ROLE OF A MODERN TEACHER POST COVID-19

It is said that Teaching is a profession that creates all other professions.  Teachers have earned the respect of those who are educated, as well as those who were less fortunate to have formal education over the centuries. They have occupied an exalted position in society which valued knowledge as a foundation for success in many or all aspects of life. So until the 21st century, the Teacher was a sage on the stage.

A glimpse of the past position of a Teacher: 

In Ancient India, teachers were called Gurus (with knowledge of not only Vedas, Brahmanas, Upanishads and Dharmasutras, but also had knowledge of various arts and skills). They taught a select few of their choice in their Gurukul/Ashrams. In South Indian kingdoms, ghatikas, agraharas, temples, mathas, Jain basadis and Buddhist viharas imparted education.  Among the ancient Indian universities in the North, Nalanda 5th to 12th Century CE and Takshashila are most renowned. The then Chancellor of Nalanda University, Shilabadhra, was the highest living authority on Yogashastra. During the medieval period, maktabas and madrassas became part of the education system.

Dronacharya Banishing Eklavya from his Exclusive Gurukul for Royal Princes

In European nations during the medieval period, teachers were often called Masters. (Most were priests, often with knowledge of religious texts and only very basic general education otherwise) It is said that one of the most learned men of all time, Confucius (561 BC), became the first private teacher in history. 

Confucius: The Teacher was a Sage on the Stage

Teachers’ expertise mattered.  Hence the education system was teacher-centric until the early 20th century. The late 20th century marked the gradual transition from a teacher-centric to learner-centric education system. In 1960, UNESCO declared education to be the ‘birthright of the child.’ The principle of imparting education without discrimination on any ground, resulted in the policy of inclusive education being made part of education system. This called for a change in the role of teachers, a change in the mindsets of the administrators and management, a change in infrastructure of educational institutions, calling for a flexible pedagogy but a common curriculum for each grade in spite of the differential needs of the students in the inclusive classroom.  

Teachers, who until then, were trained to face a homogenous group of students with almost similar abilities, now had to deal with differently-abled children who were totally blind, totally deaf, etc. The teacher’s mastery over subject matter alone could not make him/her a successful teacher.  His success came to be linked to the success of his students. Thus teachers had to equip themselves to meet the ever changing demands of the education system.

There was also a gradual transition in curricula. The knowledge and examination-centric curriculum was replaced by environmental-centric, student-centric and community-centric curricula in tune with UNESCO’s education for sustainable development (ESD) goals.  ESD empowers everyone to make informed decisions in favour of environmental integrity, economic viability and a just society, for present and future generations. It aims to provide the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to address the challenges of sustainable development.

Today We Need Education to Meet these Goals of Sustainable Development

The 21st century teacher counters a double-pronged challenge.  One, the massive invasion of technology into education, which has required the 19th and 20th century teachers to leapfrog into 21st century skills for which they were never trained. Twenty-first century learners are collaborative networkers and communicators who use adaptive and creative information; they are media and technology savvy, given to instant gratification and reliant on media in all its various forms.

Transitioning from Books to Online Teaching

The second challenge is the Post Covid-19 pandemic scenario which put a full-stop to the time-tested ways of face-to-face education imparted in educational institutions.  Though online education had already been gradually introduced in schools in recent years, with teachers almost successfully managing the blended-mode approach in the classroom, the necessity to maintain social-distancing during the pandemic has resulted in teach-from-home-online-only to scattered students; each in his/her own home.  This has complicated matters with the mindsets of teachers, students, school managements and parents requiring sea changes to accept the reality of the unexpected situation. 

Mastering TPCK: The Teacher must have Technological, Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Almost overnight, continuous electric supply, appropriate hardware, software, internet access at all times and training to use these online tools and above all, adequate finances for all these, have become critical issues to grapple with.  So the Teacher today is no longer ‘a sage on the stage, but a guide by the side’.  

The multiple roles today’s teacher has to play include:

• Be humane
• Have personal integrity
• Have good human relations with stakeholders in the work environment and in society
• Be adaptive and respectful of cultural values – your own and that of others
• Be a lifelong learner; with technological pedagogical content knowledge – TPCK 
• Be a facilitator for student learning
• Be a Researcher-Innovator-Inventor
• Be quick to adapt to changes in society and ever ready to face challenges
• Be a democratic administrator, policy planner and implementer at the ground level
• Be flexible in curriculum transaction
• Be an evaluation expert – with an ability to conduct online exams and evaluate online
• Be a guide and counsellor
• Have global competencies
• Be a collaborative networker and communicator
• Treasure the good old values of a teacher, eg punctuality, self-discipline, etc.
• But discard redundant values such as, ego over being the sole knowledge dispenser/expert
• Don’t sympathise, empathise with both learners and parents in hard times
• Be responsible for the all-round development and progress of the student besides intellectual development

Considering that during the pandemic, a majority of these roles were thrust upon the teachers almost overnight with little or next-to-no time for preparing themselves, it is a matter of pride that the members of our teaching community have adapted so well to these instant, while battling their own tragedies in the home front, economic crises in the family, fear of the uncertainties, and no digital support.

Image credits: Google

Disclaimer:  This is a personal blog. Any views or opinions represented in this blog are personal and belong solely to the authors. These do not represent views/ opinions of people, institutions or organizations that authors are associated with in their professional capacity.

About our guest author:

Prof. M S Padmini is a former Director of CES, Indian Institute of Education, Pune and former Professor and Head of the Dept of Education, Shivaji University in Kolhapur, Maharashtra.

Having done her schooling in Mysore and Talaserry in Kerala, she completed her B.Sc B.Ed. from RIE (Regional Institute of Education) formerly known as RCE, Regional College of Education, Mysore. The Institute is one of the five such Institutes set up by the Government of India nationwide, to cater to the needs of teachers and teacher educators in the States and UTs under their jurisdiction. The RIEs are also constituent units of the NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training), New Delhi. She went on to do a PhD as a Junior Research Fellow (JRF) at the Educational Research Innovation Committee (ERIC) at RIE, Ajmer. 

Prof. Padmini has worked on various academic research and administrative bodies in different universities and organisations affiliated to the UGC and ICSSR in India. She has served as a member of the M.Ed. curriculum construction NCTE, New Delhi. She has undertaken several major and minor research projects of UGC and also served as a member-coordinator of peer team committees of NAAC, Bangalore.  She has presented a paper in an international conference in Valencia, Spain. 

Despite having retired from university service in July 2016, she is closely associated with activities of various academic groups besides delivering online lectures in reference courses, besides guiding her last research student for her PhD.  She remains an invited member of BOS of some institutions and a member of Internal Quality Assurance Cells (IQAC).  

With a lifetime of educational experience behind her, she believes in continuously enriching herself and keeping herself updated with the latest developments the field of education.