Teachers under the shadow of students?
As part of a
series of guest lectures held in the second half of Saturday mornings I invited
a young film maker to talk to our media students. At the very outset of his
talk he asked the nearly 100 students gathered whether anyone of them was
compelled to be in the hall. No one said he or she was. But the young speaker
felt that the vibes coming from the students weren’t that positive or
energetic. Soon he spotted a girl whose head was on her desk. The speaker said,
“Mam, you seem to be sleepy; please go out and wash your face and come. Or if
you feel you needn’t come back.” Of course, she came back. Another girl was
almost in half-bedded/reclining posture to one side in her chair. The speaker
said, “Mam, you might fall off, try to sit straight.” Half way through the talk
the speaker noticed another girl who was very busy writing. The speaker said,
“Mam, is my talk so important that you are taking down every word; what are you
busy writing?” This girl was honest to admit that she was writing the notes
that she missed from the previous classes.
For the two hours
or so the speaker shared about his inspiration, interest, education related to
films and film making. He also spoke about the process of film making and his
own experience in it. During the question-answer session that followed his
input he stressed the importance of media students asking pertinent questions
and communicating them properly. “Communication students should communicate
effectively,” he added. He was lively, interactive, dripping with energy almost
– just brilliant. Even in the midst of it he noted a few other cases of misdemeanour
by the students in the hall. Imagine this young man as a regular teacher. I
would like to think that he would nip it in the bud the indiscipline and
erratic behaviour of the students. For, he seemed to be a man of courage,
conviction and commitment.
It took the
faculty by surprise that the guest speaker had the guts to pull up these
students. What these students were up to was perhaps a reflection of what they
usually do in the regular class rooms. How many teachers would have similar
guts to pull up the students, I wonder. I feel not many. Reasons: The craze among
some teachers for popularity within the student community. This is particularly
evident among young teachers. This might also be due to their own insecurity
about keeping the job, in view of being unpopular among students, which the
management may have to/might take note of. Surely, there are managements which
are least bothered about discipline – academic or otherwise – once they admit
the students and fees is taken. Also there are managements who would like to
treat the students with kid-gloves for the sake of popularity, the
consideration being quantity of students and not their quality. Or it could be
that the teachers themselves came from a similar unruly background when they were
students – in Indian education system this is certainly explicable. It is known
that in the Indian education system degrees can be obtained through favours
given (even sexual) or through sheer direct bribery.
Gone are the
days when if a student misbehaves in the class and the concerned teacher pulls
up that student then the rest of the class might shun or disassociate with that
student, which in the long run might serve as an automatic corrective to the
concerned student. Today, if a student is pulled up by the teacher, for the
rest of the class he/she becomes a kind of a hero. The teacher becomes the bad
guy under the arbitrary presumption that his/her teaching was boring or he/she
didn’t have the looks to cater to a generation brought up with ephemeral,
skin-deep beauty standards and values. Gone are the days when if a student told
his/her parents that the teacher pulled me up or punished me for indiscipline
then the student is bound to get punished also by the parents concerned. Today,
parents would immediately run to the educational institution in question to
seek explanation for the punishment given or to take revenge, or to threaten
the concerned authorities. This is partly because many parents today are living
in the fear of their children. If you do not defend your children – no matter
what your children have done, terrible – you had it!
The writer
walked into a V semester undergraduate programme in June to teach a course for
the rest of the semester. To my surprise I found many students in a very disorderly
manner – chatting away, leaning on the desk, disinterested, totally distracted,
day-dreaming … This indicated that these students had been let loose for the
past four semesters due to the inability of their teachers to control the class
room or for the reasons mentioned above. In class presentations by students mediocrity
is applauded loudly whereas good ones are played down to discourage the
students who would like to do well. Similarly those students who would like to contribute
to the class by way of interaction, questions, related comments, and
observations during a lecture are shouted down (outside the class room, surely)
by their class-mates. So much so in the course of the academic year such
students are quietened down, as they fall in line with the majority, who are
there just for a degree which they think can be obtained by hook or by crook.
Isn’t the
same thing happening in Indian society where the corrupt, rapist, criminal
politicians and goons are treated as heroes and the victims are made to suffer
more? This is partly due to the unsavoury media attention they get. Victims are
sometimes socially boycotted and even subjected to honour killings. Would one
be off the mark to conclude that what’s happening in the class rooms is
symptomatic of what is going on the society?
Dr. Francis Arackal
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