Special teachers

Two recent posts on teachers made poignant reads

This one is from a teacher who was troubled with the policies of the government of US and decides to quit not his job but the profession of teaching itself. The points he raises, are debatable and need very careful examination.

In this article, Sudheendra Kulkarni remembers his teacher from his school days who died recently and how he touched his life in special ways .  He remembers the traits that he stood for and very frankly admits that his teacher was not too happy with his efforts. It is to be noted that the author was part of PMO of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and is a senior member of BJP.

Good teachers are intense and sensitive beings. They live deeply embedded in their times and issues they get concerned about, may not even appear issues for many.  Its because they experience life differently. These qualities were found to be common in most writeups by or about good educators.

Another example of sensitivity can be seen in this article  written couple of year back by one of most respected educationists in the country- Krishna Kumar, who expressed his anger at the way women were increasingly projected in movies. This was much before the sudden deluge after the most unfortunate episode of rape in Delhi in December'12.

We need to listen to their voice. Like Naseeruddin Shah says in the movie, Firaaq to his domestic help who is trying to repair his TV, that atleast this old model that i have has sound if not visuals and expresses 'agar humne dekhne se zyada sunne pe dhyan diya hota, to shayad hum behtar ho pate'.

Listening is a highly underestimated skill.