My teacher once said, “Being a teacher is not that easy.” Questions like “Why is it so difficult?“, “Why is it so challenging?“, “What makes it challenging?” ran through my mind all through my P.U. Better late than never. I realized this when I had the opportunity to teach government school students near my home. Teaching is challenging!
Challenges In Online And Offline Classrooms
Just like how the smart flight management system controls every single part of the plane, a teacher has to have an eye over every single child in the class. Ever since the pandemic started, teaching has become even more challenging. Learning about the new online class platforms, managing the attendance, making sure every child understands the stuff that’s been taught in the span of one hour, preparing slides for the next class, in addition to spending time with their own families! Also, answering some pestering students with their wholesome doubts haha! Well, a teacher is an extravagant combination of patience, compassion, and extreme managing skills, don’t you think?
Back during my schooling, I asked my teacher, “The amount of hard work that you put in for the students, in addition to extra managerial tasks; you keep running errands the entire day you are at the school. Do you think all of that pays off?” He said something that made me change my whole perspective about teaching. He said, “I never expect anything in return. Should a teacher expect anything when his job is to give? But the things a teacher would want is to be respected and remembered.”
I, being a daughter of a teacher, spent some time in introspection, and thought “If that’s what a teacher would ever want, is it so hard for students to be such that it makes the teacher contented?” Definitely an easier task than studying, isn’t it?
Even during my engineering, I have been blessed to learn from many such professors of mine, who’ve not just inspired me but made me feel satisfied with the whole teaching profession. And it’s always a blessing to interact with such teachers and professors who guide you not just in academics but also give a holistic approach towards betterment and success.
My Experiences With Teaching
When I started teaching the government school students, one thing I realized after the transformation from a student to a teacher is that a teacher never wants perfection, but an attempt towards it would make him feel contended. I had given the students a task: “To divide 22 by 7“. The main aim was not to get the maximum number of decimal places, but to see how much a student is dedicated to academics and probably to analyze how effective I am as a teacher. I was so enthralled to see the next day that one of my students had carried out the division till 137 decimal places. I didn’t want to pop the balloon of excitement by saying it’s recurring. That day, I actually felt the satisfaction of being a teacher and remembered my teachers who got the values into me by their teaching. You unconsciously imbibe the qualities shown by your favorite teacher, don’t you?
Well, all said and done, the value of a teacher and the feeling of satisfaction can only be felt after being one! Needless to say, teachers are the only ones in a student’s life who can actually mold the student’s thought process, behavior, add fire to his ambitions and create an impression in a student’s life!
No better day to share my thoughts, than on Teacher’s Day! Happy Teacher’s Day.