The dynamic contours of student-teacher relationship

My status on WhatsApp says: “I am I: Others are Others.” Self-esteem and self-identity are important aspects of every personality. The aim and objective of all education is to develop this in every individual. 

Compared to the earlier traditional teaching-learning system that existed in India, do we find something amiss in modern schools, despite the grandeur of infrastructure, modern technology, the fashionable and the rich that glide in, and the cars that are driven into the school porch by parents to drop their wards to schools? When I visit these educational institutions, I notice an abundance of information floating in the environment; too much of the knowledge that seems to be available to all, given and taken; but yet, none the wiser;  for many seem to leave the premises sad. In order to have the best of both — modern facilities and the ancient spirit — we need to synergise and blend the two with proper understanding. 

There has to be student-centric learning for this. Experiential and personalised teaching-learning process, one-to-one interaction between the student and teacher which is more personal, and enhancing the tapping of a student’s innate potential, will lead every student to excel. The modern schools too should integrate their curriculum and technological systems with certain values. There has to be personalised learning. The teacher has to know the student well to build a bond, connect with him/her, and make the pupil feel comfortable enough to share, and look at the teacher as a parent-substitute. In the earlier days, the teacher not only taught the student subjects, but also values, life-skills, and job-skills. 

Thus, competency-based learning for each student can be planned and worked out to enhance the student’s career and life’s mission. A relationship that develops between the student and the teacher helps the student interact with not only the teacher, but also other teams and groups, through activities in the classroom and beyond. This helps in learning that happens even beyond the classroom. Every situation happens to be a learning situation, where the teacher teaches a value to the student/s incidentally, and the students, too, learn it in a very natural manner, as a life-skill. Every student turns out to be a mature adult passing out of the university or any other institution, not only with a certificate, but with values required for living with his near and dear ones, learning to live with work-life balance, managing stress, and managing relationships. Such a mature individual will start taking responsibility and ownership of his success, failures, and processes. With true education, the student learns to think out of the box. He learns to communicate and connect not just with the world, but with himself. He treats all human beings with love and care, irrespective of what they have earned and the wealth or property they have accumulated. Not only should we change the system and infrastructure, but we also need to protect our teachers who are the soul of the entire evolutionary process in society. We should spare a thought on whether teachers are given the same respect and honour as they were accorded in the earlier days.

Does the old saying Mata-Pita-Guru-Deivam still stand valid, where the Guru is in a higher position than even God?

The author, an educational consultant and counsellor, is based in Pune