5th September is a date we all remember in India. It is celebrated as Teachers’ Day here. And, each of us has fond memories of some teacher or the other from our school or college days. Teaching is a noble profession, and teachers are gurus, equivalent to parents. But, all this just seems to be empty words. Teachers are the most neglected in our community. Despite knowing the importance of their roles in not only imparting knowledge but also in moulding our childrens’ future, they are completely underpaid. They work long hours though it looks like their work is over with school hours, it is not. They have lesson plans, books to correct, exam papers to correct, activities to organize and coordinate and numerous such things to take care of.
I have been a teacher, and I know how hectic and tiring it can be. In rural areas, the situation is even worse in terms of pay scales. Then RTE clips their wings further. Have you seen how the kids are today — extremely precocious. The teachers are not even allowed to scold a child. Of course, I am against corporal punishment or hitting of any form. But, discipline is a must. Call me old fashioned, but if a child can not be disciplined in school, he is missing out on a very important aspect of his life.
Teachers are overworked, underpaid and hardly have great career growth ahead of them. How can we expect them to be selfless and keep working under these conditions? They need more to be done for them than mere lip service and empty praises. Yes, we love our teachers. But, it is high time, it is demonstrated through more than just words.
5th September is also very special for me because it is Gautam’s birthday! He turned 4 yesterday. He gets to celebrate it in his school today :). Attaching a pic of him and me.
P.S. The header pic is of a red hibiscus from my garden. I love its gorgeous red hues :).
Hi Rachna, That was one of my question..was the hibiscus from your garden? Yey!.
Loved the pic of Gautam and you. Very nice.
As far as teaching goes, I tried my hand at this noble profession twice in my life. As a graduate and as a post graduate and a trained teacher. First time, I was paid Rs450/month and the second time when I was teaching Math in a graduate college, I was paid Rs1500/month.
I’ve seen my colleagues, who had been teaching for years and years continuing with the job and this salary in the hope of getting tenure ship from the UGC grants commission. It was due to that I decided to give GRE and come to study in the US. That was the best decision I made in my life. I don’t know how the scene is today, but, people with no expectations from this job, with only the motivation of educating the kids,need to be in this profession.
I donno wat to say…may be yes teachers today stand at the recieving end
But I see once-highly-valued-profession dissolving into highly corrupt and murky
Today we get teachers who have little commitment, desire or professionalism.
It’s highly inappropriate to say these things on a Teacher’s day…but for the sake of respect it’s not apt to question morality!
@Gayatri I especially put up that photo for you. I have another yellow hibiscus, and I have put the cutting of that crimson red hibiscus which you loved. Let’s see if it grows!
Oh, when I worked around 4 years back, it was 10K. It ranges between 10 to 12 K in private school and higher in International schools. It is much lower in government schools. With such high cost of living in Bangalore, I don’t know how one can make do with this salary?
Yes, you are right that motivation to mould lives should be the driving force, but teachers also need to run families. And, except for the few with an intrinsic motivation to teach, the others get lured towards greener pastures. Sad, really! When the private schools charge so much, why can’t they pay their teachers more?
@Jon And the teachers complain that the children are unruly and disrespectful. The parents are also more demanding, won’t you say? Yes, the commitment and standard of teachers is on a decline. But, we need to address the issue of training and retaining good teachers. Else, our edge in education would be lost.
Happy birthday to Gautam, you were a teacher? interesting, its tedious profession if sincere profound!!
@Suffix Thanks! Yes, I taught for a year. It gave me a perspective of the other side — a teacher’s viewpoint too.
belated birthday wishes to gautam:)
i am not against discipline but discipline is NOT abuse.
its only a segment of students who don’t respect teachers. but they probably don’t value anyone including their parents. its so easy to despise those brats, but lets remember they are not born brats, but circumstances create them.
teachers might earn less, but i still think education has become a business. i am not against it becoming a business, but it has become a business without ethics.
and when speaking of education people think of only private schools. how many govt schools have basic amenties and how many govt schools will have brats in them.
and do we consider a child who has studied in a govt school as equal. and will we ever think of putting our children in a govt school, if that particular school is good and well run.
TOI says 1.2 million teachers are reqd in India and well they are not going to appear overnight.
and many might prefer call center work to teaching.
Belated wishes to Gautam 🙂
Pay scales are ridiculously low for govt teaching jobs! But nowadays teachers don’t have commitment. They just teach for the sake of it!!
Happy Birthday Gautam and Happy Teacher’s Day 🙂
I love the photo Rachna 🙂
wifie a teacher and hence that day is also spl 4 me..good post ya..and wishes 2 junior..
@wise donkey Thanks for the wishes. Yes, there is a only a section of unruly students. I do not know about you, but I remember clearly that in my school days, we used to listen to the teacher. We were scared of being punished. I never remember any abuse, but the fear was there. If we were happy, our parents said that you must listen to the teacher and respect her. Today, if a child sheds one tear, a parent rushes to scold the teacher or school. I am clearly not talking about supporting abuse here. I hope you see the distinction. I am only talking about changing attitudes both in parents and students.
Government schools also have brats. If you have blanket policies which say lay off kids, you can’t detain them, you can’t shout at them — what does it tell the students? They have an even bigger problem of larger numbers in a class.
You said it right; teachers will not appear overnight. No one wants to teach because houses do not run on satisfaction and empty praises. If you want good teachers, teach them on par with any other skilled professionals. Even higher, perhaps, because of the role they play in moulding our country’s future.
@Girish Thanks!
Commitment is relative. Money and respect are two big motivators. Both are lacking for teaching jobs.
@Agnes Thanks a lot!
@Ramesh Thanks and happy teachers’ day to your wife. She might not realize how special she is to so many of her students.
Happy b’day cute baby. 🙂 I will never forget ur b’day.
The pic is beautiful. 🙂
The header pic flower is beautiful. 🙂
@Chandrika Thanks so much!
A very happy birthday to Gautam.Wish him on our behalf.
@BKChowla Thanks!
Happy Birthday to your little son, he is handsome. And a lovely photo of you as well! I really enjoyed this post, it is so true here as well about teachers. I don’t know how they do it sometimes. They have to spend money out of their own pockets alot and don’t make much to start with. Teachers deserve so much more respect and compensation.
@Cheryl Thanks dear! Yes, teachers deserve so much more for sure.
i started my career with being a teacher but now completely taken a U turn 🙂 indeed it is a very noble profession.
a very happy belated birthday to the little one.. God bless him and since mummy dear is a teacher he is bound to get some nice growing up lessons 🙂
@Bikramjit Well he will get good lessons, nonetheless :). I actually taught only for a year. I am a professional Writer and an entrepreneur currently.