Teachers Day 2018

Teacher's Day 2018

On 5th September, 2018, Home School / Ghar Shala Sanstha organised an evening talk  with the teachers of the group of schools. In this speech the speaker talks about the difference between academic guru and spiritual guru; Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the scholar teacher and plagiarism & Knighthood controversies; and role and significance of teachers in the era of Google Guru and Artificial Intelligence.

The Letter

 

The School Management offered this meaningful thanks-giving letter to all the teachers of the school:

Thank You Teachers..

Since Its inception in 1939,the Gharshala Sanstha has been nurturing students in its uniquely “GHAR” like environment. It happens only because this school gets teachers the way teachers should be.

Today happens to be “Teachers' Day”. Dr. Radhakrishan, the first vice presedent of India and the second president of India, happned to be a school teacher and his birthday is celebrated as  “Teacher’s Day”. It’s wonderful compliment to the teachers of the nation that our president was actually a school teacher.

In the Indian culture, we have always recognized a teacher as a very important part of one’s life to the extent we said: “ Acharya Devo Bhava” which means a teacher is like god.

In the making of an individual human being, or in the making of a society, or a nation or even in  the making of a world at large, a teacher has a significant role. In the process of enhancing abilities and developing interest in a particular subject-definitely a teacher has a big role. For many children, which teacher is teaching what subject determines whether they love that subject or hate it. The subject gets identified with that person. If the teacher is inspiring enough then the subject suddenly becomes interesting.

In current times  people tend to think that the significance of a teacher has come down, because everything that a teacher can say, the internet can say too. No, the significance of a teacher has gone up manifold. Now that the burden of delivering information is taken away, a teacher’s  job becomes mainly to inspire and enhance a student as a human being- which has always been the main task.

 

When you work with children who are that part of humanity which is still in the making, what you make of them is in your hands. It is one of the greatest  responsibilities and privileges that a human being can have: to actually shape another life is a tremendous privilege. So, when such a privilege is being vested in somebody’s hands, it’s very important that the highest calibre of minds, the highest integrity and inspiration goes into that.

Seeking  learning with love is the most innate longing with every student.

And Teacher has the ability to respond to this innate urge.

Happy Teaching.

Happy Teacher’s Day.

Thank You.

Photos of the Day:

Can teacher's leave workplace on time?

Can teacher's leave workplace on time?

If teachers like other work professionals leave workplace on time, is it good for them? Can they do so? Can't say if this was really said by workaholic Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, but this cannot be applicable on genuine workers in any profession, and never on teachers.

• 'Love your job, but never love your company . . .' - This cannot be applicable to teachers. Teachers do not work with things, files, personnel. They work with real human beings who are 'students' of varied age group - kids, teens, young adult or just adults. They are 'company' of teachers. Teachers love their company and this company never stops loving them. So, it is irrelevant if teachers are advised to believe in these words.
•  If 'classroom' is the 'office' for teachers, teachers can leave classroom, but classroom always remains in the mind of the teacher. You can remove teacher out of classroom, but you cannot remove classroom (along with students) our of teacher's mind.
• It is true that work is never - ending process. The process is to be enjoyed. But to say that 'it can never be completed' is not fair. If the prime work of teacher is to complete syllabus, it can be and should be completed in due time.
• The students are not clients. They are a part of family - an extended family. True teachers think of character and career of students first and then their own children.
• If teacher fails, the society has to pay heavy price. Neither family nor friends can repair the loss incurred by society because of failure of a teacher.
• Teaching does not make life meaningless. Giving meaning to student's life is never meaningless. There can never be anything more to life than the class of smart students. There is no better place to socialize (students are real human beings to socialize), entertain (teaching is half theatre), relax (nothing relaxes better than having somebody to listen) and exercise (most calories burn in teaching) than classroom.
• There can be no better lie than point no. 5. Those teachers who are administrators also, have to stay late to do admin work as during regular hours, they are in classroom. All office work in pending which has to be completed after all students have left the institute. And teachers carry lots of works of assessment etc for home work. So they do work late nights in preparing some activities, tasks, projects and are busy evaluating students' outcome.
• Teachers are not machines. They are real human beings, who work with real human beings. So, their work can never be reduced to machine. Teaching is not mechanical job. The teachers may be teaching same topics, year after year, but it always changes the level of teaching, keeping learners in mind. Machines cannot do so.
• Working late is not the proof of having meaning less life. The teachers who have found real meaning of teaching, work late hours, not only at workplace but at home also.
• If you are teacher who work hard (or smart or what so ever people want to say) and get this advice from anybody, forward this blog to Mr/Ms. Adviser.  

