Indifferent teachers
as found in an article in Indian schools.
Passionate teachers have been converted into indifferent teachers
I come from a family that has been in the ‘noble profession' of teaching for the last four generations. I have been raised to believe in the ancient Hindu philosophy of the teacher being considered equivalent to god. Of course, that is putting it a bit too dramatically, yet I have always been led to believe that a teacher is someone to be respected and honoured. I still remember parent-teacher meetings where my parents and many parents like mine would stand in awe of the teacher. To them, she was the epitome of knowledge and, more important, the giver who doled out generous bits from that ocean of knowledge. Every word she spoke about the child was taken as the written law and parents worked to rectify the mistakes in their children that she was gracious enough to point out.
Of course, that was an era in which a school was a temple of knowledge and the teacher, the agent of knowledge. Today, the school is the avenue where parents' hard-earned money is invested. The children are the consumers and the teacher is the seller. ‘Value for money' is the new catchphrase. And if your teacher does not give you value for money, then she has no right to inhabit this side of the planet.
Your child, of course, can do no wrong. If he/she is constantly screaming in class, then he/she is only releasing his/her ‘pent up energy'. Never mind the decibel levels that will resonate if 40 such children release their ‘pent-up' energy. If your child suffers from hypertension before the exam, it is not because he or she has not done methodical study throughout the year. It is because the teacher did not do her job properly.
And, heaven forbid, if the teacher utters a word of reprimand, then your child is permanently scarred for life. Even a slight smack on the back is a barbaric practice that is outlawed. If anyone even so much as touches a child, he should be put into solitary confinement for life. Never mind the child's unacceptable behaviour that provoked the teacher to commit this ‘gross offence'.
If your child was not able to follow instructions because he was not being attentive, the mistake is, you guessed it right — the teacher's. She did not speak in a manner which would have made the child listen to her. After all, the teacher is an employee whose salary is paid from the fees that the student pays. So how dare he not do his job properly?
Combing the hair, wearing clean shoes, ironing the uniform — these are all things of the past. Our modern-day teacher dare not point out any of this for fear of being ticked off. ‘The consumer is king' and no displeasure to the consumer will be tolerated.
In the name of ‘child friendliness,' we have reached the extreme point of ‘child indulgence.' The noble community called teachers has gone into hibernation for fear of being pulled up. Passionate teachers have been converted into indifferent teachers. They have started weighing every action of theirs, every word of theirs on the scales of parents' reaction. The result is they have ceased to ‘teach'. They are merely doing their job, ‘delivering the goods' in the school market.
And our government wants youngsters to come into teaching. Tell me, who will want to work in such a hostile environment?
With freedom comes responsibility, generally in the west freedom comes with irresponsibility, eventually one will have to go!
You maybe right! But that's just one side of the argument. Teachers no doubt have to be given their due place. Lot has changed. But is the blame on parents alone? A parent too struggles with the teacher to make the child a good student and a responsible human being. I know of many parents who feel this way.
How many teachers go beyond their specified duties to help a weaker student ? Aren't many teachers just going about their work like any any other professional person? The profession that was once considered noble is now treated like any other job. Why? Are the teachers themselves to be blamed some where?
They say a school is a second home. A teacher is not just a person who imparts knowledge but is a friend and a mentor. The reason for not allowing practices of canning the child is very valid. By using a painful method of reprimanding you are changing his behaviour for the moment. But has the child realised his mistake? If hitting was the sole solution none of us would have any problems! Canning a child is a easy means of quieting him, definitely not reforming him.
If a handful of parents could make you feel that parents are investors and child a consumer then i am really sorry for you. Every profession has its challenges. We need to accept many changes and move with times. And definitely a handful of un-pleasant experiences should not make you feel bitter.
Most of all a teacher should love her students. And i believe in the magic of love. If that cant change definitely nothing else can.
And I assure you there are many students, along with their parents, who revere the teacher for the transformation they bring in their wards life. And they definitely dont blame any teachers for their child non-performance. And yes they look up on to the teacher to know and understand where their child needs to be bettered.
We play the bame game. Instead why not put our heads together and work towards a solution.
Liked it..
sadly, it does reflect the sign of the times and in most cases , the parents are to blame..
Nice read , have found some parents real stupid
agree to you. we have had our share of childhood and of course have been smacked by our teachers many times. Not once has the thought of suicide or extreme steps came to our minds.
"teacher is the seller" may changed to "teacher is merely a sales man/sales lady" blindly promoting the product of the management.
The problem is the rise of entitlement culture and the cult of the child, in which children are seen as so sacred that they cannot be rebuked or punished.
blame it on capitalism.