December 12, 2004

Teachers do anoble job. But inmodern times, notmany students,particularly comingfrom affluentbackgrounds,seem to realizethe importance of educators

MARGARET Fishback Powers once said: “One hundred years from now on, it will not matter what kind of car you drove, what kind of house you lived in, how much you had in your bank account or what your clothes looked like, but the world may be a little better because you were important in the life of a child.”

Imagine the worth of a person who plays a vital role in the lives of a number of children. Of course, it’s none other than a teacher who’s capable of doing that. Teachers are the role models who inspire us, guide us and lead us through every path of life. When I once questioned myself why I wanted to be a teacher despite many reservations about the profession, I found out that it’s only because of the great teachers that I had the opportunity of learning from in my life. Whether it was my junior class polite instructors Ms Tabassum, Ms Naheed and Ms Aforze, or secondary school exemplary educators Ms Qaiser, Ms Naseem, Ms Safia, Ms Siddiqui and Ms Yahya, they always remain a source of inspiration and enlightenment throughout the course of my life. Teachers are the real role models who discover students’ potential and polish their personalities in every way.

I luckily found great facilitators in college and university too. Ms Mehtab’s style, Ms Shafqat’s charm, Ms Baig’s poise, Madam Gulzar’s concern and Ms Sahida’s radical thoughts opened new vistas to many students and they blossomed into confident young ladies from perplexed teenagers.

I always wonder if I could ever be as valuable to my students as my teachers. An excellent teacher is more like a performer whose sincerity and passion make the students believe in what he says and does. He never quite preaches or teaches rather inculcates the urge in his pupils to think, question and discover.

From the very beginning mankind needed preachers, be it priests, God’s messengers, community leaders or clergymen. With the establishment of stable societies, a result of agricultural and cultural growth, education emerged as a separate institution from religion and family. Teachers, thus, took up the role of spiritual parents.

While a good teacher is a blessing, an incompetent one can easily turn a student’s life into hell. Students often lose their belief in goodness of human nature, especially when teachers exhibit attitude problem and negative approach.

Unfortunately, in our country education has also suffered from the ongoing commercialization fever that has reduced many teachers to paid tutors dealing with clients rather than students. This transformation has changed everything about education, especially the teacher-student relationship. Leaving exceptions, most private schools, colleges and universities are selling education at high rates. Teaching in such institutions is just a means to produce labelled degree holders that can grab attractive jobs. Parents also seek result-oriented education that can make their children wealthy and resourceful within no time.

In such an environment, the teachers’ task is to inculcate vast information on numerous topics in students. Generally, they assess their retention power rather than wisdom or creativity, since it is the way to achieve high grades in exams. Extravagant activities are frequently arranged to justify education cost to its customers.

The concept of truly devoted teachers with a genuine interest in students’ character building is thus extinct. Selfless dedication of instructors and unconditional devotion of students can be no more witnessed. Reciprocally, most teachers are losing their status and charisma at the cost of declining education standards, despite better packages and multiple choices of educational institutions.

I have taught at different primary, high school and college levels. Each experience was highly diversified subject to students’ background and the institution’s culture. Middle and upper-middle class students still show a keen interest in their studies, serious concern for their future and respect for their mentors. Be it the Hamdard University’s BBA batch or the AES School’s O’level students, they reminded me of my student life and revived the spiritual bond I had with my teachers.

However, my experiences with the city’s well-known school and a business college at Clifton were devastating. The institutions offer attractive packages to hire qualified teachers and simultaneously earn big amounts from students. The filthy rich parents send away their spoilt brats to these renowned institutions in order to obtain a degree. It’s, therefore, teachers’ foremost duty to please their customers anyway.

Teachers are answerable for all their deeds and misdeeds. They can’t touch their students. Any kind of punishment, penalty and even scolding might lead to an explanation call from the administration.

I was shocked when some of my O’level students misbehaved in class. They used to chew gums, whistle and buzz to irritate most teachers. Derogatory remarks, obscene language and symbolic gestures were a common threat to female teachers. Strict teachers, like me, were considered quite irritating as I refused to teach unless they behaved themselves. I found a number of excellent teachers, who were mild by nature, humiliated by these deviant young individuals. Mostly students target teachers with weak spoken English. I remember a middle-aged male ad-math teacher, who almost cried due to the misconduct of his students.

I suggested psychological assistance to some highly aberrant ones. However, the administration’s main concern was to get maximum registration to obtain high profits and they found it highly offensive to tell a parent that his son or daughter needed to see a psychiatrist.

Perhaps it’s the commercial environment of the institution that led highly-paid teachers to quit their jobs on a regular basis. The turmoil I experienced at the school could shatter my aspiration to be a teacher if I would not have had some exceptional students who expressed genuine respect for education and educators.

Recently, I got a chance to teach BBA students of a known university at Clifton. They once again reminded me that the youth of upper class has interest in everything except education. I often wonder their casual mannerism, clothing, language and philosophy in life. They never pass up a chance to demoralize their teachers. A very few show true interest in studies. Their problems are much more different than their middle class counterparts at some other universities.

These privileged youngsters miss their classes to go on a date, can’t do their assignment due to a dance party that happened the previous night, and are unable to understand why smoking, drinking and courtship are discouraged in Pakistan, as it’s none of anyone’s business. Their culturally caged souls demand absolute liberty and they find family and social values annoying.

No matter what you do to make them interested in the subject, they spoil it, but insist the instructor on assessing them blindly. Since some students can influence the administration and teachers are hired and fired in their preference, most teachers submit to their will and assess them leniently.

It is true that it’s the teacher’s approach to studies that creates the right kind of environment in a class. It’s his self-image that makes him presentable. A teacher can make a child’s life miserable or joyous.

For a teacher the most frustrating thing is his students’ nonchalance attitude. And it’s students’ enthusiasm, regard and love that can motivate any teacher to do his job more sincerely.

Nowadays, every year the world celebrates a Teacher’s Day. But very few students bother to acknowledge their contribution to society. Generally, the role models of our youth are showbiz and sport celebrities.

Teachers who take subjects like language, literature, sociology, psychology, ethics, philosophy and religion seriously often confront students’ indifference as they regard these disciplines irrelevant and useless in the modern material world. They are only interested in subjects like commerce, accounts, marketing, advertising, management or sciences that can make them get a good job in the future.

In the end, it has to be said that without having respect for education and educators, we will never be able to progress as a society.

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