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Teachers Day Musings

I was invited to a school on the occasion of Teachers Day (5 Sept.) to speak to the teachers. I have been a teacher for over one and a half decades now. This process of teaching and learning fascinate me. It is a process that is ever evolving and is impacted by so many factors. The teachers need to constantly adjust to these changes and teach.

What have been the changes in recent years? And how the teachers ought to adjust or negotiate with the changes? Here are some thoughts:

1. With the democratisation of information, thanks to Internet and Web, the job of a teacher is more to impart knowledge than to feed information. The information dissemination part of teaching has been taken over by technology. Therefore a teacher now needs to concentrate more on knowledge than feeding facts.

2. Thanks to emerging domains of knowledge and technology learning has become collaborative. Teachers should take note of it and learn the collaborative techniques to facilitate learning.

Another important aspect is the role a teacher plays in shaping the personality of the students. Often students, especially in the younger age, look up to their teacher for life lessons. Teachers need to appreciate that they are (or could be) role models for children. Today in India in absence of good role models, teachers need to position themselves as role models for the students to follow. This is a great responsibility. Are we, the teachers ready to take this responsibility? 

Irony 

There are three common types of irony: Verbal, dramatic and cosmic.

Verbal irony occurs when either the speaker means something totally different than what he/she is saying or the audience realizes, because of their knowledge of the particular situation to which the speaker is referring, that the opposite of what a character is saying is true. Dramatic irony occurs when facts are not known to the characters in a work of literature but are known by the audience. Cosmic irony is what at the end of the day happens, despite all efforts otherwise.

An example could be be seen in Shakespeare’s Othello. Iago begs his wife to steal Desdemona’s handkerchief so he can use this as conclusive proof that Cassio is having an affair with Desdemona. At the end of the play, when Othello tells Iago’s wife about the handkerchief, she confesses that Iago put her up to stealing it. Iago winds up being at Cassio’s mercy. The very handkerchief Iago thought would allow him to become lieutenant and bring Cassio to ruins was the handkerchief that brought Iago to ruins and exalted Cassio even higher than his position of lieutenant.

Now all types of irony could be seen, witnessed and experienced in India. Just look around.

Teachers Day Greetings

Happy Teachers Day, Life

You have been the greatest teacher to me

Tail piece: Breaking News

Recently the Enforcement Directorate officers broke the lockers of Baba X and found two kilos of Onions.

Posted on 8.9.2015 in www.orissadiary.com

See it here:

http://www.orissadiary.com/ShowOriyaColumn.asp?id=61439