BLOGS

RE-INVENTING THE TEACHING PROFESSION

•    Teaching is recognized as one of the most challenging and respected career choices, absolutely vital to the social, cultural, and economic health of any nation. It is a fulfilling profession since teachers have the potential to shape minds and influence other’s perspectives, approach and future behavior. Teaching also helps us find opportunities to learn from many young and fertile minds that have a new way of looking at things. To be able to prepare the next generation face the future with confidence, purpose and responsibility, the crucial role of teachers cannot be overemphasized.
•    As teachers, we are being challenged like never before to not only have a firm grasp of the subject we teach, but also to seamlessly integrate the newest learning technologies into our classroom practice. We face the challenges of a heterogeneous classroom, of eager young minds having already researched the topic on Google, and dexterous fingers seemingly programmed from birth to navigate the keyboard or touch screen sitting in every student’s restless hands. Even though the fundamentals on how to teach are shifting and changing with the developments of technology and media, one thing never changes - the impact a teacher can have on a child’s life.
•    The Education industry is very dynamic. As teachers, we need to be constantly updated with the best practices in use across the world. This means reevaluating and reflecting on our teaching skills by adopting rigorous study, practice and self-improvement. New digital technologies allow educators to engage in personal development, strengthen pedagogies, and create learning communities outside of school buildings. Collaboration in the digital age enables teachers to reach out and connect with the like-minded. We need to seek out our own professional renewal unlike teachers who claim to have twenty years’ experience when they’ve only got one year’s experience repeated twenty times.
•    As Louise Stoll said a few years ago, “Many of our schools are good schools, if only this were 1965”. Unfortunately, for many of our schools, very little has changed over the past few decades. Yes, there might be better lighting, air conditioning or even a computer and smart board in the room, but the process of formal education has changed very little. Education still mainly involves teachers “data dumping” information to students to cover the curriculum in preparation for a standardized test. On the other hand, students want the lecture to be a highlight reel and a teaser, rather than seeing the teacher as an expert at the pulpit.
•    Also, as teachers, we are a byproduct of the education system that we grew up in, and hence it is important to re-invent our teaching career by unlearning as well as learning a lot of new things. Importantly, we can only earn respect when we start appreciating the impact we make, which some of us teachers fail to do because teaching was never our preferred career choice. We need to upgrade our teaching skills and classroom strategies to keep in tune with the changing times and inspire ourselves to learn new skills, upgrade our knowledge or even pursue higher studies
•    The most respected teachers have discovered how to make students passionate participants in the instructional process by providing project-based, participatory, educational adventures. They know that in order to get students to truly take responsibility for their own education, the curriculum must relate to their lives, learning activities must engage their natural curiosity, and assessments must measure real accomplishments and be an integral part of learning. They inspire, facilitate, story-tell, empower and really orchestrate the energy of the group. As the old saying goes, “Children are not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be lit”.
•    Those who believe that technology will replace teachers over time will remember that people learn from other people – not robots. As teachers, we understand the individual needs and the emotional states of children in the classroom. Although one can download an app to learn a language, find academic lectures on youtube and have a discussion on various topics on social media, the role of the teacher and the impact of human interaction will always remain important. So, while technology has a critical role to play in helping to build teaching capacity, it is by no means the golden ticket to success: it will simply be the mechanism for driving it.
•    The pressures that teachers face are enormous with very little allowance for autonomy and creativity. There is no space for their voices to be heard and in addition to the incredible number of responsibilities they are given in modern times, teachers endure an immense amount of disrespect and distrust. Teachers shoulder all the responsibility, but get little recognition or appreciation for their students’ achievement. However, the best teachers find pleasure in their threads of work and appreciate the craft of an educator as the rhythm of the years pass by.
•    A lot of work satisfaction depends on the educator’s style and mindset. As Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “It is always better to light a candle rather than be pessimistic about the darkness around.” As teachers, we don’t necessarily see the change we have on a student’s life straight away. The profound effect is often noticed after several decades, when students look back at their lives and see how they’ve got to where they are now. All of us recall with affection the teachers who respected us as individuals and were instrumental for our growth. As someone said, “the teacher has always been the person who plants trees so that other people can sit under them.”
•    India is an immensely beautiful country with people who possess the warmest of hearts and shrewdest of minds. The impact that we have made on the entire world is known and felt by all. Let’s hope that someday there will be a growing space for change within our education system. In the meantime, we as politicians and parents, principals and school board members, employers and education school promoters must also be willing to rethink our roles in giving our teachers the support, freedom, and trust they need to do the essential job of educating our children.