Monday, October 19, 2009

What does a Teacher make?

Today, I got a mail from one of my teachers, Prof. C. D. Sebastian (IIT Bombay), about what do teachers make? The content is copy-pasted below:
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What Do Teachers Make?

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?" To stress his point he said to another guest; "You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?"

Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You want to know what I make?" (She paused for a second, then began...) "Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor winner. I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental.

You want to know what I make? (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table)

I make kids wonder.

I make them question.

I make them apologize and mean it.

I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.

I teach them to write and then I make them write. Keyboarding isn't everything.

I make them read, read, read.

I make them show all their work in math. They use their God given brain, not the man-made calculator.

I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know about English while preserving their unique cultural identity.

I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.

I make my students stand, placing their hand over their heart to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, One Nation Under God, because we live in the United States of America.

Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life.

(Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.)

Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn't everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant. You want to know what I make? I MAKE A DIFFERENCE. What do you make Mr. CEO?

His jaw dropped, he went silent.
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I truly believe that there are a lot of teachers who think this way (like Bonnie). Infact, most of my teachers share this thought, and I can safely assume that this is the same experience with every other individual as well (I am using Hypothesis testing here with null hypothesis as "All teachers think like Bonnie". And I am the sample where it is found true. So I do not have sufficient evidence to reject the null hypothesis. :)

Parents give birth to child and society modifies the child to an adult. Teachers play the most important role in this modification process. Teachers don't have any role in growth of body, they help it develop. If teachers were not there, a child anyways would have grown to an adult, but teachers make this adult "A human being" - an adult worth being called a human being. And that is the difference they make. As as Udham Singh puts it, "They are teachers who make life worth living". And that's the precise reason why teachers (Guru) have been put up before God himself.
(Guru govind dou khare, kaake lagu pai; Balihari Guru apno, jin govind diyo milai) - meaning Teacher and God, if both are in front of me, who should I bow to and touch feet? Then I realize that I am more indebted to my teacher who is the one who paved the way for my meeting with God.

Actually the word 'teacher' can be interpreted in two clearly different ways : 'Shikshak' and 'Guru'. I believe great teachers belong to latter definition. 'Shikshak' just imparts knowledge of some field and is being paid like in any other profession. The noble part of this activity comes from being a 'Guru'. People who become teachers without giving a thought to this - are confused themselves and propagate this confusion further. I have found many a people who do not have any respect for their teachers and they firmly believe that what their interaction with their teachers was what they had with any other merchant. Unfortunately true but there are teachers who consciously promote tuition without teaching anything in school. And there is a huge veil of ignorance "Maya" over the minds of many.

Personally, I feel happy and proud both to have received so many great teachers in my life and I continue to get teachings from them. I am blessed. I really love all of them from bottom of my heart. And I consider myself perfect composition of their blessings and good wishes. I am thankful to the Almighty for giving me undoubtedly the best teachers in the world.

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