11 TEACHER TODAY: A REALITY CHECK
Devraj Goel, Chhaya Goel, Asit Purohit, and Bharati Ganiger
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. Learning outcome
3. Who is a good teacher?
4. What do NCFTE (2009) and NCF (2005) say?
5. Challenges & Reality
6. Human Resource Planning
7. Scenario of School Teaching
8. Students’ Perception of Teachers
9. Teacher Today
10. Summary
1.Introduction
Teacher preparation has always been a huge challenge. Manpower planning, developing knowledge base, bridging the gaps between expected teaching skills-competencies and practiced. Expected curricula and practiced curricula and matching teaching styles with learning styles .Integration of taxonomy of educational objectives and skills for inclusive education play an important role. Specialization in emerging areas, such as, peace education, value education, yoga education, ICT in education, also require our attention.
The present demand is to groom a lifelong autonomous learner and to evolve child inspiring methodology along with a child centered approach. The teacher is prepared with the past curriculum and expected to prepare the futuristic vision but it shows mismatch. Pre-service teachers initially get confused between university prescribed lesson designing and researcher introduced approach. Presently very competitive teachers are required for that the teacher training should be strengthened. The present pre-service teacher education is under pressure to provide teachers who would be capable of dealing with the learners that are the part and parcel of the globalised and highly technical world contributing the competent teachers to the society to create and manage the quality education is highly challenging.
2. Learning outcome
1. Know about the challenges and realities of teacher education in India.
2. Understand the need for a better education system in schools.
3. Explain the problems of teacher absenteeism in schools.
4. Narrate the perception of students about the teachers.
5. Explain the role of teacher education in schools.
3. WHO IS A GOOD TEACHER?
A teacher is thought to be the back bone of the country, architect of the society, closest to the children.
1. Self-confident
2. Inquisitive
3. Faithful
4. Dutiful, simple and humble.
5. A role model for the learners,
6. Promoter of participatory approach,
7. Civilized ideal citizen, and above all a friend, a philosopher, a guide, sincere, and hard working.
8. Socially sensitive, professionally committed autonomous, accountable& fast renewing.
9. He is thought to be a constructivist and connectionist.
10. He is considered to be an ICT skilled person.
11. He is thought to be an Action research oriented person.
12. He is required to be humane and professional out- looker.
13. He is also expected to be an e-teacher & e-pathshala oriented along with multiple intelligence & universal out- looker.
14. But, the tragedy is that sometimes the teacher feels void of being a teacher and end up the day in non-teaching activities.
15. A teacher is expected to fit everywhere.
4. What do NCFTE (2009) And NCF (2005) say?
a. CCE has its own strengths and limitations.
b. CCE is a power full regulator.
c. CCE is the voice of the children when they say:-
a. Play way activities ,we play .,The science we experiment; The mathematics we speculate; The stories we narrate; Games we play ; Musical notes we generate ; Keep us healthy and gay;
b. CCE activities have made studies rejuvenating for teachers, learners, parents and society. We may be tired after our days work, but we don’t feel tired at all.
c. CCE is a band of rhythm, rhyme and resonance. It helps the learners with innovativeness ,creativity and efficiency whether it be watchman, support staff ,sweepers, gardeners, mess staff, office staff, parents, society, CBSE, management,the primary section coordinator ,principal ,all function synergetically. (As stated by Goel Anshul, Std. X, New Era Senior Secondary School, Vadodara, Gujarat, India.)
a. There is added focus on Multiple Intelligence & Life Skills.
b. It focuses on multiple intelligence and life skills .It promotes critical pedagogy in various dimensions of the school through co-operative learning, participatory approach & Action Research.
c. Critical Pedagogy has been promoted in various dimensions of the School through Cooperative Learning, Participatory Approach & Action Research.
4. Attempts to motivate from marginalized section of the society for expression of their knowledge & skills related to work to have cumulative human experience including children from other sections of the society.
5. Very few attempts have been made to develop Citizenship Skills. There is evident rejection of the old and acceptance of the new.
6. There are segregated schools on the bases of Public & Private, Medium of Instruction, Religion, Region, and School Boards. This segregation has resulted into the fragmentation of the Society. There are marked differences bet ween Municipal Corporation Schools & Private Schools, Native Schools & International Schools.
7. The private school students have higher academic achievement, but they might undergo ethos related limitations.
8. A non-native language for instruction may be barrier in constructing knowledge.
9. Children still are deprived of the learning opportunities that occur in classroom with children from diverse Socio-Economic & Cultural Backgrounds.
10. A large number of Public Schools still suffer from shortage of facility of infrastructure. It affects adversely academically learning as well as overall health of the children.
11. There is shortage of teachers with teaching competencies & teaching attitude. With Humane & Professional Teaching aptitude.
12. Teacher Education Curricula and modes of transaction, approaches to inculcate universal values, i.e., truthfulness, compassion & forbearance need to be channelised.
13. School Education has to be strong enough to appreciate the preamble of Constitution of India which demands determination & action to constitute, sustain and strengthen India into a Sovereign, Socialistic, Secular, Democratic, Republic State.
