
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 |