HAPPY TEACHERS DAY - Part 2 - TEACHING IS A SOFT SKILL

HAPPY TEACHERS DAY - Part 2 - TEACHING IS A SOFT SKILL

MUSINGS ON THE EVE OF TEACHERS DAY

By

VIKRAM KARVE

Let me wish a very Happy Teachers Day on the fifth of September to all Teachers and to all Students too. 

Well, once upon a time, I used to be a Teacher too.

So, on the eve of Teachers Day, here  are some thoughts I would like to share with you. 

A teacher is a trustee.

It is just like the birds. You take a flock of young students under your wings, nurture them, teach them to “fly”, and when they are ready, you release them into the world, set them free, watch them with pride as they fly into the sky, soar high above you, knowing that they will never come back, wishing that they reach great heights which you could never reach, for nothing gives a teacher more happiness than when his student excels and surpasses the teacher himself. 

I have learned from experience that teaching has got less to do with knowledge and more to do with communication.

Teaching is about relationships as well as pedagogy.

Teaching is more about feeling than facts.

It is all a question of vibes. Yes, effective teaching and learning depends on vibes.

Once you establish positive vibes with your students, you can feel the delightful chemistry being generated between you and your students. 

In the parlance of Electrical Engineering, it is like perfect impedance matching, the maximum power transfer theorem, and you can experience the classroom rocking with resonance, when all the resistance to the flow of knowledge disappears, the intellectual friction vanishes, the barriers to communication melt away and seamless effortless learning is achieved.

It is not important how much a teacher knows.

What is important is how much the student learns.

Like I said, communication skills are far more important than qualifications.

Teaching is about relationships as well as pedagogy – it is more about feeling than facts.

Soft Skills outweigh Hard Skills as far as the art of teaching is concerned.

A highly qualified Ph.D. who does not know the art of teaching and fails to establish good vibes with his students cannot make his lectures engrossing which may result in students losing interest in the subject and in some cases an insensitive teacher who lacks the soft interpersonal and communication skills may even end up making his students hate and despise that subject. 

It is easy to make simple things difficult but difficult to make complicated things easy. 

It requires good teaching style, effective communication skills and appropriate soft skills to make difficult things easy and enjoyable to learn. 

Yes, learning must be enjoyable, not dry, didactic, boring and painful.

It is important for a teacher to remember that learning comprises two pedagogic processes: 

Getting knowledge that is inside to move out, 

and

Getting knowledge that is outside to move in.

The second part of imparting knowledge from outside into the student is comparatively easier, once you’ve got the students interested, eager to learn, and if the teacher is proficient in teaching skills and knowledgeable in the subject and domain specialization.

It is the first aspect, getting knowledge that is inside the student to move out, facilitating inward discovery on one’s self, help unlock the treasure within the student that is more challenging and is the true test and indeed the hallmark of a good teacher. 

I trust I have succeeded in achieving this.

Today I feel a sense of pride tinged with nostalgic sadness as my protégés “fly” off to conquer great heights of success in their careers. It was a delightful experience to mentor young bright minds, to see them flower, blossom, bloom and flourish before your own eyes, observe them metamorphose from students into professionals.

I love being in the company of young talented people, full of zeal and enthusiasm, with a zest for living and a passion for learning. 

It makes me feel good and youthful, and as always, I “learn” more than I “teach”.

I feel sad, wanting to hold them back, not wanting to part, but I know I have to let them go to their destinies.

My dear students, as I watch you with pride in my heart, swiftly fly away, soaring high above me in the sky, vanish into the distance, to all my dear students, I sincerely wish you from the bottom of my heart: GODSPEED.

Godspeed – a wish for a prosperous journey and good fortune, my dear young friends, as you embark upon your first career, a new phase of your life.

VIKRAM KARVE 

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2012
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

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About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer. Educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories, creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional research papers in journals and edited in-house journals for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing. Vikram lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

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Email: vikramkarve@sify.com

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