ALL ABOUT TEACHER
ORIGIN OF "TEACHER"
The
word "teacher" is the noun form of the verb "teach". The
word "teach" derives from the Old English word tæcan which means to show, point out, or give instruction. In 1290, the word teacher began to be used
for the index finger, or "one that points out". By 1300, it took on
its modern meaning, or "one who teaches".
In India, the
word guru is widely used with the general meaning of
"teacher". "The word guru
means teacher in Sanskrit and other Sanskrit-derived languages like
Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, etc. The
syllable 'gu means darkness and 'ru'
means light therefore 'guru' literally means 'the one who brings you from
darkness to light'. Thus a guru is one who is regarded as having
great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to
guide others.
Necessities of a teacher
Teaching
is not only a noble profession but a humanistic contribution to the society as
a whole with a view of ensuring the holistic and materialistic development of
the child. In order to accomplish it the teacher should follow certain value
oriented professional and personal ethics. Respecting
and recognizing each and every child’s psychological and physiological need is
essential to mould him/ her to a brighter and eclectic future. Thus a
person who wishes to make use of his human potential in the field of teaching
should perform a number of inspiring and idealistic roles throughout the course
of life with utmost sincerity. Teacher should be a pivot of all sorts of good
qualities which are essential for attaining self actualization. The success and
sustainability of the teaching career is surely depends on such qualities. They
are explained below:
TEACHER AS A
FRIEND
A good teacher is
essentially a best friend of his students. He can be a friend in and off the
class room in many ways. He can help the students by assisting them in their
classroom activities, by giving proper directions and helps to complete their
assigned tasks, by ensuring a healthy companionship in their outdoor
activities, by stretching a hand in their problems and troubles, by counselling
them to rectify their mistakes and advise them to behave well, to act well, to
study well and finally to become a good human being.
Good
teachers are always welcome their students. Their doors are always open for
the inquiry of their students’ knowledge. The teacher and the taught both endeavour
together in search of knowledge and truth.
Thus he should be too friendly to approach his students whenever and
whatever they need and turned into a “My teacher My friend” concept.
TEACHER AS A
PHILOSOPHER
It is rightly said that
teacher as a philosopher, because he teaches his students the philosophy
of life such as Dharma - the right conduct, Artha – the right wealth, Kama
– the right desire and Moksha – the
right exit or the liberation of the soul. Simply say, a teacher is a
philosopher who makes understand the good and bad of life.
As the dispeller of ignorance and the promoter of
wisdom he leads his disciples to the ultimate light that is to the ultimate
reality. He also teaches the philosophy
of education, the philosophy truth,
goodness and beauty. Besides all
he teach his students the eternal truths and the essence of all religions,
harmony and the need for universal brotherhood.
TEACHER AS A
GUIDE
A teacher can be a guide; he
should be real guide in the classroom by giving proper direction in their
learning, he should help them to find the right way and right directions in
life, he should lead them to the heights of life and guide them in the midst of
their troubles and helplessness. Finally he leads his students to the ultimate
aim of education and to the all-round development of their personality. Here we
remember that “A teacher is complete only when she is a friend, philosopher and guide....”.
TEACHER AS A SOCIAL ENGINEER
The role of a teacher in the society is both significant and
valuable. It has far-reaching influence on the society he lives in and no other
personality can have an influence more profound than that of a teacher.
Students are deeply affected by the teacher's love and affection, his
character, his competence, and his moral commitment. He
should actively participate in the social activities in a positive way.
Teachers are the pillar and makers of the society. They are the source of
knowledge and skill. He is a social engineer and sculptor
because by his esteem knowledge and skills he moulds his students according to
his ideals in his classroom. Whatever they teach they give their ideas,
beliefs, customs, folkways, values, morals, etc. to their students. It
is the teacher who moulds the character, personality and show the right
direction which leads to the final destination.
Thus a
teacher is able to mould a single individual according to the needs and demands
of the society. He can inculcate desirable changes and behavior modifications
in him through his effective efforts. Through this individual a family is
transformed and hence it paved the way for the reconstruction of the society,
nation and the entire world. In the process of developing a
healthy society, great attention has to be paid to education and learning, as
well as good morals, and nobody is more suited to assist in this process than
the humble teacher.
TEACHER AS A NATION BUILDER
Teacher
can be rightly called a nation builder. Without good teachers, no country can progress. The future
of the nation is built by him through the process of education. The teacher influences the immature minds
of-the youth. He treats and moulds the
young mind into various forms. How a
child thinks, acts, behaves, his knowledge, his actions all depends on how a
teacher nourishes him throughout his teaching. As nation which tries to march ahead on the
road to progress must do so with the help of able teachers.
It
is the teacher
who has shown us the right path in which great men have built our nation. It is
the teachers who incited
the moral and national values in the children that remain with them for the
lifetime. Thus teachers play an important role in nation
building as nation runs with the young minds and they are the creator of the
nation. According to a
philosopher, "The world of tomorrow will be born from the schools of
today." Thus the teacher is very significant as the builder of the nation.
