TEACHER SURVIVAL GUIDE
Not all classrooms of today are equipped with the parenting of new age learning stream which we observe at the taste to tongue the new generation of age. A Teacher, who is now a FACILITATOR in this generation encapsulates a new order of delivery with the extension of a knowledge society and not a content delivery or an interpretation of book knowledge in real life. The innovation is the ultimate to generate interest of learning for the kids today. It mounts a lot of energy and thoughts to be an innovative educator who is of certain requisite to deliver the knowledge to the cyber society of today.
The mantra is Engage Me or Enrage Me, from the side of the students at large.
As a matter of fact, it is true to the world that the teachers are no longer the sole imparters of knowledge but they need to empower the students to learn at the pace and at their leisure through personal learning networks keeping their special traits of talents and interests. The teachers just don’t end up after the class is over but on the jolt for 24 hours around the cyber linkage or social networks further. There is no wall now or the boundary of learning. The innovative educator has to evolve a personal learning network for his or her improvement first. Not only this, it has to reach to the students as well wherein there is no boundary of limitation in a big way. It is a way to build ones’ own classroom and one’s own network of learning. The change or the shift here is that we can connect around and share ideas which is not so in the one to many mode of classroom learning.
The new age imaginative teacher has to be fertile in laminating the knowledge from roots and share the same with his students of all age and figure. It also reflects of a Quality Teacher to share the unknown and the unnoticed with the religious sentiments of repute.
The fact lies in the Teacher being an Innovator of traits and essence to explore the attention in the classroom. The priority of taking Education and technology as a means to go together and it laminates with the questions in our minds viz. Should we do more, less? What about virtual schools? Interactive whiteboards? Cell phones? Facebook and Twitter? Should we let kids be out there on the ‘net? Should we post their pictures? These are legitimate conversations, and each person has to make these kinds of decisions based on their own comfort levels and according to the needs of the individual child. To my knowledge and interest, they must be given an opportunity only when required but as a habbit.
The innovative learning is not limited to a physical space but an open learning scenario with a preface to one’s comfort at his reading home at home or a TV room at large. It is very much unlike the classroom learning with the same group all days, all the time. Here the community is different and the learning is more spectacular further. Here the teacher concerned is the one who has to be engaged and involved in the conversations as a leader or a facilitator further.
What is a priority for the Educators, policymakers and the private sector is the need to strive together and make India a global superpower by 2020? The five year plans in India root to new phases at times but the delivery is hard to explode in particular. As per the demands and researches, the challenge is to create an integrated education system that:
- Provides access to quality education that is practical, relevant, customised and effective
- Can adopt innovative ways (tech-based) to provide faster expansion of opportunities of education to all
- Looks for bridging the gap between education and employability
- Promotes social equality/economic viability
It is evident that one policy is not going to help all. The need of the hour is to have specific policies for various levels and areas of education, and also specific to various regions.
As an academician, I do feel that “Everyone is a genius. But, if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” as do one of the inventors of past years.
Cheers and Happy Learning…..
Dr. Dheeraj Mehrotra (Author, Educational Innovator, National Teacher Awardee)
Queries/ Feedback: tqmhead@aol.com
