When you remember your school and college days, what do you recall the most? I am sure you must be remembering some of those great teachers for their delightful classes, some for their sense of humor, and some for their craft, for their methodology of teaching and for their compassion and many more virtues of theirs.

Can we forget names of our teachers, can we forget their personalities? No, we cannot for a simple fact that they are an element of our life like our parents and siblings are. I think we all literally characterize the subjects with some good teachers we had; Maths, Language, History, Geography, Science, Civics, Drawing, Craft, Physical Training – all of these and many more in later years. A competent teacher has the enchantment – he/she can make the class fall in love with a subject. What students take away from a school/college usually centers on teachers who can instill passion and inspiration for the subjects! It’s difficult to measure success, and in the world of academia, educators are magicians who continually find new methods, new techniques, of re-evaluating how to quantify learning.

Teaching as a process is so interwoven and complex, that it is difficult to be explained.  It has three important sources. First and foremost, each subject taught is as large and complex as life, therefore the familiarity of the subject is always flawed and partial. No matter how a teacher devotes himself/herself to reading and research, teaching requires a command of content that always evades some student’s grasp. Second, the students themselves are larger than life and even more complex. To understand them, their capacity as learners and their queries and respond to them wisely in the moment, requires a fusion of Einstein, Freud and Edison! A teacher achieves this with lots of hard work. Let’s not undermine their commitment and their craft; like we mature as students they also mature as teachers. They need time. It takes few years for them to grasp the teaching-learning process and techniques.

Third, if students and subjects account for all the complexities of teaching, the teachers have to literally be on their toes to keep up with the class which often consists of some bright, extraordinary, some average and some laggards. Isn’t it challenging for a teacher to keep pace with variety of students? Some are mischievous, some are feeble, some are fighters, and some are sensitive – the teacher knows it all. He/she learns enough techniques to stay ahead of the student psyche. But there is another reason for these complexities – friends they teach us the way they are. After all, they are not robots, they are human like us. Like all of us even they have their whims and fancies.

Teaching is a truly human activity. Everybody cannot teach; it emerges from one’s inwardness, for better or worse. In my opinion a teacher projects his/her inner personality, their soul onto their students. In their interaction with the class which is usually very short in schools (a class is conducted for 30-45 minutes) they mold the young and supple hearts. They try to correct the thinking of the children, their character, their spirit and their disposition as citizen of a nation. The teachers give the world entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers, and chartered accountants, CEOs, Prime Ministers and Presidents! They grow with their students.

Successful teachers have clear objectives. They have a sense of purpose; they see a big picture because they have a full class before them. Every child is unique, the teacher looks at the topic from every child’s point of view. A teacher who doesn’t listen to students fails and one who always listens to students will ultimately fail. It is no simple endeavor to know when to listen and when not to listen. Unconstructive energy zaps creativity and it makes a nice breeding ground for fear of failure. Good teachers have an upbeat mood, a sense of vitality and energy; they see past passing setbacks to the end goal. Positivity breeds creativity. Remember, they always want their students to succeed.

Humor and wit enlightens the class; it reduces stress and frustration, and gives students a chance to look at their circumstances from another point of view. All of us remember humorous teachers don’t we?

In order to avoid becoming the stuck and stubborn teacher, good educators take time to reflect on their methods, their delivery, and the way they connect with their students. Reflection is necessary to resolve some awkward issues in class rooms. Good teachers always give emotional support to their students. They understand that learning does not happen in a vacuum. Depression, anxiety, and mental stress have a severe impact on the educational process. A good teacher takes the whole person into account. When a child is suffering trauma in his life, the teacher reaches out with all might. And that’s a true teacher.

Friends, teacher’s job are not an easy job.  Most often their roles are undermined by cruel world. Their vacations, their pay scales are always discussed without understanding their responsibility –all of these ignorant and annoying comments just go to show that people who aren’t in education simply can’t understand all of the work that goes into being a classroom teacher. Teaching is simultaneously instilling in a child the belief that he can accomplish anything he wants while reprimanding him for producing shoddy work.

I can’t resist giving example of an ever beautifully made movie on teachers “To Sir with Love” in 1967 which stars Sidney Poitier as Mark Thackeray, an engineer who takes a temporary teaching job. The kids are rough, arrogant and uninterested in school, and ignorant to the possibility that they could become more than they are. The gentlemanly Mr. Thackeray, called “Sir” by his students, is as much a culture shock to them as they are to him.

To Sir, with Love is like a time capsule of the late 1960s: Sentimental optimism contrasts with the grittiness of poverty, illiteracy, teenage rebellion, and rapid social change. There is a sense that Mr. Thackeray’s class is staggering wildly toward dead-end or delinquent adulthood, and he has a few short weeks to reach at least some of his students before they are lost. His greatest asset as a teacher, though, has nothing to do with cutting-edge curriculum or teaching “best practices.”

It is culture. “Sir” is a living example of another world which his students could choose to enter, if only they could see themselves in it. Through him they experience, for the first time, what it is to have dignity. As the teenagers begin to awaken to their own self-worth, they start to grasp why people have manners, respect others, and behave in ways that draw respect in turn. They take interest in the written word and the process of intellectual inquiry. This movie shows how education is more than transmission of facts; it’s an invitation to explore the world of the soul, of human creative capacity, and of the physical universe. It shows when the right adult (teacher) comes in a misguided teenager’s life at the right time how things fall in the right place.  Please do watch this movie to understand a teacher.

Today I salute my all teachers from the core of my heart; for they made me what I am today. I am indebted to all of them. They truly have transformed my life.