14. The sharp disparities between different Social & Economic Groups are everywhere in the perceptible range in India which make the children of the disadvantaged groups educationally most vulnerable.
15. Even with having large number of multi- grade schools based on mechanical principles of Teacher-Pupil Ratio, within 1Kilo Metre of each habitation, still do not cater to compatible Pedagogy.
16. Child Centered Education needs improvisation.
17. Constructivist Learning Approach needs vigorous, implementation.
18. Activity Based Approach needs, to be strengthened.
19. Competent teachers are required to deal with inclusive classes.
20. Diagnosis & Remediation should be expedited.
21. School Stereotypes , such as, notion of uneducable children, marginalized groups, Gender Type Stereotypes, Children with disabilities, first generation learners, should be done away with immediately.
22. The home language and school language needs to be abridged.
23. A vast array of human vocations, like, weaving, carpentry, farming; occupations, such as, shop keeping, etc., constitute a valuable form of knowledge and need to be taken care of properly.
24. Curricular and Co-curricular activities need to be up-to the mark as;
- Many a children in English Medium Schools are not at ease with English.
- Mathematics Teaching-Learning is dull & dry.
- History & Civics are taking a back seat.
- No sensitivity to cultural heritage & religious heritage & eastern values.
- Social Sciences seize to have normative responsibility.
- Science is losing Scientific Outlook & In- look.
- Whole-ism is a figment of imagination.
25. Health Education, Human Rights Education, Environmental Education, Art Education, Physical Education, and Education for Peace & Harmony need to be strengthened.
5. Challenges & Reality
• Manpower Planning is improper in Teacher Education. There is remarkable increase in the number of Teacher education Institutions.
• There are mismatches between the Teaching Degrees & Levels Taught.
• Some of the States filled new vacancies with Para-Teachers, while trained teachers remained unemployed. Honorarium per month of the Para-teachers appointed in different States is very less.
• In some of the States, such as, MP, Gujarat future teachers in the formal system will be “SHIKSHA KARMIS/SHIKSHA SHAYAK” on performance contract.
• Thousands of Indian Teachers abroad, especially in West Asia, particularly, the United Arab Emirates, teaching Mathematics, Science & English are in maximum demand.
• There are problems of Education right from pre- natal stage to old age.
• Children are losing their beauty of childhood.
• The eastern ethos & sensitivity to the basic values are fading.
• Children are interested in fast & junk food than homemade food.
• Children are going far away from nature, due to our failing in sustaining the beauty of nature.
• The hectic schedule of the schools is killing the creativity of the children.
• Cell-phones and social media are becoming the Death-Knell to the student’s studies.
• Tweets, Skype’s, & Whatsapp are becoming a huge nuisance for the children day -by-day.
• Adolescents are bewildered. The role of the Sociologists, Psychologists and Counselors need to be increased at a large scale before it is too late.
• SET, NET, TEL, TAT need to be looked in to again.
• There is little convergence amongst State, Society, Education & J udiciary.
• School Education, Teacher Education, Medical Education, Engineering Education, Law Education, Art Education, Science Education, all need to bring solutions to learning instead of becoming problem unto themselves.
• Education, Research & Development are the least priority as is evident from the educational budget by the states.
• Apex Institutions, such as, NCERT, NCTE, NUEPA, ICSSR, CIIL, UGC & NAAC need to be exploited effectively.
• Health Education & Environmental Education are the most neglected areas.
• Public at large is indifferent towards Education.
• Corporate Social responsibility finds rare expression.
• Wholistic, rather than fragmented Education is required.
• Dedicated Teacher education is the need of modern India.
• The identity of Education as highest interdisciplinary is rarely recognized & respected.
• Content-Pedagogy-Technology integrated Education is still a big challenge.
• Skill Training is lacking. Education is failing to appreciate innovative courses, such as, Taxonomy of Educational Skills.
• Teacher Education on Life Skills, like, lateral & critical thinking, innovativeness, problem solving needs to be strengthened.
• We need thorough preparation for Teacher Education at all levels, from Pre-Primary through Higher.
6. Human Resource Planning
Manpower planning is practically absent in Teacher Education. There is remarkable increase in the number of Teacher Education Institutions, and is uneven distribution of Teacher Education Institutions, from very rare to very high concentration. There are Teachers without Professional Degrees. There are Para Teachers, Private Tutors & Shiksha Karmis. The recourse to low paid and untrained teachers has attracted considerable protest from both educational specialists and teachers’ unions. In August 2004, graduate teachers in Himachal Pradesh demonstrated against the State’s decision to fill over 1500 new vacancies with para teachers, while trained teachers remained unemployed. The Madhya Pradesh Government has famous Education Guarantee Scheme. All future teachers in the formal system will be Shiksha Karmis on performance contract.
Teacher Absenteeism in India:- At a glance
25% of teachers were found to be absent from schools. Only half were teaching, during unannounced visits to a national representative sample of government primary schools in India. Absence rate varied from 15% in Maharashtra to 42% in Jharkhand, with higher rate concentrations in poorer States. ( A study commissioned by the World Bank and done by Harvard University, Michael Kremer, Karthik Muralidhran, 2004).
