teachers day – Dr. Vidya Hattangadi

A Big Salute all our teachers!!!

Dr Vidya Hattangadi — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 00:01:00 +0000

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.

Teachers change lives

Dr Vidya Hattangadi — Sun, 04 Sep 2016 20:00:47 +0000

Today is a very auspicious day – its Ganesh Chaturthi plus Teacher’s day! Lord Ganesha is considered as God of knowledge. His elephant head symbolizes the immense wisdom and perfection. Wisdom is something that comes out of independent thinking and reflection, education adds it in our life. Therefore, teachers are very important in our life. Lord Ganesh’s large ears symbolizes that one needs to be a good listener, when you are with a teacher, listen with attention. There is so much to learn from each teacher. Wise people are always open to hearing fresh ideas and opinions. In other words, the wise are those who always keep an open mind. Good teachers don’t teach us detailed syllabus, but they help us grow as people. They make us responsible by imparting some of life’s most important lessons.

Like other professions, even teachers evolve and mature in their profession. I am also a teacher and I wish to share some of my thoughts. Teaching as a process is entwined and complex. It is very difficult to be explain. The rapid changes and increased complexity of today’s world present new challenges and put new demands on our education system. The teachers therefore need a lot of preparation to change and improve the students for productive functioning in the continually changing and highly demanding environment. A teacher gets mischievous, restive, serious learner intelligent, sensitive, and agitated all sorts of students, and while she shapes their personalities, they also shape the teacher’s identity.

The fact is that 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. Some of the students themselves are larger than life and even more complex. To understand them, their capacity as learners and their questions and to respond them wisely in the moment, requires a fusion of Einstein, Freud and Edison! A teacher achieves this with lots of hard work. It is sad but the society undermines their commitment and their craft. Let me tell you, it takes few years for the teacher to mature in his/her profession. It takes few seasons for them to grasp the teaching-learning process and techniques.

Lord Ganesha’s head is the elephant trunk. This trunk depicts a dominant intellect that arises out of wisdom. Our intellect is of two kinds, gross and subtle. The gross intellect is used to discriminate between pairs of opposites in the world; black and white, hard and soft, easy and difficult. The subtle intellect, on the other hand, discriminates between right and wrong; permanent and impermanent which means the conscience. A teacher along with students discovers uncharted and unknown knowledge in the classroom. The teacher challenges the student’s inquisition at times with lenience and at times with dominance. The teacher refines thinking of her class, by discussing the facts and the teacher also has unique characteristics, and her life’s experience.

Ganesha’s pot belly depicts space; it is big in size to hold all wisdom and all life. Education endures our strength to tolerate and ride over all the good and bad in life. The life’s experiences prepare us to become perfect. A man of perfection must have the capacity to stomach peacefully all the experiences. Teachers refine their students; all of the crudeness, bluntness, anxiety and garishness slowly vanish because of their punishments and chiding. Efficient and Strict teachers enrich their students with etiquettes, kindness, courteousness, considerateness and politeness.

Ganesha’s four arms represent the four main divisions of human consciousness: mind, intellect, ego and the emotions. His four arms also depict the four directions. Teachers prepares their students to become independent; they them sensibly and intervene only when necessary. The educational institution is a place of social learning. Throughout the academic learning, various teachers that we come across, teach us to take independent decisions. Each teacher tells her students that they need to control their own destiny. All choices whether good, bad and the ugly are very individual. A change can never be predicted or pre-determined. Seasoned teachers help their students in understanding their potential. We get all types of teachers – strict, friendly, firm, unassuming etc. It may sound as cliché, but the fact is that teachers never stop teaching.

Life is all about the joys and sorrows, victories and failures, brightness and darkness life is full of contrasts. The transition of opposites in life is indicated beautifully by Lord Ganesha’s two tusks, one is broken and one is complete. We need to rise in life to practice and experience the challenges that life throws at us. The examinations throughout our journey as students teach us to take dissimilarities with a pinch of salt. The strict teachers will always set a tough examination paper because they want to prepare their students for tough situations.

A teacher does not like a lifeless classroom session. However tough might be the topic, the teacher tries her level best to make the topic interesting. Let me tell you, as teachers we don’t like disordered and confused classrooms. In such classrooms we feel powerless and to claim we are teachers seems an obvious sham. We are not Gods, our knowledge is also flawed and partial to some extent. No matter how much ever we devote ourselves to reading and research, teaching requires a command of content that always eludes our grasp because of constant changes happening around us. To understand each student’s personal pathology is just not possible. A decade and a half teaching experience has taught me that teaching is like mastering an occult art. I have also learnt that there is no definition of a ‘perfect teacher’ or a ‘perfect student’. Everybody has strengths and weaknesses. A good teacher learns to capitalize on her student’s strength and compensate for weakness. And very importantly, a good teacher recognizes that perfection is the enemy of the good!

Lord Ganesha is worshipped for prosperity and success. He removes the obstacles of both material and spiritual kinds. Similarly, gritty teachers have passion and perseverance to help their students reach long-term goals, by helping them cross the obstacles.

A VERY HAPPY GANSH CHATURTHI AND HAPPY TEACHER’S DAY TO ALL!!!