Teaching and teachers

Recent newspaper headlines highlighted the teaching profession in a very bad way. One news item said thousands of teachers were on leave for so many days. Another report said that teachers were idling in their classes for various reasons.

Anyway teaching is not an attractive profession in Sri Lanka. Low salaries, absence of incentives and promotional prospects can be cited as the main reasons. However, the position of teachers in leading international schools and other private educational institutes is relatively better. Government teachers who have the onerous task of educating the student population are not suffering motivated. For most of them teaching is just another job.

If you look at the history of teaching in ancient times we have many things to learn. Beginning from ancient Greece and Rome, through the Renaissance upto modern times, teaching remained one of the most lively arts. And the teacher was a highly respected person in society.

What has happened today is that those who cannot get a better job in the government or private sector end up as teachers. Such teachers do not apply themselves to teaching and as a result students suffer. In the long run the whole country suffers due to bad teaching and inefficient teachers.

Take for instance the teaching of English in government schools. Students who learn English for more than ten years are unable to construct five grammatically correct sentences when they leave school. This leaves room for those who claim to teach English in eight days or two months. A large number of unsuspecting students who flock to tuition classes are taught a kind of English which flouts all the accepted rules of grammar and usage.

Although poorly paid, teachers generally enjoy a lot of privileges denied to other government servants. The teacher has considerable freedom in choosing the time for doing much of his work. He does not have to work from 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Most schools and colleges are open only for nine months of the year.

Teachers cannot idle. They must prepare students for examinations, read essays, talk to their students and also do some research pertaining to their fields of teaching.

For an efficient teacher, there is ample job security because there will always be young people to be taught various subjects. Even in developed countries, teachers do not belong to the rich class. Teachers usually sacrifice their wealth for acquiring knowledge. For them knowledge, not wealth, is power.

Teaching is a profession that should not be condemned. The Buddha, Confusius, Jesus Christ and other religious leaders were excellent teachers. Meanwhile, the rewards of teaching are many. Teachers study important subjects in depth before teaching them to young students.

As a result they are more knowledgeable than clerks and typists. And teachers enjoy their profession more than anyone else. A good teacher buys new books and keeps himself uptodate. Another reward of teaching is the pleasure derived from training a young mind.

Unfortunately, those who take to teaching merely to earn their living, do not experience such pleasures. Such teachers sooner or later become the butt-end of crude jokes.

Although such teachers can survive in the government sector until their retirement, the situation of private school teachers is quite different. Periodical evaluation of their work by the management and the students keep them in good order. In the private sector, an inefficient teacher has no future.

A good teacher will never undertake to teach a subject he does not like. A teacher must know his subject well and also he must enjoy teaching it. If a teacher pretends to like particular subject, he soon becomes a hypocrite.

Some of my own teachers were energetic and sometimes violent, but I liked them because they were not insincere people. Once I was severely reprimanded for writing a bad tutorial with lots of grammatical mistakes.

The teacher nearly killed my enthusiasm in learning my favourite subject Logic. Just before the examination he sent me a post card commending my work and wishing me a good grade. And I came out with flying colours because of his teaching. The teacher was none other than A. B. P. Santiago who taught me English and Logic. Teachers of his calibre are rare indeed today.

Those who aspire to be teachers some day must feel at home in teaching. It is foolish to become a teacher, if you are cut out to be an actor or journalist. Remember, there is no one to force you to become a teacher. It is your choice.

The flow of energy supplied by the young gives the teacher constant inspiration. Such inspiration is not available even for doctors. Every day doctors treat patients and it is not a very enjoyable task.

One of the biggest problems a teacher forces is the student who refuses to learn. May be he is preoccupied with sex, drugs or something else. Such students hate good teachers, schools and education. If they consider the school as a prison, even a good teacher cannot do much about it, except treating them as special cases and being sympathetic towards them