Of serving, retired and ‘unemployed’ teachers
Agroup of children with satchels walk into our neighbour’s house after school daily. A retired principal, Shashi, teaches and helps them with their home work. She voluntarily does so with passion for her students, who are all children of migrant families and Nepalese parents, living and working in the locality. It all started with the children of her house help. As word spread, more students joined in and today it’s a 15-strong group. Four years down the line, one finds these children better behaved and focused. They go to nearby schools, one on the gurdwara premises and the other government-run.
Across the state, retired school teachers have formed informal groups that meet once a month to relive their memories. Their discussions are usually about delayed pension and service matters but seldom about the state of education, its inadequacies; student-teacher absenteeism; problem of copying; lack of infrastructure; fate and future of dropouts and underprivileged but bright students. Why can’t these groups think of taking up cudgels for the left out deserving students or organise free coaching for them? Why can’t these retirees be tasked with becoming motivational speakers in schools or in B.ED colleges?
Abroad, retired teachers have formed educators’ groups. Mohini Basran of a Mississauga-based group says:
“At our monthly meetings, we share our teaching experiences and student-teacher relations and their accompanying problems with serving teachers. This cross-fertilisation of ideas helps improve the in-service teachers’ understanding of the profession.” Why not replicate such ideas at home here?
The other day, one felt uncomfortable reading reports of a clash between ETT/TET ‘unemployed’ teachers and the police. These teachers are perpetually in agitation mode, seeking not only government jobs but also relaxation in recruitment rules. Can a teacher be ‘unemployed’? Can these ‘unemployed’ teachers not form co-operatives or start joint academies in their respective places of residence and act as education-providers, helping students, similarly placed or others, as those who flock to Shashi’s class?
Schools are the nurseries, children the saplings. The strength of the higher education system and society depends on how well the saplings are nurtured. The entire edifice rests on school teachers who ignite young, impressionable minds and inspire them to think. Decades later, such teachers are revered and respected. The role of teachers, working or retired or ‘unemployed’, is invaluable. It is important for crafting students’ careers and in nationbuilding.
The beauty of a society is in its heterogeneity. This characteristic enables people to acquire information from diverse sources to grow, develop and experiment. Sadly, education has taken a hit. Today, tuitions are the in-thing; classroom teaching a casualty.
Here, let me share an incident. I will identify him only as
SK, a math teacher, who retired as headmaster, in Bathinda. He was averse to taking tuitions while in service.
Even when he did, a rare odd-case, he did not charge any fee. Reluctantly, once he agreed to tutor a girl of a well-to-do family. One day, the girl’s father walked in to enquire about her progress. He warned her to be serious in studies, otherwise he would marry her off to a school teacher! Shocked, SK quit.
Writer William Arthur Ward once said: “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” Which one are you, serving or retired or ‘unemployed’? Children need to be educated, not just made literate!
THE STRENGTH OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM AND SOCIETY DEPENDS ON HOW WELL THE SAPLINGS ARE NURTURED