Individual attention has become impossible and yet the teacher has to ensure that the exceptional gets her attention. Exceptional not only, are slow learner & under achiever, but also the gifted. For these are the leaders of tomorrow’s world and their neglect in the alter of mediocrity will ensure poor progress of humanity & the nation. The teacher has to fight inspite of this ‘massification of education’ to assist the best, for the genius lotus to bloom in the mud of mediocrity.
The UNESCO international commission on education for 21st century has identified four pillars of learning.
Learning to know (acquisition of relevant knowledge)
Learning to do (prepare to contribute to economic development)
Learning to be (development of individual for self reliance)
Learning to live together. (to minimize social frictions)
The teacher has to reap all these to be effective in tomorrow’s world. She has to, to quote Tagore, ‘Keep the windows of the mind open’ so as to ensure that her students ‘hold their head high with a mind without fear’.
The task is difficult, to quote another great man, Abraham Lincoln
‘A tall order – but see what you can do’.
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