Learn and let learn

The chemistry between the student and teacher in a classroom is a very interesting topic.
From the student's point of view, they need someone they can relate with. Someone who they can speak with and above all trust completely. They need the affirmation from their teachers that they are special, and that they have the ability. They need teachers who will treat them as equals and consider their little problems as real problems and discuss it with them like adults. As children we really want to be taken seriously and treated with respect. Something which often the grown ups fail to understand. For young students, learning is seldom ever the primary objective in going to school. It is merely the by-product of their interactions with other students and teachers, their surroundings and the experiences that they get in the school.

On the other hand, teachers feel that a student should respect them, listen to them and learn from them. They have the experience and the knowledge and which by default puts them in a position of authority over the students. However the experience, knowledge and the power does not mean much to a student who feels misunderstood or weak or simply wants the attention. The knowledge and authority of a teacher therefore does not automatically translate into respect and trust from the student. Which is why many times there is a communication gap between the two.

From my personal experience, I have had teachers who walked into the class with an air of superiority. Some of them controlled a class by injecting fear of punishment in the hearts of students. Some of them were so unapproachable, I could never ask them questions, I felt silly to stand up and let everyone know that I wasn't following a thing.
According to me the teacher who walks into a classroom with a view of controlling the class has already lost half the battle in making his students more receptive to him. No doubt we do a lot of things because of fear, but I think we have the potential of doing a lot more when we see the sense of doing it and want to do it for our own reasons.
Looking back at the times when I have been a student, I think I would really have liked a teacher who walked into the classroom with the view of learning and helping others learn in the process. That would be my instant connection with the teacher, that we are both here to learn. That we are both here to absorb equally from each other. That we are both contributing to each others process of gaining knowledge.

Professional teachers may disagree with me, or may be able to throw some light over my mere observations. Do help me understand what steps are taken to improve the chemistry between a student and teacher in a classroom? What makes a student want to listen to a teacher without force? How do you communicate and connect with your students?

Technology Vs Teachers

Technology plays a big role in today's education. Easy availability of computers and accessibility and affordability of internet connection means that an unlimited quantity of information on an unlimited number of topics is available for free at our finger tips. People have wondered if there is any need for teachers at all any more?
I saw this innovative approach used by Sugata Mitra here, and it made me think.

The large amount of information on the internet is similar to the huge amount of products and shops which are available within the real world. Just like people flock towards the product/shop with the most glossy look or in other words the product that is advertised more and made more visible, similarly within the virtual world some applications, or websites are advertised better and made more visible and hence they are the most popular. Using the model of learning using the internet, one cannot guarantee that the students will open the right sites and go about the process of learning in a systematic way. I therefore think it is very important that there are teachers who can push the students in the right direction. Giving assignments or open ended questions on different topics and asking them to do a research maybe one way of doing this.

Also there is so much information on the internet, but there is no obvious way of making sure of the correctness and validity of the data. Teachers are therefore required so that students can come and verify their findings, understand its context, and discuss its application for the problem at hand.

I also feel that the maximum impact of the internet based learning can be seen on the young minds in remote villages and rural areas just because good teachers don't want to go there, and these children are so unaware and unexposed to the rest of the world that exposure in any form is better than none. But unfortunately remote villages also mean that they may not have internet connection or even electricity to run computers. What can be done in this case? How do we solve this problem?

One idea I had was the introduction of compulsory community service for a fixed period for city schools/colleges. There are countries around the world where compulsory military service is required by everyone. Why can't we have something similar in India. Make students from secondary or high school (maybe in 9th std and 11th std) go to nearby rural areas and conduct workshops under the guidance of their teachers. The state government / local governing body can distribute the responsibility to all the schools and colleges of that area. The school that shows the best results could be rewarded.

So far I am sticking with the following equations

Technology + Good teachers = Best education

But in the absence of good teachers, technology + helping hand from other privileged sector of society =  Decent education

Don't be a teacher, be a super-hero

"No.."
I said into the microphone, standing on stage in front of thousands of students and all my teachers. I had participated in the personality contest for first year engineers organised by the senior students of the college. I was being asked if I would like to be a teacher and why. I was looking at the panel of judges, all teachers, all of them looking at me expectantly. I knew the expected answer was to say yes, and then praise the job of the teachers. But I had already said no impulsively, and everyone in the audience had become silent and was staring at me. I had to continue,
"No, I don't want to be a teacher. I don't think I have the strength and the right qualities that is needed to be a teacher. The job of the teacher is of great responsibility. You have the power to make or break the future of the youth. You are the tools to influence the future of our country. At this moment, I don't know if I can do that."
The face of the judges, and the claps from the students, told me that I had saved myself in that round. I didn't end up winning the competition (due to my lack of knowledge on a current affair question), but that is beside the  point now.

The point is do teachers understand what role they are playing in the lives of their student? We don't just go to school/college to study a syllabus, get marks and get jobs. We go there to get an experience. To get an exposure to different aspects of life. We can all read our books and study the chapters on our own. But we all need the motivation. We don't need teachers to teach us the obvious. We need teachers to tell us what is not there in the text book. We need teachers who inspire us and push us and believe in us. We need teachers who are interested in us. Some one who can give us more feedback than just the marks and grades on our test papers. Someone who can touch our lives and send us off on a journey to discover ourselves armed with the some fundamental real world knowledge.

Now then, do you want to be a teacher? And why?