How to be a good teacher?

How to become a good teacher?

A teacher is regarded as Guru in Sanskrit (gu-darkness;ru-light). A person who is considered to have great knowledge, wisdom, and authority. He teaches us knowledge (light) and removes ignorance (darkness).

We all are our own teachers as we have a guru within us and then come our parents who are considered to be our first teachers because we spend the initial years of childhood in our home and the learning begins from home.

Then come the ones who take teaching as a profession also considered to be a noble profession because they mold the torch bearers of the society and ensure a better future for us.

Lastly, we have nature who is the biggest teacher to the entire mankind as it is our mother. She is the inspiration and motivation behind all our teachings.

A general notion says that a teacher is the one who adopts teaching as a profession and can be seen in a school. So they are the ones who pursue a noble profession and devote all that they have to the children who come to them. They treat them with love and care.

Here are some tips you can follow to be a good teacher:

1) Have clear objectives – The teachers in India are considered above god as because of them we are able to pray to god. Without a good teacher, it is not possible to gain knowledge and emerge as good and responsible citizens of the country and do something for the nation. Thus, teaching is considered a “Noble Profession”.

So to be a good teacher you should have a clear vision and work will be to handle the pressure as you mold the torch bearers of the society and ensure a better future. Teachers are selfless and devote their lives to the children. Every teacher has a clear objective for their students of building them a great human being. A student is the reflection of his teachers and teachers are the ones who are responsible to make the journey of school and journey of life successful.

2) Do not discriminate amongst them- School is considered to be our second home and hence teachers are our guardians who have all the rights on us and have to think of our better futures. So do you compare between the two eyes or hands you have? I know the answer and the same is seen in the epic Mahabharata that Dhronacharya did not discriminate among his students and had faith in his teachings.

Now if you are thinking of Eklavya and Dhronacharya then he taught his students to be determined on their words even if they have to go against Dharma. Dhronacharya promised Arjun that he would make him the best archer and no one would be better than him. He had to keep his words and that is why he asked for eklavya thumb. A gardener will never discriminate amongst the flowers because he has to grow the garden green just like our teachers

3) Lead by example- Once a teacher remains a teacher forever and guides the children even after school and late in life. They are always remembered by the students. We have examples of many such great teachers who are role models and inspirations to the fellow teachers and in fact all of us like Dr. Sarvapalli Radha Krishna who was the second president of India and a person because of whom we celebrate Teachers Day.

He knew the real essence of teaching and the worth of our teachers who are the unsung heroes and to celebrate their heroism we celebrate his birthday as Teachers Day. Students learn from what we do then what we say. Our behavior must be according to our teachings. This is the best way to teach our students.

4) Be alert and vigilant- Teachers hold their students’ hand for a short while, but their hearts forever.’- The good teacher has to understand the child and develop an emotional bond between the student and teacher. This helps in better insight into various developmental stages of the child, especially cognitive and emotional. They are the ones who lay the building blocks for the child and start the process of molding wet clay and writing on a blank slate. In the growing stage, students don’t know what is wrong and what is right. So teachers have to be alert and vigilant on whether the student is on the right path or not.

So they have to lead by example and be very alert and vigilant in handling the children as they grasp very quickly and set the things told by the teacher in mind. They have to build our characters by teaching us to share and caring and helping people in need and not being selfish just like Mother Teresa who devoted her life to working for the needy. Teachers can help students to go on a good path which would lead to a healthy and prosperous life.

5) Be patient- The teachers have to be extra patient and never lose hope as they are the role models for the children and teach them that no matter what comes in their way they have to face it with a smiling face so that they are halfway to the solution. The teachers should not get upset or even worse, give up on the students who are not so strong in their studies. Instead, they should have the patience to slowly coach them, give them extra lessons, and find different ways to encourage them. Sometimes it is just a small effort from the side of the teacher which changes the life of the students.

6) Put your heart and soul in each student- Before entering this profession of teaching they know for a fact that they have to put in their heart and soul in each and every child they cross paths with so that they emerge with all the traits they have and become a good human being and follow their dreams and passions with dedication and determination so as to achieve success in life. By this, a good teacher prepares an army of good human beings who are just like their shadow spreading the light of knowledge everywhere they go.

The best example of this is Chanakya who trained Chandragupta with his heart and soul and worked really hard on him to make him a great king. Teachers have to work according to the children and take out innovative ideas for teaching so that the process of teaching does not go monotonous and the children enjoy the lessons taught. They should relate the teachings with nature and get practical knowledge for better understanding.

7) Try understanding them- Just like all the fingers of our hand are not the same so are the students. All the students are different and so are their abilities hence the teacher has to build a relationship with all the students and try to know them so as to deal with them. This is a challenging task but without knowing each other how can the communication flourish. You have to have innovative ideas to deal with because human behavior has evolved with changing times and advancements in technology.

Handling the children today is more critical because they are the millennial generation of the changing times and hence our teachers have to be superheroes for us. It is the rule of nature that changes will come and we have to adapt ourselves according to time and changes

8) Be multitasking- A good teacher has to be multitasking so as to bestow all the responsibilities on her and becomes an example of a multitasking person as they have to be a teacher, look into the work assigned to her, a friend so that the students can talk to them in time of need; period of transition where the child goes with a lot of changes and guide them being a mother as it is a stage wherein the child needs maximum attention and right direction to move forward.

This is the time when the teacher has the maximum impact on the life of the students so they should focus on the holistic development of the child and cater to their needs so that they know they have someone for them who is listening to them and where they can speak their heart up without any judgment or restrictions. Teachers become closer to a student at a certain point of time and maybe more than parents so they should handle such delicate situations with experience and smart work with respect to the child.

9) Focus on their holistic development- A good teacher masters their subject but the true essence of teaching is kept by the ones who focus on the holistic development and growth of the child. Teachers are creating the future of society and so only theoretical knowledge would not help them pass the exams of life and emerge as leaders. Holistic development is the teaching of values and ethics as well as the lessons of life to be treasured forever.

Tell them your experiences in life and the mistakes they should not make in the future. Teach them the importance of small happiness and money. Use technology to teach them about the past and the important learning from it. The overall development of a child will help him succeed in life.

To develop a good attitude in yourself you can read one famous book by John Maxwell “winning with people” you can buy that book at Winning with people

Other blog which you can read :  https://sudarshanpurohit.com/how-to-be-a-good-father/

I have a YouTube Channel also and you can subscribe to it through: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYGdbB_F0qii4Zo_rn-rCyg/videos?view_as=subscriber

You can visit my Facebook page where you can find all my videos and i update it regularly: https://www.facebook.com/pg/betterworldsjp/videos/?ref=page_internal

You can connect me through my professional network on LinkedIn also here is the link:https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjpurohit/

You can connect me through my Instagram page : https://www.instagram.com/purohit.sudarshan/

How to be a good teacher- Conclusion: In the end, we conclude that to be a good teacher you have to be selfless and full of positivism so that we can create an aura around us which brings a smile to the face of the children. The teachers have to become like a coconut; hard from outside and soft from inside to deal with the children and frame their future. Lead by example for the students. Teachers are the backbone of any country, the pillar upon which all aspirations are converted into realities