On this auspicious day of 5th September (Teachers' Day) which is the Birth Anniversary of our beloved the second president of India - Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, I am motivated to share with you the new Mantra - "STOP TEACHING, ASK QUESTIONS". We had a great talk by the eminent expert of ELT and well-known linguist Dr K N Anandan who gave this new approach for the teachers. It was worth listening to him on the role of a teacher especially of a second language teacher. The teacher always has the role of a mother, a guide, a friend, a knowledge giver, a co-participator and a facilitator to the students. Nowadays a teacher is also a learner and a person who is everyday upgrading his/her knowledge and skills for his/her students and subjects. This new normal situation of education has taught us a lot of things that not only updated us but also opened new windows to the world of teaching and learning process. It is the right time to stop teaching which doesn't mean that we should not teach but rather it says that we should not teach only or we should not rely on one-way process of education only. It tells to incorporate various techniques and approaches during the educational practices going on in the classroom. Going beyond teaching will take us to asking questions to the learners; and this process of education will become a two-way process. Asking questions will force the students to think, to discuss, to read, to search, to find out and to express themselves. This will also lead to greater attention on their side as well as to increasing the understanding to the next level with more effectiveness. A teacher who seats together with the students or among the students will certainly gets more respect and attentiveness for learning. Such teachers prove to be effective as they are listening to their students. It is not the role of a student to pay attention to the teacher what he/she is teaching; but it is the role of a teacher to pay attention to his/her students. The teachers should be instructed for paying attention and listen to the students.
Happy Teachers' Day.
Jay Hind.
- Dr Rajnikant Dodiya, Asst. Professor, HMPIETR
