Educate Educators

S. Indira Narayan is an educationist with more than 35 years of rich experience in the teaching field. She has held multiple portfolios. She has been associated with St. Ann’s High School, ICSE, ISC, Secunderabad, for over three decades, teaching English language and English literature for classes 10, 11 and 12. The last portfolio she held was as Academic Coordinator, St. Ann's High School, at Kompally Hyderabad, under the same management. Indira Narayan has conducted numerous workshops for school teachers and continues to do so. She is also interested in writing and blogs regularly on http://vinplaksha.wordpress.com/ 

---

New knowledge and technological advancements are constantly emerging in today’s world and hence it is essential for teachers to be lifelong learners. The need to be well-informed and be in touch with various teaching related developments is imperative for today’s teachers. Gone are the days when teachers taught the same material year after year without ever updating their knowledge or pedagogical approaches. Constant changes are being promoted in the field of education.  With technology literally coming to the doorstep and awareness increasing, it becomes necessary for teachers to be regularly updating themselves with these new ideas and theories in education. Traditional teaching methods, once considered the cornerstone of education, are being increasingly supplemented and, in many cases, replaced by innovative methods. Bringing innovation and creativity into their teaching, their methodology, is what today’s teachers have to do, while going along with the regular teaching pattern. The goal of education today is to help students think out of the box and into the depth or scope of the subject. To be thinkers, not just passive listeners or rote learners. It is now time for teachers to follow and incorporate technology, enhance student centred learning, encourage inclusivity and generally prepare students to face the challenges of the 21^st century. Computer, laptop, internet, Wi-Fi and Google search are terms even a child is familiar with. Some schools have their teachers make their day’s report on the computer and email it to the School Administration before signing off for the day. I write this to impress upon all readers that the use of technology is commonplace now. At the tap of a button a world of information opens up from the internet. A teacher interested in moving forward in her teaching and making it interesting should and must read up on her subject related matter, update and enrich herself with knowledge to be able to pass it down to her class. Such a class will definitely stand out as achievers. School management should periodically arrange workshops for teachers, educating them in the latest teaching styles. Many a time for these workshops, a day is spent, but at the end of it, very little matter/ techniques are really learnt. Some lecture, some small activity, usually by breaking participants into groups, an interactive session where the response comes from only a few of the teachers present, is usually what happens. It means money for the school management with very little input from the teachers. Workshops should be such that they involve teachers to actively participate during the session, give them hands-on experience, new techniques in teaching and motivate them to update their subject knowledge. A session packed with information, practical involvement, listening, assimilating and enriching teachers. The present day children do not hesitate to speak their mind or ask pertinent questions, which sometimes makes the teacher feel they are impertinent. Why? Most of the time it is because the teacher does not know how to respond. This is where I say knowledge update is a must for educators, teachers. Being lifelong learners also helps teachers adapt to the changing needs of students. To quote,” While the field of education itself is changing, so are student demographics. Race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic background and special needs are only some of the ways in which students differ from one another. In addition, students nowadays seek educational experiences that prepare them for the future rather than just a degree. All these factors combined make the typical one-size-fits-all type of education inefficient for teaching.” This calls for teaching strategies to be adapted to accommodate different learning styles. Teachers/Educators need to be able to discern good ideas and adopt them, be willing to implement and adapt ideas that lead to improvement of their teaching and overall be able to give up matters that are of no use and can be a waste of precious time. To quote Francis Bacon, “Knowledge itself is power.”  Nelson Mandela believed “Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.” Teachers, Educators, update, upgrade and uplift yourselves, for yourself. It will impact your students to do the same!