]]> https://drvidyahattangadi.com/a-big-salute-all-our-teachers/feed/ 0 https://drvidyahattangadi.com/importance-of-maps/ https://drvidyahattangadi.com/importance-of-maps/#respond Tue, 25 Nov 2014 17:34:20 +0000 http://drvidyahattangadi.com/?p=1823 Whats the importance of Maps?

Cartography or mapmaking has been an important part of the human history for a long time; possibly from past 8,000 years. It seems in ancient Babylon, Greece and Asia cave paining was used for exploration of newer terrains. In those days also people used to create and use maps as an essential tool to help them define, explain, and navigate their way through the world. Tough we have learnt map reading in our high schools; I am presenting here some vital details of map reading which I have found very useful in recent years.

Why do we use Maps?

Maps are one of the most important tools researchers, cartographers, tourists, students and others can use to examine the entire earth or a specific part of it. In simple words maps are pictures of the earth’s surface. They can be used as general reference to show landforms, political boundaries, water bodies, and the positions of cities.

What are the uses of Maps?

A map gives a minute depiction of a very large space. It acts as a guide in places which we have never visited before. They give us the distance in two places, mountains, rivers, railway station, airport, and shapes of places or destinations.

Purpose of a map
With a map, one does not have to depend on anybody for local directions. It acts as direction finder for a very small price.

The IT revolution has given way to GIS (Geographic Information Systems) it has become large domain within the broader academic discipline of Geoinformatics. The fact is – Geoinformatics due to spatial data infrastructure has no restrictive boundaries.

Different types of maps can show us a plethora of information existing on earth. Twenty years ago, we used paper maps and printed guides to help us navigate the world.

Today, the most advanced digital mapping technologies—satellite imagery, GPS devices, location data and of course Google Maps are much more accessible. This sea change in mapping technology is improving our lives and helping businesses realize untold competences and destinations. I today’s age it is essential for every business organization to have its online presence for its existence needs to be known to the world. Its presence needs to be found. And where do people go when they need to find something? It’s Google, and when we look out for something Google maps are most useful. They present the minutest detail to find out a location.

What are the different types of maps.

Definition of Political Map: A political map does not show any topographic features. It instead focuses solely on the state and national boundaries of a place. They also include the locations of cities – both large and small, depending on the detail of the map. A common type of political map would be World Atlas.

Definition of Physical Map: Physical maps often include much of the same data found on a political map, but their primary purpose is to show landforms like deserts, mountains and plains. Their topography style presents an overall better picture of the local terrain.

Uses of Physical Maps
Physical maps use color connotations to show physical landscape features of a place. They show rivers and lakes and water bodies with blue color. Mountains and elevation changes are usually shown with different colors and shades to show relief. Normally on physical maps green shows lower elevations while browns show high elevations.

What is a Topographic Map: In modern mapping, a topographic map is a type of map characterized by large-scale detail and quantitative representation of break, using contour lines (outline) by using different methods.

Conventional definition of  topographic map require a it to show both natural and man-made features. A topographic map is published as a map series which is made up of two or more map sheets that combine to form the whole map. A contour line is a combination of two line segments that connect but do not intersect; these represent elevation on a topographic map. Contour lines on topographic maps are normally spaced at regular intervals to show elevation changes. For example. each line represent a 100 foot (30 m) elevation change usually. When lines are close together the terrain is steep and when lines are little distanced they represent a reasonable terrain.

Definition of Climate Map: They symbolize aspects of climate. They show the geographic distribution of the monthly or annual average values of climatic variables such as temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, percentage of possible sunshine, isolation, cloud cover, wind speed and direction, and atmospheric pressure over regions ranging in area from a few tens of square kilometers to global breadth. The climate map minimizes the bias in the data by averaging 30 years data; this it does to take into account one or two periods with abnormally high or low values.

Definition of Economic Map: An economic or resource map shows the specific type of economic activity or natural resources present in an area. This is shown through the use of different symbols or colors depending on what is being shown on the map. Economic Map shows branches of various production spheres. These maps are concerned with the trade, commerce, transport of goods, economic conditions etc of a country, a state or a city. These maps also show unemployment, energy resource usage, banking and commerce, and world trade.

Definition of Road Map: A road map is one of the most widely used map types. These maps show major and minor highways and roads in details, as well as spots like railway station, airports, city locations and points of interest like parks, campgrounds, temples, churches and monuments. Major highways on a road map are generally red and larger than other roads. Minor roads are a lighter color and a narrower line. A road map primarily displays roads and transport links. It also shows political boundaries and labels, making it also a type of political map. The earliest road map was drawn around 1160 BC in ancient Egypt.

Definition of Thematic Map: An early contributor to thematic mapping was in England by the English Astronomer Edmond Halley. His first significant cartographic contribution was of a Star Chart of the constellation of the Southern Hemisphere, made during his stay at St. Helena and published in 1686. In that same year he also published his first terrestrial map in an article about trade winds, and this map is called the first meteorological chart. Another example of early thematic mapping was by London physician John Snow. In this map cholera disease had been mapped thematically. Snow’s cholera map in 1854 is the best known example of using thematic maps for analysis. Essentially, his technique and methodology anticipate principles of a geographic information system (GIS).

 What does a Thematic map do?

A thematic map focuses on a particular theme or special topic.  They do not just show natural features like rivers, cities, political subdivisions, elevation and highways. If these items are on a thematic map, they are background information and are used as reference points to enhance the map’s theme.

How to read Maps and develop map reading skills?

And, finally we all need to learn the map reading skills that is required to read and interpret maps. They fall under visual literacy because one needs to get habituated to read images. Visual literacy means not just decoding an image but also to comprehend it; grasping the image and its intentional meaning, evaluating it, and integrating it into other knowledge. Though it seems easy, map reading requires patience and a sharp approach to comprehend it.