Teaching: Past, present and future

In ancient India, education was imparted in Gurukuls, and teachers were called Gurus. To translate the word Guru as teacher, would, however, be a gross misrepresentation. The Guru of ancient India not only imparted education to the kids but also stood as the symbol of knowledge in the society. The Guru was also the adviser to Kings and other people in the society. The concept of Guru in ancient India is beautifully depicted in this well known Sanskrit sloka:

Guru Brahma Gurur Vishnu

Guru Devo Maheshwaraha

Guru Saakshat Para Brahma

Tasmai Sree Gurave Namaha

Guru is verily the representative of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

He creates, sustains knowledge and destroys the weeds of ignorance.

I salute such a Guru.

As time went by, the above verse met the same fate as that of many ancient things. The words remained, but the meaning was lost.

In the modern society, the teacher is no longer the most knowledgeable person around. And an inability of the teachers and the Indian educational system to accept this fact openly has led to some kind of hypocrisy. Though we show respect to teachers in schools and colleges, there are very few teachers whom we truly respect when out of college. In the morning, we join our hands and bow down before teachers in school, and in the evening we crack jokes on most of them. Though it would be easy to give a lecture to the students on how they need to behave, by doing this we would only be postponing an acceptance of the real problem.

Teachers in the modern world will surely never be able to enjoy the status of the Gurus of ancient India, but I think they deserve a better treatment. For this to happen, it is they who have to change. As M. K. Gandhi once said, "You must be the change you want to see in the world". The solution to this problem and to many other problems of life lies in these words of William James, "Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives". And since we all believe that a picture is worth a thousand words, let me show two pictures that depict what exists and what should instead be:

As the picture shows, teachers should adopt the attitude of an instructor. In other words, teachers of the present day world should play the role of facilitators of learning by providing children with the right environment that fosters curiosity-driven and creativity-driven learning. As the picture shows, there could be slight indiscipline in this new system, but its more important to remember that schools are not military camps. Though discipline is a cherished goal, we should be careful not to incur huge long-term losses in the process of its imposition.

A change of attitude on the part of our teachers can have tremendous influence on the society too. If the new system is adopted across India, the teachers will be able to live with respect (true respect, and not just in the present pretentious sense), students will be able to learn much more, and parents will also be a lot happier. If people start respecting the profession of teachership, we will see lot more young people taking up the profession by choice. This is because though teaching does not pay much monetarily, it can be a very satisfying career to pursue. Specially in a country with a huge population, there will never be lack of great opportunities for good teachers. And if things go really well, we will never again hear anyone say, "Those who can, do. Others, teach".