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As a retired teacher, I strongly believe in certain values of teaching commitment and assignment for the total benefits of students in their future lives. One may explain it as an academic ethic for its far-reaching effects on the nation as a whole. In order to get the best out of them, effective teaching calls for the following conditions of a successful teacher in the classroom. These are: total dedication and devotion of the teacher; love for students; teacher's skill to motivate students to do hard work in academics; class-room discipline for effective teaching in the subject to be taught; constant vigilance over the conduct of students in and out of school as far as possible singly and collectively; teacher's command and control over students; sound scholarship and mastery of the teacher in modern teaching methods; individual attention to students' lapses and mistakes in written tasks and oral expressions; no compromise with unfair means in examinations; teachers' impartiality in marking answer-scripts of students; and teachers' enthusiasm for a zestful life with students.
If the above conditions are ensured, I am sure that students would cooperate with their subject-teachers to get the best out of them. It is noticed that these days most of the teachers do not bother about the progress of students on account of the financial hardships facing the families of teachers all over the country. The social status of teachers is much below than that of an ordinary working man or woman in present times. I still remember those sweet days of my school life when a teacher used to love his pupils so much that cannot be explained in a nutshell. In my times some of teachers were undergraduates, but their skill in teaching was matchless reminding me of the present poor standard of teaching at schools and colleges.
It is a fact that teachers of schools and colleges are well qualified from the viewpoint of academics. But the teaching standard is much below our expectations. Our educational experts and planners should take a note of this situation for solving the present crisis in this vital sector of national life. It is a pity that we are not serious about it. Since politics reigns supreme in all aspects of life, teachers have no option other than private coaching in places of the country. The rural talents are being destroyed because education is now very expensive. The poor parents cannot afford to nourish them effectively. Wealth and education move side by side to fill in the big gap of meritocracy in the world of education. In the third world countries like that of ours, its effects are most damaging in the family life today. Most of such poor students turn into anti-social elements and disturbers of peace in normal life. It seems to me that the educated people of our society are inactive against indiscipline, social injustice, and corruption now existing even among students who are expected to be our future leaders. These days everyone talks tall on various national issues without any patriotic feelings for our dear motherland.
Law-abiding and peace-loving citizens of our country don't have enough courage and vision to save the student community from being destroyed. It is indeed a great challenge we are facing today. A peculiar psychology of ours is responsible for the erosion of human values of life very fast. Since teachers are the guardians of human civilisation and heritage, they should be bold enough to face the present ordeal for ending the confrontation of the reactionary groups with humane and compassionate grounds. When the green minds of students see that the dishonest lots manage to get the benefits of good living and life at the cost of the hard-working people, they tend to involve themselves into politics. Teachers are silent spectators of the unpleasant situations demanding prompt measures to avoid such a state of affairs relating to student violence. As long as the conventional system of education is retained in the country, there is a limited scope of improvement to mould the minds of students in the positive manner to match the challenges of youths in the 21st century.
Let us try to take the opportunity of the information technology and the age of the Internet to do good to our students. The best way open to us is to enhance the importance of teachers in the social fabric in order to guide the students on the right path leading to the country's progress and prosperity. It might sound hollow to many of us, but the real solutions lie in it. As a retired teacher I am very hopeful of the fruitful results in future of our endeavour towards students' welfare and their contributions to the nation.
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