All About Teacher

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.

TEACHER AS A ROLE MODEL

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.

  With best wishes…..

Pee,Yes,Bee…