Teachers. They are the 3rd biggest influence in our lives. From what I've experienced, the best teacher is one who follows the "No man is left behind" rule, that is the subject is taught in such a manner that everyone in the class understands the essence and unfortunately, this kind of teachers have become a rarity and surprisingly in universities(at least in the part of the world where I'm from) the number is even worse. I've been lucky to have known a handful of such teachers since my childhood and I owe them a lot of what I am today.
So now we ask ourselves why is it becoming increasingly difficult to find such teachers in universities. Let us take a look at some of the qualities that a teacher following the "No man is left behind" rule displays.
1. Mastery of the subject
2. Drawing analogies in everyday life to explain the subject matter
3. Good communication skills
4. A love for teaching
While anyone with mastery in the subject can't be a good teacher, a good teacher is always one who has mastery over his/her subject and the other 3 qualities on the list seem to be what differentiates a teacher who inspires his/her students from someone who make the students feel like they want to jump off a cliff! These qualities enable the teacher to teach the subject in a manner such that it is engraved into their students.
Now, lets see what universities(some of the best in my country - India) look for when they hire faculty.
1. Mastery of the Subject
2. Previous research done
3. Promise of future research activities
The evidence can't be any clearer, it happens most of the time that even though the research credentials of the hired faculty are top notch, they don't possess the necessary skill set to inspire their students and make them understand the subject at a deeper level. Now, neither these teachers nor the university takes any steps to bridge this divide but leave no stone unturned when complaining that the smartest students of the country are not interested in what there is to be taught and don't want to pursue research.
An MIT professor once said that if a student isn't feeling interested in the subject, then it is the teacher's fault. The basic trait that is lacking here is the ability to care about how much the students are able to take in, until this is taken care of one can't change in the faculty's style of teaching. But once such a feeling creeps up, it creates an immeasurable drive to refine his/her teaching style and present the material in a manner which seems natural and makes the students feel like it is almost intuitive.
The Verdict: Teaching needs to be given just as much importance as Research because only then will we be able to direct the best minds in the country towards research which would definitely empower the nation in a grand way.
So now we ask ourselves why is it becoming increasingly difficult to find such teachers in universities. Let us take a look at some of the qualities that a teacher following the "No man is left behind" rule displays.
1. Mastery of the subject
2. Drawing analogies in everyday life to explain the subject matter
3. Good communication skills
4. A love for teaching
While anyone with mastery in the subject can't be a good teacher, a good teacher is always one who has mastery over his/her subject and the other 3 qualities on the list seem to be what differentiates a teacher who inspires his/her students from someone who make the students feel like they want to jump off a cliff! These qualities enable the teacher to teach the subject in a manner such that it is engraved into their students.
Now, lets see what universities(some of the best in my country - India) look for when they hire faculty.
1. Mastery of the Subject
2. Previous research done
3. Promise of future research activities
The evidence can't be any clearer, it happens most of the time that even though the research credentials of the hired faculty are top notch, they don't possess the necessary skill set to inspire their students and make them understand the subject at a deeper level. Now, neither these teachers nor the university takes any steps to bridge this divide but leave no stone unturned when complaining that the smartest students of the country are not interested in what there is to be taught and don't want to pursue research.
An MIT professor once said that if a student isn't feeling interested in the subject, then it is the teacher's fault. The basic trait that is lacking here is the ability to care about how much the students are able to take in, until this is taken care of one can't change in the faculty's style of teaching. But once such a feeling creeps up, it creates an immeasurable drive to refine his/her teaching style and present the material in a manner which seems natural and makes the students feel like it is almost intuitive.
The Verdict: Teaching needs to be given just as much importance as Research because only then will we be able to direct the best minds in the country towards research which would definitely empower the nation in a grand way.
Interesting post. At Techniche in Guwahati, I was astonished at the organizational skills of the students in creating such an event. Those students would surely be capable of banding together to make use of web-based materials to create powerful learning experiences on their own. That may be a way forward.
ReplyDeleteJonathan Grudin
Sure Ben, citation would be appreciated and I’m curious to know how you’ve come across my article from 8 years ago.
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