To Te(A)Ch or not to Te(A)Ch: Lessons for a Changing World

The deliberations in this article have come about from the myriad conversations and discussions with stakeholders of education; parents, educators, students and management to understand the National Education Policy (NEP), difficulties in its implementations, repercussions and the whole 9 yards. 

For Life, Through Life & Throughout Life

Mahatma Gandhi envisaged education as instructions preparing young learners to become morally sound, individually independent, socially constructive, economically productive and responsible future citizens. He considered these instructions as, ‘Education for life, Education through life, and Education throughout life.’ 

According to Gandhi, Education was “the all-round drawing out of the best, in a child or man’s body, mind and spirit. Literacy is neither the beginning nor the end of education. It is simply a means by which one can be educated.” Gandhi was very vocal that education should develop human values in a child. Personality Development was more important to him than the mere knowledge of different subjects for a person to look beyond the obvious and make informed choices. Personality Development Trainers for corporates advise us to invest 20 minutes on ourselves every day rather than the same amount of time on OTT. This simple truth is applicable to anyone who wishes to live a happy fulfilling life. 

It helps us know our strengths/weaknesses, our talents and skills which we can then marry with the many opportunities available today to be productive and earn a living. 

Education in Dynamic Societies 

Education has to equip individuals with the skills and attitudes needed for them, to adapt to changing conditions and for constructive participation in the task of societal change. This might prove helpful in solving the problems of frustration, depression, anxiety, thus reducing the burden on emotional support helplines. Gandhi’s Basic Education Scheme was job centred, value based and mass oriented which are the primary requisites today. 

Teaching in the Tech Era

The notion of the teacher as an expert is fast losing ground to online resources available to students. Let’s not forget that SCHOOLS have a special place in our lives. They are the place we come to get better, to grow up, to have difficult conversations and to build virtues. Schools do not teach that it’s good to fail, but all successful men do and one does not need to be afraid of failure. 

This places schools in a unique position when it comes to helping us ponder, how best to anticipate the unintended consequences of technology and how best to manage them. How are we to build character? How are we to engender the right kind of curiosity and self-reflection required to solve complex problems of life through technology? Our Institutions which are solid reliable entities are designed to be conservative. It is understandable if they feel daunted by the task of keeping up with the fast-paced changes taking place. Hence, as Educators the onus is on us to make sure that our schools do not become a liability, rather continue to remain a source of security and fairness.  

Virtual learning and self-study helps some students, but for many in India, at least in government and aided schools, this might not be the right learning paradigm. A hard to hide fact still remains that in our schools a substantial number of children come from marginalised families. 

School as an Oasis

A school is an oasis where children tend to forget their problems while bonding with their peers. According to St. Magdalene, founder of the Canossian Institution, schools ought to be a haven where children experience love and care from their teachers and the Management, financial and material sustenance, even correction meted out in tenderness, keeping the dignity of the child intact all the time. Our school has a multitude of first-generation learners and these children can share everything with other children while availing the same opportunities without distinction. The demography of our classrooms has changed radically and today we have a plethora of students availing of an education hitherto unheard of. For many children, a school and all its resources provide opportunities to make something of themselves, to prove that they can, they should and they will make a difference in their lives and in the world at large.

AI & Education

With AI becoming the new normal, the feeling is that technology will soon take over the field of education. “The best brains of the nation may be found on the last benches of the classroom” opined the wise Dr. A.P.J Kalam. To find those creative geniuses you need the kinesis of a teacher, whether in a physical or virtual classroom. If we do not want to be held responsible for putting out 21^st century brilliant adults who cannot blend the twin qualities of head and heart, then as educators we are obligated to reflect and adapt our pedagogy by inculcating value-based education from the time the children enroll for formal education. 

Value based education creates a learning environment whereby a School’s ethos is underpinned by strong core values. It supports the development of the whole child as a reflective learner, within calm, caring, happy and purposeful environs. VBE is transformational for it impacts, not just the students but the entire school community by having a direct influence on the entire curriculum and more specifically on spiritual, moral, social, cultural and health education. Enactment of these values in shared behaviour, and language across the school will enable the children to develop their cognitive understanding and their inner selves. 

Conclusion

Keeping their personal dynamics in mind, every school must plan and execute a range of values so that by the end of schooling, pupils can exit the portals of the school having learnt about healthy lifestyles, building relationships, inclusion, self-confidence and a responsibility to make the most out of their talents and skills by playing an active role as an informed citizenry. This would be learning in the true sense of the word. We may end up with people having a little less IQ, but hey! they would certainly exhibit a higher EQ and SQ. For this to fructify, technology notwithstanding the single most important factor in any classroom will continue to be: The Teacher.