FOR WHAT A TEACHER STANDs FOR ?
There are various ideas about
the expansion of the word teacher. Each letter is explained differently in
different ways. The most commonly used of them is explained below:
T stands for Tolerance. A teacher must be capable of infinite patience. He should accept a fact that children should
often makes mistake. Hence should have a great
amount of tolerance in and off the classroom. He should be a mentally and
emotionally balanced person. He should be calm and quiet, polite and
patient to his students. Unless the result of which is the hatred of students
and utter failure in his own classroom activities.
E stands for Efficiency.
An ideal teacher should be efficient in
all of his classroom activities, he should have a high knowledge in his
subjects, he should possess all the skills to impart his knowledge effectively
and most conveniently, he should be able to meet the new and modern challenges
in the field of his profession, he should be very competent to satisfy the
needs and demands of his students.
A stands for Alert. The teacher should be
vigilant and alert throughout his class. He should refresh his subject matter
accordingly and adopt suitable strategies for the teaching learning process. He
should maintain an order and discipline in and out of the classroom through his
eye contact rather punishment. He should never be careless about the activities
of his students.
C stand for Confidence. One
of the essential qualities of a teacher is that he should be enough confident
to express his ideas effectively to his audience. Being confident he should be
well trained, well prepared and have thorough knowledge over the content and
control over his students.
H stand for Honesty. Be honest and being honesty is the primary
duty of all teachers. Teacher is the
chief exponent and propagator of truth. He should motivate his children to tell
the truth always though it has painful experiences and inculcate in them the
virtue of being truthful.
E stands for Enthusiasm. "An enthusiastic
teacher is the one who enters the class with a 1000 watt smile, highly
charged attitude and strong commitment." He should be very active and energetic in his classroom. It is essential to
enlighten his students and ensure their active participation. If the teacher is
not enthusiastic the teaching - learning process may become dull and passive.
R stands for Resourceful. Resourcefulness
is the gate way to the world of knowledge. The teacher should be rich in
content enough to satisfy the quest of his students’ queries. He should have a
thorough knowledge about the what and
why of education and have an average
knowledge on the overall happenings over the universe.
Who is a role
model? A role model is a person whose
behavior is imitated by others. True
role models are those who possess the qualities that we would like to have and
those who have affected us in a way that maksses us want to be better
people.
There was a time when
the teacher was known as epitome of all virtues. The rules, kings and their
progeny would listen in rapt attention when the teacher spoke. To them, the
teacher was their guide, their counselor and their truest friend. The teacher's
word was regarded as the word of God.
Today there are some questions arises like Where
are those teachers of yesteryears? Where are those epitomes of truth and
knowledge? Where are those teachers of Role Models?
The answer is that, today a very few teachers
satisfy these criteria and a few have fallen in disgrace. To some extent because of their own
doings, and to some because of the norms of a decadent society in which we all
exist. Such is the state of affairs that it is considered a stigma of these
days to be called a teacher or a mash.
To overcome this stigma, it is the
responsibility of the new generation teachers to work hard as sincere as in the
gurus and rishies of the ancient
times. And strongly hold in mind that teaching profession is
one of the most respected jobs in the society. It is a great field which
requires dedication with lots of responsibilities. It should not be just
treated as a way of making money.
Along with these,
teachers should come forward to make necessary changes and modifications in
their behaviour within the classroom and even outside the campus. The reason is
that students see their teachers as a role models. they spend a great part of
their day in front of their teachers. The each and every act of teacher is
closely observed and sometimes may be imitated by the students. In short ‘Students are the teachers of tomorrows
and teachers have a great role in their character formation’. A teacher who
understands this will be a model to the students and the society.
WHY A TEACHER IS IMPORTANT?
The role of teacher in our life is more important than that of our
parents and other beloveds. Because it is the teacher or guru who, he
leads us to the ultimate aim of life, to the ultimate reality, God the
Almighty. It is better explained by the phrase matha-pitha-guru-daivam. But according to the great Indian
philosopher Kabeer Das, guru is important than that of god.
He says “Guru and God
both appear before me. To whom should I prostrate? I bow before Guru who introduced God to me”.
Now-a-day we had better read, understand and keep in mind the meaning
underlying in the following sloka:
"Guru Brahma Gurur Vishnu
Guru Devo Maheshwaraha
Guru Saakshat Para Brahma
Tasmai Sree Gurave Namaha..."
Guru is verily the representative
of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. He creates, sustains knowledge and destroys the weeds of
ignorance. I salute such a Guru.
പ്രാര്ത്ഥനാ നിരതമായ റമദാന് മാസം പെട്ടെന്ന് കഴിഞ്ഞു പോയി . ഒരു പൂവിതള് കൊഴിയും പോലെ....
