Today was a particularly harrowing day. I don't want to go into the details, but it was mostly because of a certain professor. Sometimes, it's really hard keeping my temper in check but then, losing it would be like stooping to her level and it isn't exactly wise to retaliate when there's only six months of imprisonment left.
Anyway, this gave me some food for thought. I've always been taught to respect my elders, especially my teachers. There's a famous Sanskrit phrase which says, 'matha, pitha, guru, deivam'. It basically states the hierarchy of reverence or respect. First your mother, then your father, after whom comes your teacher and only then does God come into the picture. The problem is, I've also been taught that respect is earned, not given.
I personally feel that the teaching profession is nothing to be scoffed at. It requires a lot of knowledge, a lot of attitude and a phenomenal amount of patience; something that I might never achieve. What bothers me is that people no longer enter this profession to teach. In most people's eyes, it's an easy nine-to-five job which pays. There are a few dedicated teachers and professors out there and I've had the good fortune to study under some of them but sadly, their numbers are very, very small. I speak from experience when I say that a teacher can make or break your interest in a subject, and even in life.
For example, my computer science teacher in the eleventh grade was amazing. She knew her stuff, she loved what she taught and she would not tolerate undone homework. I've stood outside her class a few times for forgetting to read through what she had taught us the previous day, but I was drawn to her energy, her humour, her totally fun 'find the output' quizzes for which we would gladly stay back after school...I'm not exaggerating when I say that she was the reason I decided to take computer science in college.
I can still remember sitting in her class and furiously working out the logic of programs with tricky loops and other programming constructs just to yell out the answer before anyone else. I can also remember her beaming at me as she handed out corrected test papers and told me that I'd done well but I could do better.
She had to go to Dubai in the middle of the school year and we had a long string of substitutes till we finished our twelfth grade,each one of them worse than the last. I still loved the subject and we even went back to her house after she came back for a few lessons, even though she wasn't our teacher anymore.
Then I got into college. I don't mean to say that my interest was completely destroyed after a few days, but gradually it did go down to a considerable extent. A lot of people have told me that interest will survive bad teachers but mine didn't. I still study, I still pass my exams with good grades but I envy what I had when I was sixteen. I've had maybe two good professors in my entire college life. That is what's still keeping the embers alive.
It's not always possible to have teachers who will inspire you to be better at something and look forward to classes. In fact, it's pretty rare. All I'm saying is that if you want to be a teacher, please don't try to do it just for the money and please don't be an ignorant, sadistic, vindictive, self righteous moron. You're influencing a lot of lives and that's a heavy responsibility to shoulder.
Anyway, this gave me some food for thought. I've always been taught to respect my elders, especially my teachers. There's a famous Sanskrit phrase which says, 'matha, pitha, guru, deivam'. It basically states the hierarchy of reverence or respect. First your mother, then your father, after whom comes your teacher and only then does God come into the picture. The problem is, I've also been taught that respect is earned, not given.
I personally feel that the teaching profession is nothing to be scoffed at. It requires a lot of knowledge, a lot of attitude and a phenomenal amount of patience; something that I might never achieve. What bothers me is that people no longer enter this profession to teach. In most people's eyes, it's an easy nine-to-five job which pays. There are a few dedicated teachers and professors out there and I've had the good fortune to study under some of them but sadly, their numbers are very, very small. I speak from experience when I say that a teacher can make or break your interest in a subject, and even in life.
For example, my computer science teacher in the eleventh grade was amazing. She knew her stuff, she loved what she taught and she would not tolerate undone homework. I've stood outside her class a few times for forgetting to read through what she had taught us the previous day, but I was drawn to her energy, her humour, her totally fun 'find the output' quizzes for which we would gladly stay back after school...I'm not exaggerating when I say that she was the reason I decided to take computer science in college.
I can still remember sitting in her class and furiously working out the logic of programs with tricky loops and other programming constructs just to yell out the answer before anyone else. I can also remember her beaming at me as she handed out corrected test papers and told me that I'd done well but I could do better.
She had to go to Dubai in the middle of the school year and we had a long string of substitutes till we finished our twelfth grade,each one of them worse than the last. I still loved the subject and we even went back to her house after she came back for a few lessons, even though she wasn't our teacher anymore.
Then I got into college. I don't mean to say that my interest was completely destroyed after a few days, but gradually it did go down to a considerable extent. A lot of people have told me that interest will survive bad teachers but mine didn't. I still study, I still pass my exams with good grades but I envy what I had when I was sixteen. I've had maybe two good professors in my entire college life. That is what's still keeping the embers alive.
It's not always possible to have teachers who will inspire you to be better at something and look forward to classes. In fact, it's pretty rare. All I'm saying is that if you want to be a teacher, please don't try to do it just for the money and please don't be an ignorant, sadistic, vindictive, self righteous moron. You're influencing a lot of lives and that's a heavy responsibility to shoulder.
2 comments:
Regarding the Sanskrit phrase which says, 'matha, pitha, guru, deivam', someone once told me "Instead of respecting age, try to respect knowledge".
Overall I agree with your point.
I get the whole 'respect your elders' thing, but you're right. I mean, people can't expect your respect just because they're older than you. Knowledge, character, values...I believe those are the things which earn respect.
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