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The finest hour?
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Today's teachers, who move only within the confines of syllabi, are like bridled horses. Even as the world celebrates the International Teachers' Day on September 5, our teachers are groping in the dark in search of an identity.
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The too-willing student who sacrifices his finger for the sake of his guru, can be dismissed as mythical. The ire of the disciple who sets out to avenge the murder of his master, could be cinematic. The teacher, who burns himself down to become a virtual guiding light for his followers, can be just another pipe dream. Truth never works on such simple themes.
It is silly to assume that Gangadharan, who is ready to part with Rs. 7 lakh for his appointment as lecturer in a Plus-Two school, is making a sacrifice. The promise of a fat income acts as a bait. The long vacation and tension-free work ambience come as bonus.
But there are indeed teachers, who are genuinely inspired. You can see such motivated souls right at your neighborhood kindergarten.
"We prefer teachers who have a genuine love for kids. Patience is the key word here," says Yvonne Fernandez, principal of the Good Shepherd Kindergarten in the city.
Proper schooling makes all the difference these days. But, what about the teachers? Do they get a good share of the pie?
Teaching can at times be a thankless job. Come to a private unaided school. The law stipulates that there should be a minimum salary of Rs. 3,000. Many school authorities, in turn, force the hapless teachers swear that they get it, even though the actual salary is much less than Rs. 1,000. The Government, in order to curb the malpractice, insists that the salary payment should be through cheque instead of liquid cash. The school authorities find an instant solution -- in order to get the cheque for Rs. 3,000, the teachers have to pay in advance a monthly sum of Rs. 2,000, in cash!
The case is no different in an aided school. The monster here is "division fall". "You have to pitch in on a leave vacancy,"
S. Thushar, a B.Ed graduate refers to the initial hiccups. "Still, job security is a mirage, for the threat of division fall is always there."
You need to do a bit of PR work for roping in students for the class. Being the junior most, a lot depends on the number of students. Half your life has to be spent mustering children, whenever there is a false alarm of "AEO inspection". All that you have learned in your BEd class, psychology and philosophy, come handy on such emergency situations."
Most of those B.Ed students, who have already booked seats in some aided schools before doing the course, know how much they have to throw in for a safe settlement. "You should be ready to part with Rs 5 or Rs. 6 lakhs for a post in the Upper Primary school, not to say about the higher secondary schools," says Thomas, a candidate. It is glamorous being a plus-two lecturer, but the truth is that you need an extra job to make ends meet. And as far as the elite College lecturers are concerned, the donation is surprisingly low, in spite of their fat UGC pay. For the simple reason that qualified (NET) applicants are still few in number and the job security (of cub lecturers in various private colleges) is still a myth, due to pre-degree de-linking. Once in, it's smooth sailing. You need not worry much about your bullying seniors, as in other professions.
"You get what people call job satisfaction, as the feedback here is almost immediate. You can keep on improvising until you hit the right chord of communication," says Vijayadharan, a UP school teacher. But tread softly, for you are not dealing with dust-ridden files, but thirsty minds ready to pick up whatever you leave behind. The well-greased cane that you sparingly use in schools should not be the means, method and the end, but it should underline at least one important point in life. "Communication is the most important thing, whatever be your teaching style," continues M.J. Manoj, lecturer, S.N. College. "Some teachers know a lot, but fail in the class."
Kishore, a student of Communicative English, is keen to market his talents among the young children in his locality just for the heck of it. "An hour a week. I get only Rs. 10 for that. Still it is something to be a teacher." For honing their skills, many neo-graduates start their career in parallel colleges. The manner of teaching here is unlike that of the schools and colleges. Radhakrishnan, a parallel college teacher, is willing to share some of the top secrets, "You have to break the piece into small bits and crumbs to help the students digest. In colleges, they teach them in English. The students who are not good at the language are helpless there." So the tutorials compete to nullify the Anglican effect.
Another maxim is that even if you are not deep into the subject, you can survive if you are pushing on the humorous side. Got a good collection of printed notes and half a dozen unemployed graduates, and you can even start running an institution." But sorry, this is not the script for all the institutes.
Harikumar, who teaches Chemistry in one such tutorial, warns about the pitfalls, "The tutorial industry is a virtual whirlpool. It is not easy to get out once you are in. You get enough money and respect from the students and you won't sincerely wish for better prospects in life." There is a traditional concept that the teacher is one up. "Teachers should be like Caesar's wife, above suspicion. At a stage, they influence the children more than even their parents," says Chemmanam Chacko, veteran poet.
"Today's teachers, who move within the confines of syllabi, are like bridled horses. The problem is that many educated persons stop being students once they become teachers," says Manoharan, a Plus-two lecturer. A science teacher, who is not aware of the recent strides in genetic engineering and astronomy, can silence the genuine doubts of a student using the Holy Scripture called Syllabus. A language teacher who insists on rules to snuff out the confidence of his students in communication can justify himself with his big `Wren and Martin'.
Still, teachers are considered the beacons of the society. They are the ones we look upon whenever we are lost in this wild, wild world. Retired teachers often say about the happiness they get when they meet students working in various fronts. But there are teachers who get the rough end of the pineapple as well. "I saw this student when I went to the village office. He dunked his head behind a heap of files on seeing me," complains a retired teacher. The student's viewpoint should also be included to make the teacher's story look convincing.
MANU REMAKANT
Illustration: Sasikumar
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Thiruvananthapuram
Visakhapatnam
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