TEACHERS AS LEADERS
THE TRANSFORMATIVE
EFFECT OF TEACHING ON SOCIETY
Education is
the strength that prepares learners for their annual examinations, and also for
life. And it is upto teachers to empower
young minds, not only with concepts of language, science and maths, but also
with values of human dignity, truth and
fairness. Most schools advertise the
final board results, boast about 100% pass confirmed and how some students score
the highest in a particular stream. So
parents strive towards ‘marks’ and pay through the nose, to let their wards
join extra classes, so that they can get the ‘highest’ grades. Learning outcomes based on marks gained,
are easily measured and widely understood.
In Mumbai, I
teach in an ICSE institution, with a co-ed student policy. Teachers here, as in any co-ed environment,
instill empathetic attitudes among students of opposite gender. Although I teach the primary section, there
have been many instances, where I have faced challenges, to sensitize students
about each others’ different needs. Girls are more gentle, compared to boys, who
have to be tempered to gentle attitudes during study and play time. This I strongly believe, will lead to good
human beings, better behaved young men and more docile daughters-in-law, will reduce acts of rape, or road rage and
dowry murders. But why has co-ed
education so far, not been successful in reducing such incidents? In my school, we have special value education
periods. Through the medium of stories,
assembly prayers, in house red cross clubs, interact club activities etc, students get a chance to experience social
issues and contribute in a small way to charity. We observe canteen day and collect funds
towards old age homes. Special days like
‘grandparents’ day’, parents’ day, let students and their family form closer
bonds. Such activities involve us
teachers, as resource persons, to set up the programmes, organise the
activities, which as a teacher, I consider it my duty, as it helps our students
to be socially more amicable. In the
words of Benjamin Franklin, “tell me and
I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” Besides, the above activites, we directly
involve the adults that are connected with each student and so a wider spectrum
of society is affected in a positive way.
Very often, schools only emphasize on learning subjects like language,
history, science, ICT etc and the spiritual side is reduced to a mandatary morning
prayer only.
Successful
and famous persons in the world today are in varied categories. Steve Jobs was rich and philanthropic, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was famous and
empathetic. But the good examples are
few. How did that come about? That others are corrupt, greedy and bereft
of values and virtues? Some where in
their growing up years, there must have
been a catalyst that made them so. As a
teacher, I strive to be a catalyst of reform in my school environment, in little ways, and hope that the future
students will recall and be better citizens in our society, as adults. Even at the primary level, students do face
stress. A divorce, or the prolonged
illness of a family member, or some financial problems, or even personal
medical emergencies. In spite of these
hurdles, I, as a teacher, must be
intuitive, and allow them to make friends with stress. Stress has positive shades also. I empathise and help the student concerned to
change his mind about stress and thus allow them to change their body’s response
to stress. Maybe my tactics have been
instrumental in preventing so many hopeless and
impromptu suicides. I help
students to face their dreads and so learn to accept failure and also realize
that failure is transient and hard work does pay in the long run. A student who cannot write neatly or faces a
spelling block, is then my muse for the
effort that I need to put in to change that positively. I involve parents and his friends and
classmates, in subtle ways, to assure the change. As a teacher, I want to be effective, and not
too pushy. Mentoring is a very effective
way of transforming the teacher and the taught.
My school encourages mentoring to improve grades and behaviour. I have to be a mentor, or in other words, a
surrogate parent. A student spends 3/4th
of their waking hours with teachers, at school, and so an affectionate
relationship develops, when students have unshakable faith in the teacher’s
words. As a teacher, I can make a
lasting impression on the mind of the
child, by reinforcing appropriate values
and attitudes.The student confides in the teacher and thus realizes that there
is no problem that cannot be surmounted.
This will make them more tolerant adults of our society.
As a
teacher, I appreciate and whole heartedly participate in the good practices
that our school encourages. Public
speaking is encouraged and debates on current topics are held on special
festival days. India has a rich heritage
of intercaste festivals which provide a good platform to bring about communal
harmony at the school level too. In
simple handwork activities and displays,
as a teacher, I strive to inculcate sensitivity among students of
different communities. Especially the
Social Science topics of neighbourhood and festivals, afford a vast arena to
teachers, to let students experience and learn, beyond the book and the
curriculum. If the topic covers the main
religions, then I include the minor ones too, Hindus, Muslims, Christians and
Sikhs, are taught, then I encompass
some information about Jews, Parsis, Jains, too. In some way,
it widens the thinking limits of my class, as they realize the
intricacies involved in divergent communities,
and they realize that there are many more possibilities and traditions
and that all should be respected. If a
particular trait is ridiculed, as a
teacher, I feel it is my duty to make students empathise and cultivate an
inherent respect for the other community rituals too. I use stories, videos and drama, until I am
satisfied that the problem has been resolved.
This I sincerely believe will also inhibit violent attitudes towards
other religions and activities.
I strongly
believe that society is shaped by the education that young minds receive. Their future success is not only in good
grades, but the good experiences they go through while in school. So as educators, we teachers create
positive experiences for our students.
Experiences that will give them necessary lessons for life. Students
learn discipline, punctuality, organisational tactics, by getting a chance to
use these capabilities at the school level,
by hosting interschool functions, being fair while judging contests
etc. The young generation of India , on
whose shoulders the future of the nation rests, must be made to realize the strengths like truthfulness,
self-control, simplicity, humility, perseverance and gratitude. Theme assemblies and stories, based on these
virtues, is bound to impact the minds that are our precious treasures, to mould positively. In order to produce highly motivated and self
driven liaders of tomorrow, inspiration
has to be an integral part of our education.
As St. Mother Teresa had said, “let us do little things in a great way”, and she set the example herself.
If your actions inspire others to
dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. John Quincy
Adam.
This quote best summarizes what teachers who are leaders do, each day.
Dealing with children means teachers have immense powers to inspire and make a change. And with great power comes greater responsibility. Today’s
society is fast-changing. Children are exposed to all kinds of information at a
very young age.
Be it the internet where they can Google and learn things without having
to open a text book or watching movies and TV where they can learn about all
the news and trends around the world. Filtering this information and giving
direction to children so that they know how to distinguish good from bad, is
what teachers do.
Besides this, they also play a pivotal role in being emotional support
for students, some who come from broken families and some who have lost all
motivation to study. It is these instances that
make teachers the agents of change in students' lives.
I remember the one time I met my student at a mall. It was not the usual
school setting. He wished me and then hid behind his mother. The boy, a polite 6-year-old
child, was also an introvert. We
bid goodbye to each other and he went shopping along with his mother. I forgot
about our meeting and got busy with my chores.
But a few moments later, I noticed
the same boy, do something remarkable. He picked up a wafer packet thrown on
the shopping mall floor by an older man, walked up to him and requested
him to discard it in a dustbin. I was amazed at this child’s bravery. I felt as
if all the times I reminded children to ensure that garbage was to be thrown only in the bin , had worked like a charm on him.
This is just a small anecdote that showcases how teachers can bring
about a change in society.
Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai famously said: One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can
change the world. At a time when the world is facing international threats of intolerance in the
form of terror, it is only education that can mould young minds into knowing
that peace is the only way forward.
So
teachers have an indispensable role to
play in forming future society, and I am so proud to be a cog in the giant
machine that moves society and shapes our future world.
