Teachers : Now, Then

This post has been published by me on the occasion of the Teachers' Day as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 2; the second edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

Teacher's Day is a great opportunity to express our respect to our teachers and extend our gratitude for making us what we are today. It is the time to pay tribute to them, who have shaped up our career and imparted knowledge to us, not just to excel academically, but also to develop our personality. In this day, we fellow bloggers write upon the topic, "Teachers : Now, Then", for Blog-a-ton, Online marathon of bloggers.

Today, September 5th, the Birthday of Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, the second President of India, is celebrated as Teacher's Day. A great philosopher, a true statesman, and a renowned scholar Dr. Radhakrishnan epitomized all the qualities of head and heart which a teacher should have. Teacher’s day is an occasion for all of us to pay tribute to our teachers and commit ourselves to the values espoused by them.

Dr. Radhakrishnan once said,

"We have learnt to fly in the skies, we have learnt to race in the waters, but alas we have not yet learnt to walk on the earth."

We are here to discuss the topic - Teachers : Now, Then. Its just the comparisons between yesteryear teachers and present day teachers. Before getting into the argument, I must write about the role played by our teachers from our childhood days to our present day! At kindergarten, teacher becomes a substitute for mother. The teacher takes care of the students and treats them as her own children. When they grow older, teacher assumes the role of an instructor, who guides his/her students to become a good person and instills moral in them. When the students are capable to stand on their own feet, the mentor assists them to reach all the milestones and accomplish all the goals set for life. During the formative years of life, teacher showers immense love and affection upon his/her students, in return of which he/she expects nothing but appreciation. Teacher's Day is a wonderful occasion to reciprocate the love and affection shown to us, by our teacher.

Who is a considered as a Real Teacher?

"Teaching is the profession that teaches all the other professions"

Teachers are considered the mentors, who not only guide a person academically, but also inculcate moral and ethical values in the student.

Whether or not you’re attending school, the need will arise for you to find a teacher or mentor to help you on your educational journey. You may need someone to guide you in your understanding of great literature, show you how to lay brick, or help you excel in your career. They are the creators of responsible citizens, who contribute to the society in one way or the other.

:::YESTERYEAR TEACHERS vs PRESENT DAY TEACHERS:::

Coming to the topic, I want to deal this by comparing both the sets by taking some common points like: Challenges faced, Method of teaching, Mentality and many more!

First let me start with YESTERYEAR TEACHERS . I am writing this post after collecting some information's from my dad, regarding the teachers during his school-college days. Teachers then has been very dedicated to this profession. They wanted every single student to excel. There was no partiality shown. Partiality between caste, creed, rich/poor was left outside the classroom. Real talents was encouraged. The dedication they had for teaching is awesome.

"The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book."

When they came to class, they come with an empty hand. They are extemporaneous. When they take up a topic they won stop with the contents given in the book. They will give practical examples for each and everything irrespective of the subject they take. Practical examples when associated with a concept makes the younger brain grasp easily and it increases the interest shown towards the subject. My dad told he never had the habit of studying after coming from the school. The reason was the topic they taught and the concept would have been easily grasped which never require further read. Tuition has never been encouraged. I want to tell this with a real example. One of my dad's friend was a low scoring student . When he approached the teacher for taking class, the teacher told, "Listen why do you waste your time by coming to tuition's. If you come here for tuition that means am not teaching properly in the class. You do one thing. listen all the things which I teach in class. Even if you understand go home, take your book and study. You will surely get doubts. Come to me the next day and I will surely clarify your doubts". Have any of our parents told us that they studied through tuition?

That teacher who was against taking tuition's earned a mere amount for his living. If he thought of earning money, he could have taken tuition for that boy. But money was not on his charts. He wanted his students to surpass everyone. He lived according to a proverb, "A gifted teacher is as rare as a gifted doctor, and makes far less money". He still gives his pension as a scholarship for poor students. That's just a mere amount but it matters alot! Can we find teachers like him at present?

