CHALLENGING ROLE OF TEACHER IN MODERN PERSPECTIVE

CHALLENGING ROLE OF TEACHER IN MODERN PERSPECTIVE

Teacher is the architect of future generation. Students can be deemed as raw clay which has to be shaped and developed  by the expert sculpting hands of teacher.

The role of teacher in society is both significant and valuable. It has far reaching influence in 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 his love, affection, character, his competence and his moral commitment. The students try to follow their teacher in manners, costume, etiquette, style of conversation and his get up. He is their ideal. A popular teacher becomes a model for his students.

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During early formative years of life in the field of education, the students tend to determine their aims in life and their future plans, in consultation with their teachers. Therefore, a good n visionary teacher can play a pivotal role in making the future of students.

Trend of education a few years ago was traditional n learning a formal process. Interaction between students n teacher was not very prominent and students were rather passive listeners. Inquisitiveness was not a common feature in most of the learners. But there was a regular classroom teaching and students ardently followed what was taught to them.

Today, with  advent of internet and marked extra -reading habits, students are more inquisitive, curious to know everything in detail, discuss n share. Well equipped, well informed, they have inclination to discuss the matter with their teacher. Hence, the teacher has to be more well prepared, well informed and well equipped to convince students.

Problems n situations that we face in life are more or less of same nature, but now we view them in a different perspective and endeavour to tackle them, utilizing novice ideas n innovations. Story of Thirsty Crow taught since ages does not hold good in modern times. Instead of telling story of Thirsty crow, who In order to quench his thirst, raises level of water in jug, by putting pebbles in it, need of hour is that a teacher becomes suggestive and refers to new ideas. A clever crow of modern times could put a straw in jug, with lower level of water and enjoy drinking water, without trouble of collecting  and putting pebbles in jug to raise its water level.

In this era of competition, students are more inclined to broader vision of knowledge, awareness to current affairs, information about new avenues of career. Such situations indicate that a teacher has to be better equipped, well informed   and  well prepared. So, he should avail In Service Training Programs and Orientation Courses and extend the benefit of this knowledge to students.

In the galore of careers,students are confused.The teacher is to guide them directly or indirectly.He has to act as a career counselor too.

A good teacher has to be a good guide too. Adjustment problems of students, sometime due to family background, at times due to being physically challenged , economic limitations, emotional stress etc. need to be tackled  to ensure their stress free development. Here, the teacher has to step in as a counselor .The gross social change over the last five decades, wide scale urbanization,  ruthless competition for financial gains and heavy pre occupation in everyday life, deplete all time and energy from parents, leaving behind little time or energy for them to mentor their children .Nuclear families, generally lack strong social n emotional bonds. As a result, the younger generation hardly gets opportunity to share ideas with their elders and to enter into a meaningful discussion.

The idea is gaining ground among us that education is not meant to build up better human beings, but aims at getting better jobs only. Consequently, the students minds are obsessed with better jobs and dream for higher social status. So, responsibility of teacher enhances. It is, therefore,  his duty to interact with parents  and motivate them to to take active interest in day to day progress of their wards to apprise them of the real meaning of education. He should seek active participation of parents in Parents Teachers Meet, as these meetings pave a way for healthy interaction n sharing views. It is imperative to involve the role of parents too, in the process of character building of students. In the past, parents n teachers both used to put the best of their efforts to provide an atmosphere congenial to the development of higher values .The teacher has to extend hands to seek co operation of parents.

A teacher should have capacity to maintain the faith and act as a Polar Star. He should be a model of faith and piety and should have a fairly good knowledge. He should feel that the students have been entrusted to him and should avoid any breach of trust the society has reposed in him .He should be a socialable person with his roots in society. Parents should treat him as a well wisher and sincere friend who cares for their children. He should have a natural acumen and n aptitude for teaching.He should be proud of his culture and his language.He should be a missionary,a guide, besides being a dedicated teacher.

 He should command the art of teaching with a deep insight into child psychology and should have a hold on his temper when students commit mistakes; should respect their feelings and ego, should try to realize their difficulties with grace, keeping his cool. He should be a perfect teacher, a perfect educationist.

Challenges provoke our instinct to make innovations and experiments, introduce new techniques and trends, which ultimately turn into successful milestones in the journey of education and pave way to smooth path of learning. So, be all set for challenging role of teacher in modern perspective.Enjoy the profession  n make the process of learning a cake walk for students.

 RAJNI CHHABRA