Shikshak Ya Bhakshak. Review on Choosing the Right Career

Learning by Thinking

It’s well known that children are naturally inquisitive about the world around them, although it is another matter that some of these children grow up to be over inquisitive adults irritating the lesser inquisitive adults to the hilt.

According to James Kessler, the word “inquisitive” broadly means thinking about Why you are doing, what you are doing and analyzing how you came to know what you know. In general, children tend to be curious and ask tons of questions whether it is at home or in school. The fact remains that during growing up years, kids spend a major portion of their time in school, where in teachers play a key role. Today when people ask me, why I chose the career I picked, I can’t help but think of some of the teachers that have played an important role in the choices that I have made. Listed below are some of the teachers that have contributed in their unique way to the person that I am today.

1] My history teacher *(VIIth Grade) - Mrs. Yawning: She would come to class, speak for the first 5 minutes, mark questions for homework and seat herself. She would then start reading off the text. In between she would start her marathon yawning sessions. After a couple of months, the class became unbearable, but no bunking was allowed in school, so we would sit through the torture. The class became more of a yawn counting contest. I am serious! During one of the classes, my friend and I counted that she yawned 39 times.

What I learnt from her: Different ways of yawning. To click fingers, cover mouth etc during the process. Needless to say, I am not a History major. Heck, if the teacher herself shows no interest in the subject, how the hell are the students supposed to get interested?

2] My Geography teacher(Vth Grade) – Ms. Powder Factory: She was a walkie-talkie model for a make up company(an obese version – more like Tuntun) – She would come to class caked up in make up. The use of powder was so liberal that it would be all over her clothes, especially her shoulder and arms. She would try to teach, but was more into fixing her hair, and dress than the lesson we were supposed to be learning.

What I learnt from her: Make up tips – Over use of make up makes you look like a clown. About Geography, well didn’t learn much from her at least.

3] My Biology teacher(Junior high) – Ms. Rail Gaadi: She would come to class, do small talk for approximately 5-6 minutes and then begin her dictation session. Out of a 50-minute class, she would dictate notes for 45 minutes. In between, she would look at her watch. She would go so fast, as if she was going to miss her Ek chaalis ki last localevery time. At the end of each lecture, our hands and fingers would be aching, and we would be stretching out, in the process hitting each other’s faces.

What I learnt from her: High Speed writing. Too bad, I rarely use this skill now.

4] My Physics teacher(undergrad) -Rajnikant’s gora Twin brother –He would come to class and start putting equations on the board. He was one of those, who talked to the board. If you ever asked him a question during class, he would turn around and hurl the question right back at you. Whether it is Chewing gums, cigarettes or questions – I see a pattern here.

What I learnt from him: What goes around comes around.

5] My Biochemistry Teacher(Undergrad) -My inspiration: She was strict, in class but always welcomed questions. If I didn’t understand something, I could visit her during office hours and she would take the time to explain it. She was excited about the subject and always encouraged me to understand and read more about it. She also recommended extra books. She introduced me to laboratory research and the instilled its importance in me. She is my mentor. I still keep in touch with her and will always be grateful to her for all the time and effort she put in for me.

Like any other profession, good teachers are hard to come by. Bad teachers, can have a strong negative impact on student principled thinking. Most subjects are being taught as a history of what is known. It makes the teachers look good because it illustrates their vast knowledge and students are expected to memorize and reproduce the content in exams. But is it really helping the students in the long run?

Unfortunately, many teachers tend to kill the natural curiosity that is inherent in children and very few teachers really hold the attention of a student. Often a student is seen twirling a pen around his / her mouth, sending SMS during class or talking with their friends as soon as the teacher turns toward the board. In most cases the students are yelled at and snubbed, for their behavior but somewhere along the line the fault lies with the teachers too.

In the entertainment business, the public is glued to the screen while watching an interesting film, but tend to pay less attention or make fun of a crappy movie. In some ways, this holds good in a classroom as well.

It is important, for teachers create an interest in the subject and take advantage of the student’s curiosity of the unknown and encourage the student to think and ask questions, while learning rather than just memorizing. This requires time, energy, and effort from both sides.

In reality the teacher should be more of a facilitator of knowledge and help students develop the skills necessary to continue to learn throughout their lives. The importance of having good teachers can’t be emphasized enough. After all, they are the ones shaping the future.