ANNOYANCE

                                                      ANNOYANCE

 After some careful thought, I chose this title. I never choose titles that disturb the mind.

But when the subject matter for perusal is highly disturbing, this is the least inconvenience that I can offer to my readers. On the very face of it, annoyance grips every one when we talk of education at any level. All stakeholders are annoyed. They are: students, parents, teachers, administrators and managements. But they do not share the same type of concern on the issue. Each entity is annoyed over a specific domain. Therefore, one has to address the underlying causes that need being looked into. Once it is done, it should be possible for us to consider approaches that may soften if not solve the problem outright. From the point of view of consumers, the problem is intricate. All parents insist on their children becoming Engineers or I T Professionals or Doctors and none else. It is a parental desire in utter disregard to the finer issues involved. Students for their part also do not gather the techniques of learning. As for teachers the scenario is badly confused. Teachers are of two types- those inclined to do their best, those not much concerned. The latter variety is steadily on the increase, possibly because there are no regulatory curbs on deviants. Administrators have no clues as to what reforms or revamping have to take precedence over what.  Managements are confused over providing higher education of the type that holds prospects of long term stability and sustenance. Some of them are keen only on monetary prospects than on model or moral codes. With such a vexing complexity the scenario is annoying. Given the limited domain of a teacher, I may not be able to dwell at length on every component. I hope to consider issues from the points of view of students and teachers. Sincere efforts will be necessary to resolve the knots that generally occur.

Going by the common saying “We reap what we sow”, the focus should be on teaching and then on learning. On different earlier occasions, I have considered the functional aspects of the two processes. I do not intend repeating the same ideas. I feel that some positive orientation of our attitudes to the two processes would do some good to the system as such.  Teaching–learning is a functional complex. They are complementary and mutually influential. As ever, the elders [teachers] should strive to lead with one clear understanding that what we do now is for the future. It includes a very important consideration. Our student may turn out to be a teacher for our children. So, now sow what you prefer to reap. I have clearly seen the hand of nemesis in the life of some teachers of our own times. I do not prefer to name them for obvious reasons of decency. Even in hotels we find the note “This holy task of feeding the people has been bestowed on us by the Almighty”.

Teaching can not be any less. Some of us have been chosen by destiny to be teachers. How can one be indifferent to this line of thought?                                             Obviously we have not thought of it.

With this backdrop, I try to share some of my perceptions to spell out some strategies that can help us to tide over the so-called impediments to good teaching and ideal learning.

Teaching and learning are interactive processes:

There is no exclusive teaching in the sense that every session of teaching is also a learning process. The converse may not be true. What I intend saying is this:  A teacher, while attempting to teach, learns to fine-tune the message to suit the audience or at least a vast majority there of.  There are no pre-set standards. Please consider this: Every singer has to identify the “sruthi” to render the song. There is no specific “sruthi” for a lesson or chapter. But the teacher sets his or her “sruthi” for every session by feeling the pulse of the audience. The amplitude over which a teacher can operate depends on the nature of the lesson, the receptivity, the time over which it has to be done and so on. There are no quantified data for these parameters. Yet the teacher silently sets self to the most appropriate frame within which to effectively operate. The statement may look vague as only the broad attributes are suggested. In simpler terms, both the bottom limit and upper extremity to teach are broadly fixed by the teacher. An alert teacher does not fix any permanent frame limits for all occasions, even for the same batch of students. Instead, there is an effort to widen this frame so as to provide greater information based on how well the lessons are received. Those teachers who always cater to the bottom line requirements are either not inclined to strive or cannot do better. They take recourse to dodgy excuses. Often they cite the background of students for not going all out in their efforts. Honestly, this contention is a matter for serious dispute on two counts. 1. If their background is weak, it should all the more be a reason for strenuous efforts. I am certainly confident that students perceive our efforts and in turn try to catch up. 2. The best of Scientists and lofty thinkers have all been products of rural origin. Proudly or sadly the urban population has only enjoyed the fruits of such contribution. There is no dearth of ability to understand. On the contrary making them understand is the business of teaching. Unfortunately teaching has become a business for some. Not being aware of the right approaches to learning, parents and students flock to such coaching classes for mustering high scores.  [It is no different from preferring a beautification parlour to ways of healthy living through appropriate food habits]

For every stage of life we feel the need for coaching [need to visit the parlour for every occasion] Short-cut methodologies do not provide the strength to live on.

Education- what to pick up?

Education is for an ideal way of living and not for just crossing stages in life. Unless teaching strategies establish the right supremacy, the day of dissipation is not far off. Teacher is the pivot and the fulcrum. It should be clear that any teacher is only as good as [s]he strives. Students should recognize that they are at the right [st] age to learn. Later stages of life can only be utilized for tuning your clarity and performance. Tuning always implies that something is ready and organized. A defective machinery or engine or musical instrument can not be tuned. These objects of physical organization require being kept ready. That being so how can we imagine that we can learn things later. I have seen some students running to pick up ‘spoken English’ upon being called for an interview. Even if somebody spoke of English, they used to run away imagining that they are quite secure or they can secure the skill in no time. Systematically they are unfailingly discarded after every interview. So, students, please be clear that NO AGENCY EVER WANTS TO RECRUIT SOME ONE WHO FAILS TO CONVINCE THEM OF  THE ABILITY  TO COMMUNICATE, EVEN IF THE WORK DOES NOT INVOLVE PUBLIC INTERACTION. The top management looks for personnel who can handle situations even if their PRO is away on some other mission. Kindly do not imagine that your PG degree or a Doctoral TITLE WOULD PUT YOU IN GOOD STEAD Instead it may put you at the backyard. In some recruiting agencies they have a new interpretation for the present day degree holders. “Qualification reflects the scale of inadequacy”. They imply that persons of higher qualification are more inadequate

[Proportional idiocy?]. Another way of looking at this perception is, the greater the qualification the higher the expectation of quality. Many a time I have seen youngsters saying “I know this, that, 7 computer languages and I have a PG diploma in communication” Many of the people are mere PG dilemmas if you open a discussion on any topic including those on their attainments. So, dear student please remember that you have to learn rather than possess degrees, diplomas and titles. Not one of them can speak for you. The crux of the issue is education is the stage of foundation. Bad foundations have the risk of collapse any time. Mere biological growth cannot help you stand erect in the society of professionals and competitors. [More of it later] Please note that learning is a process helped by another process called teaching.

to continue     K. Raman