Coming to PRESENT DAY TEACHERS!

They face the worst challenges. How many students respect their lecturers? They are in a position to demand respect. Students listen songs, send SMS to their friends. They are cornered because they can't question those people. Some teachers give seminars to students. Seminars in the sense,each unit will be divided into several topics and allotted to several students. By means of this the student takes up the class by just reproducing the contents present in the book. Only some of them takes it seriously and put in effort. If students are taking classes, what for lecturers are there? Will the fellow students understand the topic taken?

How many of them are dedicated to this profession?! These days, there are a lot of people who claim to be teachers. Some have certification from the state, some are followed as gurus, and some offer their services with a “money back guarantee”. But, not one of these qualifications means that a person is actually able to teach. But these day because of the advancement of technology, teachers are able to accumulate lot of details for imparting their knowledge to students. But how many of them are doing it? In one of my friends college, the lecturer came in and started teaching DIGITAL ELECTRONICS, the most important subject for an Electronics Engineer. My friend stood and asked her to explain a particular concept. In reply, she asked my friend to come after the class hours. When my friend approached, the lecturer told, "Listen if you ever ask me any doubts in the class, You will fail in your your internals! Those precious 20 marks, your internals are in my hand. So don't try to ask anything!". This is the current position. Are they passionate about teaching? Are they dedicated?

The number of tuition centers are increasing daily. The teachers fail to teach the concepts properly and hence students go in search of tuition centers. My cousin's Sanskrit teacher working in a popular school in chennai, getting a salary in 5 digits per month, asked all the students in his class to come to tuition. He also mentioned that he will teach only a small portion in class and remaining in the tuition. To get marks, my cousin go to that tuition by paying 500 bucks monthly! Are they teacher's or robbers? Money changes this Noble Profession as a Business.

"Good teachers are costly, but bad teachers cost more."

Having LCD projector and teaching through PPT can be the trend,but those are the miniatures of the contents in book! Again the teachers reproduce the book! Is this a Real learning. What we learn and what we work upon are two different poles which will never go hand in hand. Theoretical knowledge and Practical working atmosphere are dissimilar. If the teachers combine both of them, we can understand the requirement of the industry and equip ourselves accordingly.

A 55 fiction before going to the conclusion.

"Kevin, you scored 5/100. You are unfit to be in Tenth Standard!"

He really felt ashamed and wanted to take revenge on his teacher.

NOW...

"Ma'am? You recognize me? Kevin, your unfit student! I proved you are wrong. Am an engineer"

"I know you will do it. So I Kindled your senses."

His mouth went dry!

I am dedicating this post to all the best teachers. Teachers in the sense not only those who taught me in school or college. Am learning new lessons, lesson for life each day, from friends, relatives, and all other living being am encountering.

Teachers should teach the students not only for scoring marks but also in a way to develop their intellectual and analytical skills. Teach the students about the latest trends along with Charles Babbage's invention. Technology has improved and it facilitates them and be the best tool for educating students.

"No man can be a good teacher unless he has feelings of warm affection toward his pupils and a genuine desire to impart to them what he believes to be of value."

Happy Teachers Day!

Thank you teachers. We are writing, criticizing, appreciating about you and your proffession. Thank you for teaching us how to write! Without you we would have been illiterate! Thank you for showing us the light. Thus you are rightly called as GURU's, the one who removes the darkness and shows the light.

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton are Vipul, Rajalakshmi, Dhiman, Ranee[1], [2], [3] , Avada, Indian Pundit, Sojo, Aneet, Pramathesh, Aativas, Sid, Pra, Ajinkya, Lakshmi, Govind, Shilpa, Bharathi, Shankar, Mytuppence, Azad, Pawan, Pankaja, Saimanohar, Guria, Vishnu,Nasrajan and Richa. Click on their respective names to read their posts on Teachers : Aaj Kal. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

With Love,

Image courtesy : GOOGLE Images