I was on the phone talking to one of my
students. He was waxing eloquent on the academic and administrative system of
the college where he recently appeared for an interview. He was talking about
the academic environment, discipline in the college. He told me that the
college belongs to a group of institutions. The senior faculties are in
coordination with each other in preparation of teaching material called as
notes. That new faculty is groomed under the guidance of seniors. This really
impressed me for when one enters into the teaching profession there comes the
unwanted baggage of nervousness. He then is venturing into a world which is
different from the world he lived as student. Learning in the class and
studying for the examination significantly differ from studying to teach. Student
has to prepare for one examination but for a teacher every student in the class
is a question paper and all papers he has to appear at the same time. The
challenge always is to write an answer that correctly responds to all papers.
Obviously it can never be the best for all. It is always for the general good. And
it has to address the weakest to push for studies and encourage the strongest
to explore the world beyond the examination. This perception is beyond the boundary within
which students live. It is the world of teachers. So the guidance from the
experienced faculty could be of great help to the nascent teacher.
The
appreciation of the college continued for a while and I was a willing listener.
He talked about the professional approach of the management. The academic
discipline of the teachers, students, how teachers have to plan teaching
meticulously… the information continued to flow. He was fairly impressed by the
college. If you are serving in a college which is not professionally managed
such a college becomes a dream destination for working. From system in complete
disarray you come across a system that is working according to rule book and is
managed in corporate style. So not surprisingly you drown into admiration for
it. The information went down to classroom teaching. The teachers have to
prepare notes, plan teaching and execute accordingly. The teaching plan must
carry minute details. The university syllabus also specifies the number of
lectures for a unit and so on. These recommendations are implemented to the
core. I really appreciated the approach realizing with honesty that I was never
able to follow the teaching plan given by university or prepared by me for the
sake of visiting committee. Not really a good approach though, I admit.
At the
peak of the best practices followed by the college, he said, the teacher has to
prepare teaching plan clearly noting what he is going to teach in every class.
But that was not enough he has to give details splitting down to minutes. What he is going to say, how he is going to
explain and so on. The words struck the rebel chord in me which was buried
under the structure of planned teaching. My instant reaction was it is
ridiculous. I, for instance cannot go to class with line to line explanation
planed in advance. I prefer a plan of topics to be covered but rely on the
spontaneity of verbal flow. Planning the teaching minute by minute is beyond my
comprehension. The admiration for the college was then replaced by the dominant
rebellion. The conventional teaching plans I never was able to follow. I often
paid the price by engaging extra lectures.
If this is
considered as fault then I am guilty of it but I am confident that my students
are testimony to my sincere efforts that not a student is left without properly
understanding the topic. I tried my best to explain in such way that every
student understood the concept. And whenever possible I made an attempt to venture
beyond the examination. Where completing the syllabus is the only teaching
programme there I am a misfit, I feel. To explain the topic I relied upon an already
contemplated line of explanation and more often on extempore. The plan I
prepared as part of mandatory preparation for a committee visit often stayed on
paper. I am at fault no doubt but have the satisfaction of trying to ensure
that every student understands. Not that I was successful every time but was at
peace with myself.
I
strongly believe that overzealous attempt to implement the teaching plan to microscopic
details kills the spontaneity. And if it is lost, the lecture will become monotonous,
devoid of life. Then there is hardly any scope for encouraging and responding
to queries from students and pushing them to go beyond the syllabus. This is
not to advocate an absence of framework for teaching but to throw light on the limitations
of planned approach. It is necessary but it cannot be a substitute to creativity
and imagination of a teacher. Discipline is good to set the order but excessive
intrusion of it in our life is an invitation to dissipation of creativity.
If a teacher
plans and executes with minute to minute details where is the fun in teaching
and learning. Fun originates through creativity, imagination. The loss on this
account will not reflect in the score sheet of students but they certainly will
be deprived of experiencing beauty in teaching. It is the loss far intense than
non execution of teaching plan. The necessity of teaching plan ends when teacher
is alert enough not to deviate to irrelevant topics but there must be enough
space for him to use imagination. And if we really think that imagination is of
no use and it is syllabus and plan for its completion only matters then do we
need teachers? A robot is good enough to replace teachers, untiring, supremely
efficient, and exceptional in time management and yes never demands salary. If robots teach imagine the consequences.
The disciplined mind, conditioned thought
don’t produce Steve Jobs. Creativity and imagination blossom in mind unbound.
Needless to say the talk ended wiping out the germinating thought of the most
favoured destination for me to work.