Can technology replace teacher?

Can technology replace teacher?

Is teacher replaceable by technology?

The answer to these questions is another question. The question is why do we ask such questions? Has anything as such happened where humans are replaced by technology?

Well, may be there is something of this sort in our subconscious memory that humans are replaceable by technology and tools. Perhaps, collectively we all have memorised that there are very significant spaces which are encroached by technology and tools.
What is it? Where are these spaces? Are these spaces really existent?
Well, there are such spaces in urban and rural spaces where technology and tools have replaced human beings.
It is factories in urban spaces and agriculture in rural spaces.
The integration of technology in factories has minimised use of humans to almost one tenth.
The technological innovation in agricultural equipment has not only reduced human beings but have changed the skills of people working in agrarian societies.  They have readily accepted the change and adapted new skills necessary to work in rural spaces / agrarian society.
In both these spaces, people have forgot old traditional knowledge and skills and have learned new knowledges and skills.

Moreover, what is interesting is the in both the spaces outcome has not only increased but have become qualitatively better.
Is it this in our memory that makes us feel panic about technology as teachers?
Have we turned technophobic because of this in our collective unconsciousness?

Are we more afraid of technology because it's intervention has bettered the outcome?

May be yes.

We question this because of collective memory.
We deny to accept that teachers can be replaced because we fear that it may give us incredible challenge. It may force us to increase and improvise on our teaching skills and knowledge of pedagogy. If we do not do so our unhoned skills and old knowledge will make us obsolete. We as teachers will soon be outdated and updated technology will replace such outdated teachers.

Teachers will have to remember and understand that Google is not their friend. It is an enemy. One shudder know the language and capacities of  an enemy. Today's teachers shall know the language and capacities of Google. And then master all Google can do . . .  And then go beyond what Google can do.

Google can give information. What Google cannot do is connect dots in such a way that innovation and creativity can be perceived.
Teachers should not be mere information giver. They shall be connectors of dots in this networked era.
Google is just a tip of iceberg so far as technology integration in real world is concerned
Lest much more advanced technology is surely going to replace teachers as it has replaced humans, unhoned skills and old knowledge in factories and agrarian society.

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There are some interesting comments on this in Comments on this Facebook post:

The Teacher is an Iceberg

The Teacher is like an Iceberg

The true teacher is like an iceberg. The students are like the birds flying around the iceberg or like the penguin walking over the iceberg. The birds / penguins seat on the tip of an iceberg for rest. The perception of bird / penguin of the iceberg is what it can see - the outside visible - the eighth part of the huge mountain. The students who just parched on the tip of iceberg have little understanding about the teacher. Some birds / penguins dive deep in the water to catch fish. These birds / penguin can have better understanding of the depth of the iceberg. But birds can never dive deeper to see the bottom of the iceberg. The vastness of the iceberg is experienced as one dives much deeper in the sea. It is beyond the capacities of birds. But there are some students who are like scuba divers. They can dive in deep waters. They can experience the vastness of the iceberg.

 The students who do not dive deep into their studies cannot come out with better understanding of the teacher. Most of the students are like birds. They chirp. They tweet. They parch. They think they have know the iceberg. These birds when they fly at the coast, see rock mountains and pronounce judgement that they are bigger than the one seen in deep sea. They do not know that these rock mountains have feet of clay. They cannot stand the tremors of time. They crumble when earth tremble. The iceberg do not tremble. It swiftly floats during the times of tremors. Its firmness is in the flux. It is not rigidly attached to immovability. The summer sun makes rock mountain hot. It emits heat in the surroundings. And what does the iceberg do? It melts. It makes the surrounding calm and cool. It is not like tree that it can grow but cannot move. The iceberg grown in height as well as in depth. It swiftly moves with time. The true teacher is not like a tree or rock mountain. The true teacher is like an iceberg. The students shall not be mere trekker or a bird to understand real worth of the teacher. The students shall be an expert scuba divers. The deeper they dive, the better they understand the teacher.