The role of a teacher in students’ learning – The Hindu : Campus Buzz – my contribution

CONTEXT : Request for contribution to the column in The Hindu –

There is a Sanskrit sloka that says – a student learns one fourth from the teacher, one fourth from own intelligence, one fourth from classmates, and one fourth only with time. The article discusses:

perspectives of modern teachers on this
Is there a change in the learning trend
Is the role of teacher limited to reciting their knowledge about a specific subject in the class?
What is the attitude of today’s students and parents towards learning
Is there undue pressure on teachers
What can teachers do to promote this culture (as guided by the above sloka) of learning

In this regard, we would like you to share with us your opinion on

the relevance of the sloka in the modern world
Is there undue pressure on teachers?
What can teachers do to promote this culture (as guided by the above sloka) of learning

Sreeni’s Response

When a child’s mental faculty grows to be eighty percent of an adult in the first three years of life, to ninety percent of an adult by the age of eight, and ninety-eight percent of an adult by the age of fourteen, every parent, adult or mentor in the learning environment of the childhood has immense role to play. The sloka is very much relevant in today’s modern world.

Knowledge, by its very definition, is created by learner himself through the learning experiences, and can never be passed on. Hence the liveliness and richness of the learning environment makes significant difference to the learner. This is where the mentors and parents role become significant in collaborating and facilitating.

To put the sloka into context we need to ask ourselves a few questions:

Is education only about books, exams and marks? There is so much to the real world and also in the capability of a human being.
What percentage of knowledge we apply has come from inside four walls of classroom? How much from outside the class?
How many teachers from our life do we really remember? Why? it is only because of their way of facilitating not because of their knowledge?

The learner (student) has to be at the centre with mentors (institution), parents (family) and the curriculum collaborating to enrich his/her learning environment. As mentors/teachers we need to love children and learners, enjoy being learners ourselves and be passionate about facilitating (not teaching/lecturing) by creating experiences.

The Article as it appears in The Hindu, with quoting my response. Click on it to go to FLICKR and read in bigger fonts. Also can access the text format on The Hindu Online.