TEACHING No more a noble profession

GURUR BRAMHA GURUR VISHNU, GURUR DEVO
MAHESHWARA,
GURUR SAKSHAT
PARABRAMHA,
TASMAY SHRI
GURUVEY NAMAH!

This means Teacher is GOD.

These are the lines which we have heard since childhood and grown up with but do we still believe in these lines? Are we respecting our child”s teacher as much as we respected our own teachers? Many people complain that their child does not respect them like we did. They say, “We never had the guts to back answer our parents”. Finally the entire blame is either on the school or on the television. Do we really feel that these are the only two factors affecting the child”s behaviour. Parents and family environment also contribute to the misbehaviour of the child.

As a Teacher I have experienced so many parents finding faults in the teachers and also telling their child that they will complaint against the teacher to the management. Now imagine, if the parents are treating the teachers like paid servants, why are we expecting the child to respect them? These values also affect the child”s behaviour with his own parents and elders. The child realizes that he can find mistakes from is teachers as well as his parents. Usually we find such children complaining against their father to their mother or vice-versa. They also go to the extent of complaining against their parents to their grandparents.

Teaching is now no more a noble profession, where teachers were treated as gurus and the teachers were always right. Now this confidence in a teacher is seen only in the pre-primary students. For these tiny tots their teacher is more that a mother to them and is the best person. She is their idol and they feel very proud to be their student. My 4 yrs old son Lakshya when asked “What your School”s name is”? proudly replies “Sandipani & my teachers name is Binita Teacher”. You can see the pride in his eyes when he utters his teachers name. Then why does this confidence and respect fade off as they grow up?

Lets discuss as to why the scenario has changed so much over the years:-

• Nuclear families: Small families with one or two children, parents are so much in love with their child that the child is always right for them.

• Lack of time: Working Parents do not have the time to listen to the complete problem and jump to conclusions without finding out the complete problem.

• Affluency: Since both the parents are working they have the money but no time to teach moral values to the child. Parents have to realise that some family values can be inculcated in the child by either their parents or grandparents and not by maid servants.

• Expectations: All parents consider their child to be Einstein or Tagore. They do not evaluate the calibre of their child and expect much more from the child. If the child cannot fulfil their expectations he/she gets frustrated and starts misbehaving.

• Fatigue: After working the whole day parents are so tired that they give in to all their child”s demand and most of the children now-a-days know that they are emotionally more stronger than their parents.

• Work load: Teachers are also over-loaded with work and the management spies on them which is clearly noticeable by the children. This is very humiliating for the teacher and she starts losing respect. The teachers should be given due respect by the parents which in turn will teach the child to respect and honour his/her teachers as well as elders.

Written by — Muskaan Nayyar