have trained to be a teacher from the get go. If my calling to be a vet was not be, I should have just trained to get an education degree and gone to teach. Before kids, I had more patience and the experience would have got my patience levels to stay at that level.
I could have solidly contributed to kids’ lives, even in a system that doesn’t accommodate different needs as well as it should. Since it is unacceptable that any child should be left behind, our schools and systems should per force take all kinds of children and then figure it out. Ideal would be figure it out before, but hey, in a world that plays at being inclusive, I would take it in any order. (p.s.: Did you hear the Aadhar/UID higher up say they can’t be ‘too inclusive’? What is THAT?!)
Have learned so much about education and systems and the need to match learning styles adequately (at least adequately!). If the internet were more prevalent in my time, who knows what avenues would have opened up? At the very least, I would have had enough evidence to present to support my position of making it to vet school.
Why is it that in India people stray into education? It is still the preserve of people who think they can’t cut it any where else. Yet, it is the toughest profession – this myth that it is the ideal job for a mother whose kids go to school; she can go with them to school and come back at the same time….this one needs to be bust big time.
When their children are sick, teachers are expected to be in school. This is just like your having to do what it takes as a professional when you go to work. If anything, this is more important….they have your childrens’ futures in their hands. Commodities futures…not so important. In my book at least.
Teacher work like dogs. And I don’t mean dogs as either stay-at-home dogs or any disrespect….dogs rank up there in this household. This is not a profession for those who just want to handle the logistics of being a stay at home mother without staying home. There’s preparation, there’s correction, there’s the brain storming to do when someone isn’t getting it, it is in getting a class room to be disciplined with sensitivity and much more important – knowing each child at least adequately. It is teacher, counselor, coach and parent rolled into one. For several kids. Many more kids than one would consider parenting.
So why is it that we have a crappy B.Ed degree for someone interested in qualifying as a teacher? That degree honestly is not worth the paper it is written on. One can study at home and pass an exam. Without handling a class. There’s little on pedagogy on the syllabus, not enough on age specific child development, little to no class observation…..it is completely inadequate.
The saving grace pre-RTE was that interested folk had a lower barrier of entry. Yes, the ones who weren’t meant to be teachers were also let in….but there were some good ones. Just like there are now. But if this is the pool one has to pick from, you can’t even blame schools.
An article like this gives you the importance of teachers. I don’t believe that the value of a teacher can be costed out in rupee anna paisa. Yet, if that is what is needed, here it is. Now may the mercenary (who shouldn’t be in the ‘business’ of education in any case!) awake to the need for good teacher training and attracting a pool of people interested in children and teaching in every school, conventional or not, inclusive or not!
Have a lovely weekend, everyone!
