Namaskar Masterji

What is it that makes a person a better teacher ? We have all heard of professors who have mesmerized students throughout their career. But I am not talking about the great ones. As a person you are interested in this profession and looking for tips for success. What will you say? You have been student for years. Criticized teachers at every opportunity and glorified the select few. After 5 years you don't even remember what his name was. And yet there is something which attracted you, something that made you feel he is different from the rest. I mean there has to be that one trait that made him stand out. What is it?

In my humble opinion it is the ability to understand the "condition of his students" that separates the best from the rest. Most teachers know a lot but when it comes to teaching it turns out that he is busy showing what he knows and not what the students need to know. And if not that, he makes some strange assumptions about the crowd and moves ahead. For example we got bold over when in accountancy we were handed a Harvard case after just 2 sessions of basics.......The assumption made here was with regards to the intellect of the crowd.

We all know that the teacher only shows the door and it's we who have to open it and move ahead. The teacher introduces you to a topic but after that it's all about you. The student now has to teach himself. He does so through search, through unanswered questions, through perseverance. Some give it up while some don't loose hope. But there is this entity who develops this character; he who masters this art of being able to teach himself consistently without loosing interest and without getting lost. I firmly believe who ever reaches this position finds teaching an attractive career and are the ones whom you remember. The very act of delving into confusion and then coming out of it becomes such an interesting proposition that you are willing to do it again and again.