How to become a teacher?

Dear Friends,

    

 In this commercial world people have a materialistic approach. Deference of a person in the society depends upon the assets that he accumulates. I would like to share an anecdote from my life.

                                               

Once a parent asked me during   Access Day, “Ma’am, I have heard that the  Board  Exam Invigilation that you do, government pays a negligible amount for that. Is this true?” I nodded with a smirk on my face. “Then why do you go for it?” followed the next question. In  a tee-total tone I replied, “Sir, I don’t do the invigilation duty for coinage. I do it because it’s  a part of my job.  It reminds me of my teachers, who did the same when I was in school and when   my son would appear for his board exams, there  would be another set of selfless  teachers doing this job diligently. Tell me one thing sir,

“Can your child appear for his board exams, if there are no invigilators?” The parent looked solicitous.

This thought  kept me  preoccupied   for a long time and it made me ruminate.

How To Become A Thriving Teacher????

It’s Time For Us to Think,

It’s Time For Us To Introspect,

It’s Time For Us To Look Within.

                    First of all decide, why did you choose this profession? Is it a half day job profile, psychological comfort level, security or your family’s wish that brought you here? If you are here due to any of these reasons ,you are in a wrong place .

Only if you have a passion for this vocation and want to mould young minds, should you be here, in this profession, dealing with young souls, the future of this planet.

                         In  the past, teachers were considered to be a storehouse of knowledge.

“The Village Schoolmaster”  by Oliver Goldsmith states it beautifully.

“Amazed the gazing rustics ranged around

And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew

That one small head could carry all he knew.”

Today the situation is completely different. Students have a   dependable   friend “Google” and they wonder how outdated a teacher can be with limited bookish knowledge yet posing to be knowledgeable.

 Please upgrade yourself my dear friends. Work upon your content thoroughly. There are various sites that provides you with excellent lesson plans. Don’t  begin your line of business in an old fashioned manner. Be innovative and plan your lessons in such a comportment that each lesson involves the students actively at least for five minutes in form of some activity. Believe me, they will look forward to your lectures.

Don’t lose your originality as it will be a part of your personality throughout your life. Don’t fake. You can’t do that for a longer period of time and students are very quick in picking up whether you are prepared or not.

Teachers are no more only teachers. The modern teachers wear many hats. They act as an educator, a coach, an activity trainer, a nurse, a career advisor, a parent, a friend and an innovator.

 I strongly feel that If Rudyard Kipling would have decided to portray the job – profile  of teachers, he would have done it in the following manner-

“If you can teach the students of grade five and ten with equal ease,

If you can answer all the questions asked by the students without baffling them,

If you can adjust your pace according to the level of the students,

If you can evaluate 250 papers in  five days,

If you can rectify your students without putting them down,

If you can accept your flaws in front of your students,

If you can co-relate the subjects with the day-today activities,

If you can understand the needs of all your students,

If you can motivate your students to become good human beings,

If you can train your students for various activities throughout the year,

If you can identify individual differences,

If you can be firm but not too strict,

Then  , this is the right  profession for you,

 And you will be a good teacher , my friend.”

Maintain a friendly relationship with the students but avoid being over-friendly otherwise your students will take you for a ride. Try to create a happy and lively atmosphere in the class but it should totally be your decision ,when the students should be enjoying a light moment and when they should be seriously paying attention to their studies.

Learn to let go of the frivolous matters .Avoid creating an issue for anything and everything. You are dealing with over-energetic set of youngsters. They are not immobile articles to be fixed in a particular niche for a year. They are livewires , full of energy, enthusiasm ,strength, ideas, dreams and possibilities. Use  different tactics while dealing with them. change your tactics according to the need of the students. Seek help from the resources available and alter your modus operandi .Keep your cool while dealing with discipline issues .If a student is difficult to handle, call him out of the class after the lecture gets over and talk to him individually .Don’t insult him in front  of the whole class . It will worsen the situation. Give him some responsibility and be open to dialogue and discussions. Appreciate the small things done by him .  Once he realises that you don’t get irritated and frustrated, he will start behaving normal.

Let bygone be bygone .  If a student has committed  a mistake in  the past and has already  been reprimanded for that , let the issue be buried forever . Avoid mentioning it in the  class  time and again. Give him time to come out of it .  Show care and concern towards him. They are young children not criminals. Be patient with them.

Exhibit open-mindedness   before the students . They have a long way ahead. Refrain from imposing your personal ideas  and beliefs about a particular region or  religion . Try to mould them into global citizens.

Greet the students with a smile every morning  . They will learn to begin their day with a smile . Be positive towards your profession and your students .

 It is never too late to change your profession  . If you are negative , dissatisfied , frustrated , irritated and depressed about getting into the wrong profession , take a break to introspect .  Don’t allow your mental framework to affect your career.

This profession has turned out to be very demanding and challenging. So, what do we do? Do we give up and become pessimistic?

No my dear friends.

 There is tint of silver lining still left for us.

‘Teach India’ an initiative taken by Hindustan Times has got many professionals registering themselves to teach the underprivileged people.

When Anand Kumar, the proprietor of ‘Super 30’ in Patna decided to sponsor 30 underprivileged students every year and train them for the most prestigious exam of our country IIT, IPS officer Abhyanand volunteered to teach physics to them.

  It was a proud moment for all the teaching professionals when Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a great teacher got elected as the 2^nd President of India but the proudest moment came when the ex. President of India Late Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam decided to become a teacher after the completion of his 10 years as the President of India.

 These illustrations throw light on the fact that all is not lost.

  In spite  of all the  challenges , teaching is truly a rewarding experience. At the end of our career it would not matter how much wealth we accumulated ,all that will matter is that we touched the lives of thousands of students.