7. Scenario of School Teaching
1. 30% of children up to class V in Government Schools of Punjab could not read or write.
2. On any given day 36% of the government Primary Teachers was found absent.
3. In absenteeism Punjab ranks third after Bihar & Jharkhand.
4. Only 49.8% of the teachers present were found teaching.
5. The government spends Rs. 700/= per child per month.
6. It is being proposed that the money be handed over to private management so that free elementary Education up to class VII continues.
7. Failure of the students in Haryana State Board Examination has been attributed to the Teachers largely.
8. Very little teaching goes on in government schools.
9. Often teachers are just not there. Coming late & leaving early is the acceptable practice.
10. Teaching aids are seldom available, let alone used.
11. Three quarters of the teachers interviewed by the PROBE team are compelled to do multi- grade teaching.
12. Per capita expenditure on Education in Himachal Pradesh is twice as high as the all India average.
13. For every teacher there are 25 pupils in Himachal Pradesh. Where the figure is is 47 for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
14. The rapport between Parents and Teachers too seems to be better in Himachal Pradesh than in any other State covered by the PROBE. (INDIA TODAY, Oct. 13, 1997)
8. Students’ Perception of Teachers
As per the report of TOI Ahmedabad October, 21, 2005, A Survey was conducted by Commissionerate of Education with the support of the Centre for Environmental Planning & Technology (CEPT), Ahmedabad. The results are based on responses from 6443 students on what they think of teachers and the quality of teaching in the State Aided Schools in urban & rural areas. It covers students from class 8 to 11.
1. The study revealed Lack of awareness, exposure amongst teachers.
2. Teachers come to class unprepared.
3. Most teachers have no idea of syllabi & subject matter.
4. Language Teachers are ignorant about Teaching Skills.
5. Most Social Science Teachers are found to be from other disciplines.
6. Though the state may have spent a huge sum of Rs. 11.95 crore on “Karamyogi” training to 1 lakh 68 thousand 108 teachers since the year 2002, 69% of the students from class 8 and 77% from class 11 found no impact of this tra ining on the teachers.
9. Teacher Today
- Aptitude Tests prepared for teachers need to be incorporated into the admission system.
- Facilitator strategies are required for conducive classroom climate.
- Diagnostic & remedial programs need to be introduced.
- Orientation in humanistic education is required to enhance the self-concept, instructional mastery, social relationship & creativity.
- Quality of Education should be improved in schools so as to do away with parallel schools Private Coaching Classes.
- Teachers need to be trained on numerous educational skills.
- Training of Teachers on Transactional Analysis is required.
- Teachers need to be educated on multiple intelligence skills.
- Teachers should be prepared for special groups.
- Teachers need to be prepared for inclusive education.
- Teachers need to specialize many areas, such as, Peace education, Inclusive education, Health & Yoga Education, ICT in Education.
- Teachers should be groomed on child inspired approaches.
- Teachers should be prepared on wholistic approach.
- Teachers should promote cooperative learning & participatory approach.
- Teachers should keep pace with evolving technology & realize Technology Integrated Education.
10. Summary
To be the product of Indian Education is matters of pride. We are the product of persistent patience, competence and struggle of our teachers. Our schools have always been and are the learning organizations in the prayer, in the classroom, in the corridor, in the library, in the laboratory, in the play fields, in the dispensary, in the community and everywhere. That is why today the globe at large aspires to emulate Indian Education. More efforts are being made countrywide to realize compatible school education. At the same time there is evident chaos in the field of Education & Teacher Education. Teacher Education has lost its identity over the years. State displeasure, judicial over activism, distrust of the trusts, learning dissatisfaction of the learners & professional dissatisfaction of the teachers are fully evident.
Neither we have Education of the Orient nor that of the modern. We have largely failed to appreciate the present and grossly failed to peep into the future. There are questions on our affect attributes, knowledge base and skill repertoire. Rather than valued, the teachers are abused. Countrywide treatment as Shiksha Karmik, Teaching Assistants, and Temporary Teaching Assistants and Adhoc Teachers is ridiculous. We indoctrinate a lot on inclusive Education, but do a little.
What to talk of Job Access with Speech, mechanistic ramps speak a lot of our concern for the visually disadvantaged. Our Research & Development have been mechanized. When will we learn to locate ourselves justifying our existence as Teachers? That’s the ingot question.
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References
- Ganiger, B. B. Development and Implementation of ICT Aided Constructivist Learning Approach for the Professional Development of Pre-Service Teacher. An Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara.
- Goel D.R. (2005). Teacher Today: A Reality Check- A Paper presented in the Second Learning Conference organized by the Azim Premji Foundation in Collaboration with the MHRD. Bangalore: Azim Premji Foundation
- MHRD. (2012). Vision of Teacher Education in India: Quality & Regulatory Perspective-Report of the High Powered Commission Constituted by the Hon’able Supreme Court of India. New Delhi: MHRD.
- NCERT. (2005). National Curriculum Framework-2005. New Delhi: NCERT.
- NCTE. (2009). National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education. New Delhi: NCTE.
- NCTE. (2009). Regulations norms and standards-2009. New Delhi: NCTE.