Modern Weird Teaching – A Hype Devoid of Reality
‘i would argue that stupidity is born out of bad reading, bad teaching and bad thinking’
Dr. Ashaq Hussain
From the bottom of my heart and soul, I respect and admire those teachers who are really eager to teach- A teacher who wants to be a motivator for others and is always happy with his job and is subsequently liked by his/her students and remembered as well. Are you that teacher? In my opinion a teacher should enjoys teaching, revolutionize the life of his students with latest knowledge and teaching methodology andmust be specific and accurate to the subject matter. These are some attributes and qualities that should be present in every teacher. As the saying goes, ‘With great power comes great responsibility’-as a teacher, you need to be aware of, and remember, the great responsibility that comes with your profession. One of your goals is to make a difference in the lives of students, but how?
Gone are the days when besides imparting theoretical education, the teacher used to give practical tips for leading an honest and purposeful life. The prime objective of each and every teacher was sharing information and knowledge with students, irrespective of monetary rewards, name or fame for the services to society. All the students at that time after completing their education, used to attain all good qualities for leading an honest and purposeful life. Keeping in view the dedication, devotion and sincerity of those teachers of the past, not only students but their parents alsobesides the entire community used to respect them for their service.
Forget about respect of modern teachers, these days debates over play-way method of teaching at schools across Jammu and Kashmir are raising questions about the role of instructional methods in the classroom of which numerous videos are being posted by different teachers on social media sites to gather praise and publicity. The public at large is watching to this modern weird teaching (singing, dancing, rhyming etc) and by way of comments are discussing the future of such teaching and thereby the future of students. While such marketing strategies by various teachers have greatly influenced their bosses but to attend to the needs of the learners is still a distant dream.
Like everyone else, modern teachers are being intrigued by, and wary of, the promises of the teaching revolution and what it might mean for the future of their classrooms but in reality such teaching will not lead anywhere in future. Traditional teaching is not necessarily at odds with the latest trends, but so much hype of weird teaching tends to make the profession anxious. Implementing new and rapidly evolving rhyming is often viewed as extraordinarily complicated and meaningless, and this can easily overwhelm teachers who are trying to keep current.
The 21st century came with revolution in the field of education. In this scientific age, teacher’s involvement and participation improved to a great extent. Various schemes for improving overall literacy level have been introduced andfocus of education has shifted from producing educated persons for managing routine office work to specialized professionals. To implement all these schemes and to produce educated professional rather than literate unprofessional, at present we need more capable, competent and technologically advanced teaching to achieve this objective rather than the weird rhyming, singing and dancing methodology which can be an alternative means of communication and entertainment but sometimes works as a mere distraction.
So, modern teachers, besides being subject experts, should be technologically advanced and must have all qualities to satisfy the needs of students for friend, philosopher and guide.
No doubt the activity based teaching is the need of the hour but remember it is activity (practical) where we have to perform some practically live examples rather than rhyming, singing or dancing on each and every lesson. An effective teacher is one who is creative, but that does not mean you have to create everything from scratch and behave like a musician rather than a teacher. Things in life don’t always go according to plan. This is especially true when it comes to teaching, so be flexible and embrace changes with a positive note. An effective teacher does not complain about changes or instructions introduced instead embrace them with both hands and show that they are capable of hitting every curved ball that gets in their way. Teachers, no doubt on the other hand, face a lot of genuine problems like inadequate teaching learning environment, poor status, inadequately low remuneration, lack of avenues for promotion, socio-economic and other conditions as compared to other departments, inadequacies and serious flaws in the education system etc. However, it will not be difficult to overcome these problems if all concerned join heads together and sort out such issues judiciously.
In order to make education more job-oriented and improve its standard, stress should be laid on activity based practical and latest technology oriented advanced teaching techniques rather than the ongoing weird rhyming, singing and dancing and the responsibilities on concerned authorities is that every school be provided with adequate infrastructure and appropriate service conditions for teachers to upgrade overall standard of teaching-learning techniques and thereby the education. In the end, it can be said that there is always something positive in every situation, but it is up to you to find it. Keep your head high and be happy with teaching for the sake of love for education.
Dr. AshaqHussain is a Chemistry Teacher and can be reached at [email protected]
