A day before yesterday, the Minister of Primary Education Uttarakhand Government Arvind Pandey was seen reprimanding a lady teacher in front of her class, for not knowing a very basic principle of Mathematics. It later proved out to be the Minister's folly. He was either asking a wrong question or asking the teacher a question which seemed to be fundamentally wrong.
But the good that emerged out of the situation was that the teacher stood her ground; and pointed out to the discrepancy in what was written by the Minister on the chalk board.
That said, the conduct of the Minister was not very uncommon in our society. We as a society, usually treat our teachers (school and College Teachers) with disrespect. Our assessment of the teachers is based on the marks secured by the children they teach. This linking results in wrong assessment.
A teacher teaches 30 - 50 or 10 children of different mental caliber and learning potential. If we assume that every child who goes to school will score 80 percent, then we are thinking on the wrong line. That apart, the educational background of the guardian or the parents also decides the marks a student scores at school.
The habit of assessing a teacher on the marks the student gets at school, also means that the person starts equating Learning with the money spent on the child. If money can buy learning, caliber and education; then every rich person's child would have been educated.
If we want our children get quality education then we as a society must treat our teachers well. We must NOT assume that
anyone (including guardian or parent) who is not a trained teacher can ever teach better than a trained teacher. You can be a scientist or a top level academic, but if you are not a teacher, then you can't teach even your 6 year old as competently as a school teacher. In simple words you as a person can have truck loads of educational degrees, you may also be making truck loads of money professionally; but that doesn't mean you can replace your ward's school teacher. If that would have been possible then there will be no schools in the World.
If you want your child to learn better and score better (based on her/his potential) then respect the child's teacher. Don't try to evaluate their (teacher's) knowledge. Tell the child to respect the teacher as well. Make it clear to the child that you are not capable of evaluating the teacher's teaching competence. As a parent, try to have a right assessment of your child. This will help you choose a better school, if you feel the necessity.
To conclude, if we want meritorious young men and women take teaching as a career, then the
Uttarakhand Government must not employ teachers on contract. Instead, the conventional practice of employing permanent teachers must carry on. There's a suggestion for young men and women out there as well. If you
don't like teaching as an activity, then don't become a teacher. A half-hearted effort is No effort.
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